Aaaahhhhhhh Sleep

I love good sleep.

It's, without exaggeration, life changing for me.  Maybe for you too, but I know we're all built differently so I'm not assuming.

When I was a teen (and probably before, I don't really know) I could sleep in like nobody's business.

Like I'm talking sleeping in til 11 or later.  Maybe I was staying up late those nights, again, I don't really remember, I just know that I am, or was, fairly well known for being a late sleeper.  I may have even told you the story of my best friend's Dad who'd get fed up of me still being in bed during sleepovers and would open the door and throw a wet facecloth on my face to wake me up!  C-Dawg's Dad used to grumble at me about how I was wasting half the day, but sleep.... mmmm.... delicious sleep.

A number of years ago (I'm sure I talked about it here at the time) I worked hard to change my sleep patterns so that my mornings weren't a rush.  Instead of getting up and needing to leave in half an hour or so I now get up with over and hour before I need to leave.  A couple of weeks ago I even moved my alarm back another ten minutes.  Crazy! (For me, anyway.)

I do find I like having the mornings awake, it really does extend the day and I do like having lots of down time before I need to leave for work rather than feeling stressed and rushed.  But I also sometimes miss sleeping in, or hitting snooze...

My sleep can get hit or miss and of late I've been sleeping ok but not feeling rested and so two or three weekends ago I decided to let myself sleep in as much as I wanted on a Saturday (the only day I don't have a class at the pool I want to get to.)

Y'all?  It was delightful.  I half woke up and let myself just fall back asleep and be all warm and cozy and dozy for as long as I wanted.

I was so pleased with myself and it wasn't even all that late, relatively speaking.  (I think I got up around 9:30 which is decadent but nothing compared to my high school days!)

But..... then my sleep was terrible for the next week.  UGH.

Sure, maybe the two things are unrelated but it sure seemed that they were.

It's the same with naps.  If I'm sick I can nap and still sleep, but napping during the day the rest of the time is dangerous and can and most likely will mess up my sleep schedule.

And because the difference for me between a good sleep and a meh/not great sleep is really night and day (no pun meant) I have to put more value on maintaining my night time sleeps as best I can.

Sometimes acupuncture is needed to reset whatever in my system is off and that's what happened last week... an acupuncture session followed by some of the first good sleeps I've had in weeks.

I feel like a whole new person on the days I wake up having really, actually slept.  Sure, there could be other factors but my point is.... I really really love and need good, solid sleep.  And I think I'm willing to sacrifice intense sleeping in and most naps to try to get it.

So while that one sleep in felt great at the time, I feel like I paid for it over the next week plus and so I don't think I'll go quite that wild again.

I do still "sleep in" a little on non work days by not having my alarm set, but with my blinds half open, and lately, with the construction going on next door I'm usually awake within an hour and a half of a work day vs the three or so I did that weekend.

TL;DR? -  Good sleep is gooooooood.