Busy & Sleepy
My eye started twitching last week as I came to the close of my 122 hour ( 134 credit ) work month ( that is time in the air btw ).
I was cranky, I was emotional, I was fatigued.
What I’ve learned about sleep. We need it. We crave it. And when we don’t get it we are cranky AF. And it’s a bat shit kind of cranky/crazy I never even knew existed until I became a flight attendant.
I am irritable at any moment for no reason at all. I also hear this sort of fatigue happens when you have kids.. I’ll trust in that as I don’t have any of my own to relate.
Whether you are traveling for work like me or simply just a Babe On a Mish on any given day, with school, work or a family to feed, and your own life to uphold.. then this topic is nothing that you haven’t already come across before.
About a week or a trip or somewhat recently ago I will say, I had learned of Morning Pages from the TSC podcast (side note: The Skinny Confidential Him and Her Podcast is a must listen ) where you literally mind dump first thing in the morning, writing down anything and everything on your mind. ( One of the many tips and life hacks I have collected from this podcast ).. thank you Lauryn & Micheal..
I decided I would try this but also to add to it, I STARTED tracking my sleep. I decided that while I was tracking everything else in my life down to comments on any given Instagram post, that it was imperative that I get my sleep hygiene in order as well.
In some areas of my sleep life I was V disciplined.
+ For instance , I never ever look at the time when I wake up to go to the bathroom, doing so woke up my mind and my math. I would start counting how many more hours of sleep I had and then fretting and tossing if I didn’t fall back asleep right away.
+ I do take a melatonin when on layovers… I know it’s not the best and I am not at all a Dr., but it’s how I sleep on my layovers, I also have tried CBD gummies and I am a big fan of this alternative as well.
+ I keep a very strict bedtime routine to “prepare” my mind for bedtime. I always take a hot shower, and do a slow relaxing skincare routine.
+ I try not to drink too much water an hour or so before bed to prevent having to use the bathroom.. I try to be super mindful when I fly and when I am home to drink at least a liter of water.
+ Staying in the time zone I land in. Meaning stop telling yourself what time it is where you are coming from. All you are doing is telling yourself to be tired and in my opinion and can really be a mind fak to constantly say over and over again how early or how late it is for you. Stay present. This really aids in jet lag. BIG TIME.
+ Another major thing I do is carry my fav pillow spray with me and I spray it, well that's a semi lie, I bathe in it almost.. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. Home, away, doesn't matter. I spray it all over and I feel like I have trained my brain to recognize the smell and think sleep, relax, comfort.. ( aka home ).. It works. I also roll on essential oils on my wrist as well. Lots of people have their own concoction.. But EO is my go to reliable concentrate oil that I love.
For pillow spray.. mix desired oil and amount with cold water .. shake. spray. enjoy.
What I hadn’t been doing tho..
Monitoring my screen time..
+ As I started my morning pages I started a strict routine of NO SCREEN TIME 30 mins before bed annnd an hour after getting up. I make exceptions ONLY if I am on call for work.. It’s really the only way to try and guesstimate what I would be called for.
+ Keeping a sleep journal. Being mindful of what time I went to be and then recording what time I sat down to have my coffee, which is literally within 10 mins of waking up. ALWAYS.
+ also I stopped taking melatonin at home.
The results?
Well for one my eye stopped twitching. I noticed that being strict with my screen time really worked wonders. My mind wasn’t stuck on my last IG post or the last story I had seen. It wasn’t buzzing with a to do list or the latest sale in my inbox or what workout I was running to.
I wasn’t waking up with my phone. That felt really good. I actually felt more focused and more in tune with my body. And mostly I felt RESTED. Rejuvenated. LIKE MYSELF.
Monitoring my sleep by actually taking the time to write it down, look at it on paper, analyze how many times my sleep was interrupted or if at all and how I felt the next day, really made me “get to know myself” a lot better. This was a HUGE take away. I highly recommend “studying” yourself.. YOU ARE WORTH THE TIME. Besides it takes all of 10mins in the morning.. stop scrolling and answering to others and answer to yourself.
I also decided that if I was going to fly high one month I was going to fly low the next. So far so good. Also, I’m a bit happier, and I have a clear pep in my step because of it.
Honestly, you have to take charge of your body, you have to be in control. If nothing else its essential for your physical health and emotional at that. And when nothing works.. curl up with a good book.. Like one you can actually hold and a glass of wine..( Obvi the wine is optional ), Mint tea is also my go to when I am out of town or at home to really wind down. The mere act of reading can make anyone sleepy.
I find this to be an extremely interesting topic..