When We Are Tired
“When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago.”
–Nietzsche
In a blog last year, we covered many of the incredible sleep revelations in the book Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. It is a book that we wholeheartedly recommend. Everything from better grades for kids, to sports performance and recovery, to reduced risk of heart attack are some of the reasons sleep should be our number one health concern. However, the kind of thing that Nietzsche is getting at in the above quote is hard to research and quantify with data.
Sleep is essential to our mental health, that much we know. But the spectrum between “a bit cuckoo” and “bat-shit crazy” is a wide one–and the degree to which loss of sleep affects us is unpredictable and individualized. There is certainly good reason why sleep deprivation is the go-to torture method for fascists worldwide. So why do so many of us torture ourselves with too-little sleep? Are we a bunch of masochists?
Well, some us probably are–but many of us look forward to this time before sleep, when the day’s work is done, the kids are asleep, the dog has been out, the teeth have been brushed, and, ahhhhh–ME time. In fact, it’s even got a clinical name in the sleep research field: Revenge Bedtime Procrastination. You take “revenge” on your busy daytime schedule by insisting on this precious “me-time,” despite the fact that it will mean less sleep. Of course, less sleep will mean that your perceptions about your workday tomorrow will likely be negatively skewed–which may lead to an even larger declaration of revenge before bedtime, and so on, and so on. It’s a full-on “hamster wheel to hell.”
Me-time is so very valuable, and we recommend better scheduling throughout your day, including a solid morning routine, to stave off the feeling that your workday has taken you over. You could also try setting a timer for a 30-minute me-time before bed–but keep in mind the good sleep rules we wrote about last year:
Here is a recap of our previous blog on sleep, that includes the Coffee Talkers Guide to Improving Your Sleep:
Not so much coffee. Yeah, it hurts—but we try to limit it to three cups, and stop drinking the last one at 12 noon.
Set the stage for eight hours of sleep. That means if we need to wake up at 6:00, we have to be lying down, in bed, trying to sleep by 10:00.
In between the time that we put our kids to sleep, and when we fall asleep ourselves, we don’t use our smartphones (this can be one-two hours before our own sleep)
Set our smartphones to automatically switch off blue light at 8:00 pm, and use the warmer light.
An hour before our kids’ bedtimes, we dim the lights, and use mostly candlelight to signal that sleep time is coming (for our own benefit as much as theirs)
Stick to a sleep schedule—the same bedtime and waking time, even on the weekends.
Do not eat past 7:00 p.m., and do not overeat—especially that last meal.
Avoid the urge to use alcohol and other drugs as a sleep aid—these and many pharmaceutical drugs can greatly affect the healthy phases of sleep.
Make sure the room used for sleep is completely dark, and at a cool temperature, if possible.
Don’t do work or watch TV/computer/smartphone in bed—keep the bedroom designated for sleep (with the exception of more intimate encounters).
Don’t exercise before sleep—any last training of the day we do before dinner.
Create a pre-sleep ritual (reading a book, or listening to an audiobook or meditation)
So, remember–revenge is often bittersweet. Try balancing a hard day with extra sleep instead of less–and change your perspective for the better.
Until next time
Scott and Lennart