I’ve Been Scared into Wanting to Sleep More

In an article published in MedicalNewsToday titled Why a Regular Bedtime May Benefit Your Heart and Metabolism there is some news from a Scientific Reports study that makes me rethink my sleeping habits.

Well, I can’t even really call them habits, but it’s not much of a habit. It’s a, go to bed at 10 tonight, then maybe 11 tomorrow, but then 2:30 the next night, then back to midnight type of thing.

I’ve talked about my horrible sleeping patterns in the past and why I switched to a Nectar mattress in order to get better sleep and how it actually helped with my blood sugars. But then every time I read an article like this, I’m just reminded of all of the risks that come from sleep deprivation.

What I found interesting in this study is that it talks about “social jet lag” which is the difference in sleep and waking times between the weekend and weekdays and that people who sleep in on the weekends could be at a higher risk for things like heart disease, obesity and of course (like everything else it seems), diabetes.

Here is a quote from the article that really stood out to me:

Overall, volunteers with irregular bedtimes had a higher body mass index (BMI), higher levels of blood sugar, higher blood pressure, and higher levels of hemoglobin A1C, and they were more likely to have a heart attack or stroke in the following decade than individuals with regular sleeping patterns.

Sleep is something that over the past couple of years has scared me. And, it has nothing to do with having a low in the middle of the night and not waking up. That is actually not a big fear of mine at all.

My biggest fear about sleep is just that I’m going to stop breathing one night. I also now fear that all of these nights of bad sleep will catch up to me.

I used to always say, “I don’t need sleep, I’ll sleep when I’m dead”

Well, maybe all of that lack of sleep will get me there a lot earlier than what I previous thought it would.

I have feared for several years that I have sleep apnea, but I’ve never wanted to go and get tested because I know what the outcome and answer is going to be. But, I’m at a point in my life where I am willing to accept everything that may be wrong with me and do what I need to do in order to take care of it.

Losing weight is obviously at the very top of that.

I also know how sleep and my weight have a direct correlation to each other. On night’s that I don’t get great sleep, I tend to eat like crap the next day. I drink much more coffee and I don’t get exercise.

It’s a viscous cycle that must be broken.

What tips do you have for better sleep habits?

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