#51 10+ Hours of Sleep Last Night!

Sleep is magic.

Nothing more need be said.

Woops! #missedflight #sleptthroughBOTHalarms #AmericanAir

I'm finally at the Boise airport, waiting to board my flight to Phoenix to go to Chicago to go to London.

I couldn't help laughing out loud when I read this sign on the way to my gate:

If only they knew how NOT simple it was to get to the Boise Airport today! I overslept this morning. The alarm was set for 4 a.m., and a back up alarm was set for 4:30 a.m. Both have 3 snoozes for 3 minutes each. I heard none of them. I woke up at 7:30 to bright sunshine and birds singing. A lovely scene, except that I was supposed to be disembarking in Seattle at that very moment! I've never done this before! What a horrible feeling!

When an American Airlines agent finally answered, I started crying. She was so kind and told me to calm down, this happens all the time. After about 45 minutes and lots of different tries, we got it sorted. After a brief time on hold, she told me they were going to waive the fees so that all it cost me was more miles than my original ticket. In the end, I left at 1:40 p.m. instead of 6:17 a.m.

All in all, it turned out great to go later. Here are some of the benefits, in no particular order:

1. I got to go on a run before I left.
2. A hole in my small roller bag became evident, so I switched my stuff to a larger suitcase.
3. I was pretty well rested by the time I got to the airport!
4. A friend I haven't seen in a long time took me to the airport.
5. I realized that if you are willing to pay enough, you don't have to be super stressed! [All it cost was more miles to leave today instead of waiting 6 days to go at the cheaper price. I didn't realize that I was so programmed to do things the hard way!]
6. Don't take yourself so seriously! It's only life, after all!

#321: Books that you can't wait to get to bed to read

Two of my favorite things: reading and sleeping.

Superb when they are combined!

I'm going to bed early so I can keep reading The Auschwitz Escape by Joel C. Rosenberg.

Thank you,  Aunt Debbie for the loan!

#288: Finally Feeling REFRESHED!!!

DID YOU KNOW WHAT AN EFFECT SLEEP HAS?????

Oh. My. Gosh.

I have now had 2 days of wonderful sleep and I must say I am a new woman! I dropped something this morning and it didn't make me angry. I awoke feel refreshed. REFRESHED. It's been so long since that happened [read: about 2 months] I beginning to think something was wrong with me.

"Problems" in my life I now attribute at least in part to sleep deprivation [admittedly self-imposed via caffeine] because this morning they are now gone:

• Wanting to throw immersion blender across room when cord gets tangled in drawer
• Feel groggy in the morning 
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Lack of productivity at school (okay, this is not ALL about sleep)
• Feeling lonely
• Eating my way through the day
• Lack of hope
• Wanting to give up
• Lack of creativity
• Impatience with generally everybody and everything
• Hives
• Getting sick

And I feel this good at 6:37 A.M.!!!!

#231: Going to bed at 8:30

I am not terribly good at taking care of myself, but tonight I don't care what other people think (not even the people in my head) and I'm going to bed. Maybe it's vanity- I want the circles under my eyes to go away; maybe it's just beginning-of-school-exhaustion--I was at school tonight till 6:30; maybe I've just given up on trying to get everything done in a day.  Whatever the motivation, I am coming to love how good I feel when I prioritize my own well-being.

So I'll say good night.

#109: Sleeping late then lying in bed reading for an hour on a Sunday morning!

I think you understand.

From http://imgkid.com/sleeping-quotes-tumblr.shtml

Blessing #89: Waking up refreshed

I can't believe it!  I woke up before my alarm went off AND I felt refreshed, not groggy, AND I slept through the night!!!  

This has not happenned in months and months and months, and not at all on a school day.  

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!

Blessing #72 of 2015: A Bad Dream

Last night as I finally turned off the light at 10:10, I said a quick prayer that in the morning I would be able to get out of bed within an hour of the alarm going off.  This has not happened in probably 2 months.  I've been so busy and stressed that by the time a lay down at night my brain keeps going and I can feel my adrenals still firing.

Enter the prayer last night.

I actually slept all the way through the night.  All the sudden I was dreaming that I was walking across a college campus, taking a shortcut through the courtyard of a dark building.  I was scared.  It was dark.  I had that feeling that I should turn around but I kept going.  I got my cell phone out to get ready to call 911 if I needed to, but I couldn't figure out how to get the emergency screen to work while I was so panicked.  As I walked I saw one of those big accordion doors ajar and [stupidly] pushed it: there was a terrible looking man behind it holding a knife.  The look on his face was pure evil and he lunged for me and I was terrified and I ran away and I screamed in my dream and I'm not entirely sure I didn't scream out loud!

There was NO way I was going back to bed after that--it was still dark outside and I was terrified!  Once I got my spirit back into my body, I got out of bed and looked at the clock in the kitchen.  Please don't be the middle of the night.  Please don't be the middle of the night.  I looked.  5:15!  Woo hoo!

I stayed up and spend 30 full minutes sitting, reading, praying, drinking tea, writing, adrenals off, mind still, free of worry, fully in the present.

That's when I realized what God had done, and I said thank you.

Blessing #62: My changed attitude

Yesterday at work was...rough?  I didn't sleep very much on Sunday night and I had my annual formal evaluation then, too [yes, I chose that, I know!].  Let me just say that I was not in the running for teacher of the year based on how school went yesterday.

But last night I took A to B Calm (Magnesium supplement)  and went to bed really early--and slept!  No lying there for 2 hours wondering why I'm not asleep; no getting angrier and angrier as the minutes ticked on; no exhaustion the next day. 

I also asked God to run my day before I started today. 

What a different day!  I was full of patience and kindness toward my students.  Class after class was awesome!  I can't believe what a difference my perspective makes.  I apologized to two classes for being so cranky on Monday, and one kid said, "I knew it!"  This made me laugh.

Today I could see the good in my students.  I saw kids who are uncomfortable and insecure about their mathematical ability; who want to please me and feel successful in school; who want approval.

And this made all the difference.

Day #57: Sleep!

I slept for over 8 hours last night!  And...I've been asleep before 10 for the last 3 nights in a row.  To be honest, I could have slept for 5 more this morning, but just imagine how much more groggy I'd have been all day if I had slept less than 8 hours lasat night!

Blessing #24: Five hour naps.

Yes, really.  I was so exhausted this morning that when a fellow Mountain Host said hello this morning I burst into tears.  I had no idea I was that tired!

The thing about being tired is that its affects sneak up on me.  A few nights of 6 hours of sleep....a run in the cold...a graduation on a Thursday night....staying late at school a couple afternoons in a week.  Suddenly I'm crying when someone asks me how I am. 

And I don't realize my brain function has been affected until after my exhaustion as been rectified.

I came home early from skiing today and watched two Gilmore Girls episodes (taking full advantage of my free month on Netflix) then fell asleep at 2.  I opened my eyes briefly at four but quickly went back to sleep.  Next thing I know it's 7.  It's dark outside and practically every light in the house is on.  I feel like I'm in a fishbowl, but do I get up and close the blinds?  No way!  There's more episodes to watch!  I'm only on season 1!  I watched another.

Then my brain turned back on!  The sleep had restored neurological functioning and I suddenly realized I had to get out of the house.  I was still in my long underwear and turtleneck from skiing, hair still in braids.  I realized I had spend 16 of the past 36 hours on this very couch in this very position watching these same people. I went to a birthday party I had forgotten about then decided to skip in my sleep-deprived state.

Joy not tired.

The moral of the story is that sleep is super important for me.  Here's what I noticed today about why:

Joy tired. (note the time: that is A.M.)

• The NIH says so.  See here.  [note the first section heading:  Healthy Brain Function and Emotional Well-Being]
• When I have enough sleep I do not cry when someone asks me how I am.
• I am friendlier when I have enough sleep.
• When tired, I eat.  A lot.  Hunger is not a factor, I just keep eating.
• When tired, I watch more tv.  And while good for Netflix, not so good for Joy's well-being.
• When tired, I forget things, then miss out, thereby making my fear-of-missing-out come true.
• The bags under my eyes are way, way smaller when I get enough sleep.
• I don't exercise when I'm tired which makes me feel stagnant which makes me cranky which makes me eat which makes me gain weight which makes me feel icky.
• I am a much, much better teacher and planner of teaching lessons when I am well-rested.
• I don't get sick when I stay sleep-hydrated!