Get Enough Sleep Challenge: Day 1

I'm seven weeks into a new workplace, one week into a new job within this workplace, and several hours into sleep deficit with each passing day. I hit the weekend and hit my pillow and sleep and sleep until my body is overflowing with extra rest... then Monday comes along and I do it all over again.

This is not me.

I relish the fact that I am rarely ill. I get the occasional headache, the regular aches after exercise, but head colds and fevers are a rarity for me. I attribute it to the fact that I get enough sleep.

Or rather, I used to get enough sleep.

This next thirty days are going to be focused on remembering that sleep is the base of good health. A commitment to a good night's sleep means that I have to make choices every day that relate to balance, good planning, and a desire to be at my best for my family and my workmates. I could have chosen to call this the "pack my lunch every evening challenge," or the "do yoga every night challenge," but really, all these things could probably be achieved if I looked at the big picture...

And I'll be looking at it from behind my closed eyelids.

Tonight was already a bit of a challenge because I'd planned to be out this evening, but after a late work day, I decided I would forgo the evening's activities and focus on getting my lunch packed, my gym bag ready, and my breakfast smoothie in the fridge. I wanted to make sure I had time to spend with my husband, and to get out for an evening walk with my dog to breathe some fresh air before I stretched my stiff muscles. This means I am relaxed, my mind emptied, my tension gone, and I'm getting ready for sleep, whenever it comes.

I have a good role model for this. We'll work on it together.