Prime
Living and loving it: For the love of sleep
What you need to know:
- I can tell I have not had a good night’s sleep when I hear the alarm as soon as it goes off or when I wait in bed, in anticipation off the chime bells ringing (my alarm tone), sometimes wondering if I forgot to set it or if my phone is suddenly 10 minutes behind.
There is nothing quite like waking up in the morning, or after a short nap, and feeling like you have rested and can conquer the world in eight minutes. Sleep is one of the things I am really grateful to God for. I am even more grateful that there are only few times I have stayed awake all night because I just cannot sleep. Many nights, I always drop off, whether it takes two seconds after I hit my pillow or an hour.
I can tell I have not had a good night’s sleep when I hear the alarm as soon as it goes off or when I wait in bed, in anticipation off the chime bells ringing (my alarm tone), sometimes wondering if I forgot to set it or if my phone is suddenly 10 minutes behind.
Don’t you just hate it when you are half asleep waiting for the alarm to go off, not checking what time it is in case you indeed find out you have only three minutes to go? You can’t sleep well because your mind is waiting for that sound to go off, and yet you do not want to get up because you have deceived yourself you are actually sleeping. In those moments, I can tell that my body has not rested well. But if I wake up and realise the alarm has been going on for a couple of seconds, stumble into the bathroom and within five minutes feel fresh, clearheaded and almost new, then I know I was fully asleep throughout the night.
My love for sleep started from a young age. Whether we were watching a movie at home with the siblings, or I was out with friends when at the university, once the clock struck 11pm, I started to wonder how much sleep I would get – especially if I had to factor in, getting back home and taking a shower before diving into bed. When my work dictated that I had to be in office up to the odd hours of midnight and sometimes 1am, I would groan inwardly, knowing I had much less time for shut-eye because even though I did not have to be in the office at 8am the next day, I still had to be up early enough to help the girls get ready for school. Thankfully, this year my health app shows that I get on average six and a half hours of sleep (yes, I actually use the app – which is quite helpful by the way). I need to improve that. Seven hours is the target for the end of this year.
I suppose one of the main reasons I love sleep is because it is such a good way to end the day. If the day has been long and stressful, if everyone has somehow found a way to get on your nerves, if most of what you planned for just did not go right, then sleeping off at night is a good way to keep those thoughts and feelings away for a few hours (unless of course they follow you as dreams or nightmares). If the day was good, and most of what you planned for got done, faster and better than expected, and many moments made you laugh or grateful for life, sleep is still a good way to cap it all off.
The hubby things I am good with rising early and wonders many times if I am telling the truth when I say I am not a morning person. I get up at 5am sharp every school day to help prepare certain persons for school. If we plan to wake up early on the weekends or when travelling long distances, I am tasked with the responsibility of getting up first to make sure the family is awake on time. I do this because I am keen on getting a good start, plus I dislike the tension that panic brings if we realise we are running late. On any other day however, when I do not have to get up until 8am, you will find me deep asleep even when the sun is out and shining bright.
This woman loves her sleep.
