Body: WIN! (walking, dance, diet)
Mind: TOTAL WIN! (dance, planning)
Spirit: TOTAL WIN! (walking in nature, dog, dance, visiting with friends, corresponding with family)
Had a bit of trouble getting to sleep last night, and I think it's related to a lesson in metabolism I learned yesterday.
I wanted to get a lot of planning done, such as figuring out my health insurance situation once I'm no longer employed at the end of the month and planning out my Vancouver trip near the end of the month. So after breakfast I deferred my morning walk to get some proper work done.
It was hard. I couldn't think straight or prioritize, because I felt sluggish and tired. Just "one of those days" where you feel sleepy and can't properly wake up. Eventually, in the late afternoon, I realized that my metabolism was just turned off, because I hadn't given my body a reason to turn it on. So I started with some breathing and gentle exercise and gradually ramped up my activity level until I just had the slightest bit of a sweat, and then I got on with the rest of my day.
It worked like a charm. I was wired all evening and past midnight. My theory is that by waiting so long to get my metabolism started, I then had a lot of energy to burn in order to tucker myself out for bed.
This could be a huge and valuable lesson, as simple as it is: exercise when you get up in the morning. It doesn't have to be aggressive or vigorous. Just do some deep breathing and some gentle exercise. This will tell your body that it is time to wake up. If you ever start feeling cold and/or sleepy later on, and you've been sitting around for a while, stretch and yawn and move around until you warm up again. This keeps your metabolism going at a moderate pace all day, and you should feel nicely ready for sleep come bedtime.
I'll give this a try for the next little while and see how it goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment