Monday, May 02, 2022

Sleep

This is still going to be a big Eli week, but I'm going to give an update today on the sleep post I wrote a while back. 

Of the suggestions, quitting drinking (I have about a drink every two weeks, so not useful in my case) and using CBD gummies were the two things most commonly suggested. 

I kept trying nothing, which worked surprisingly well. 

What I've realized is that I was ignoring all the signals my body was giving me because I thought I could override it all with Melatonin and Trazadone. 

As it turns out, not really. 

Instead, I've just started paying attention, and I can feel when my brain starts to get wound up. Almost always, it's from getting too much information too quickly, which makes my brain speed up. When it gets past a certain threshold, I'm not going to be able to go to sleep. 

I've started prioritizing single-focus activities when I wake up and before I go to bed. Instead of looking at a bunch of websites in the morning, I read with breakfast before I start working. It's a slower pace, with better concentration.

At night, if I'm watching television, I try to not look at my phone and multi-task. 

My default had become multi-tasking to such a degree that I was becoming overloaded. 

Now, if I feel I'm overloaded, I stop multi-tasking (if I am) and I focus on my breathing for a minute or two. It's a small thing, but it seems to be very effective.

How do I sleep now? Maybe not quite as well, but close, and when I wake up, I'm not sluggish at all. I'm ready to start the day. 

All in all, I think it's a win. 

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