The seven myths about sleep.

Sleep is the watering place of the soul to which it hastens at night to drink at the sources of life.
In sleep we receive confirmation … that we must go on living.
Abram Tertz (Russian writer and dissident)

It is no secret that sleep plays such as important part in our lives. However there are many (including me) that choose to neglect sleep. Whether they want to get more work done, believe that sleep is a waste of time or just stay up for the heck of it, sleep is pretty low priority. The article I included at the top of this post explains some of the seven myths about sleep.

The gist of the article is really this: we need 8 hours of sleep, no more and no less. Sleep too much or too little, we will develop the same problems. While there have been some very successful figures that functioned on less than 8 hours of sleep per day, it is not ideal. Additionally, in the article I got an interesting perspective on catching up on sleep. Although I find it hard to sleep in on the weekends, due to my circadian rhythm, some people can and like to sleep in over the weekend. I remembered hearing from a source that we can “store” sleep, so sleeping in on the weekends either provides us with a sleeping buffer over the weekdays or we can recharge our lack of sleep. And while this may be true, this will utimately upset our circadian rhythm and normal sleeping pattern which I never really thought about.

The other myths covered were about medication and chronic sleeping problems, which I don’t think I have. If you suffer from chronic insomnia, see a physician. If sleeping problems come sparingly take medication or sleeping pills. And tylenol PM is not a better alternative than a prescription drug.

While there are many mysterties to sleep, one thing is for sure; we all need to sleep. This necessity is the basis of my belief that during sleep our body revitalises and replenishes our bodily supplies, much like a gardener watering the plant that is our soul.

So I’ve been in a slump lately, which can be attributed to several factors; lack of sleep, lack of nutrition and lack of exercise. Coincidently, I was watching a documentary last week about sleep on SBS called “Awake is the new sleep”; it documented how lack of sleep can severely affect a person’s lifestyle. It was very intriguing, even though I knew the importance of sleep. An important message that was conveyed in the documentary and also why I brought up the documentary, was that to have a healthy lifestyle we need the three pillars of health which are composed of good nutrition, exercise and sleep. As such I suffered the consequences of having no pillars to support my health.

Today is the first day of the month, a good time to start a new regime. I went grocery shopping tonight and purchased almost 120 dollars worth of groceries. I bought lots of fruits, vegetables and breakfast! I’ve been buying food from the university for almost two weeks now, and besides wasting a lot of money, it has been unhealthy. I have also finished doing some light skipping and weights, and necessary cleaning of the bathroom! And my mind is definitely much more clear and active now. A week ago I would have difficulty writing my blog and just thinking concisely. I should really remember the importance of good health.

I know I can easily lose focus and lose track of things, but for once I would like to keep focused. It has been physically and mentally rewarding, and it is only day one.