How to gain energy through sleep. That’s right, sleep. #happiness #performance

Sleep.  It sounds so easy.  Just wake at 6:00 a.m. each day, exercise and avoid coffee, have a dreamy bedtime routine, then go to bed at 10:00 p.m. each night. That’s it.

Not exactly.  At least not for me and my crew, especially not for my college-dwelling son, Aiden, and my daughter, Devin, who is mama to 5-month-old, Henry. So again our family is wrestling with this thing called sleep.  Gratefully we’re making some progress and here’s why. Sometimes, before we can get to the how-to’s of sleep hygiene, we need to know and believe that we deserve “better.”  Then we can look at sleep as a way to gain energy to make our “better” a reality.

Go ahead and define your “better.”  My son wants to keep his grades up and play his best baseball.  My daughter wants to enjoy Henry’s fleeting infancy.  I want to get my day work done efficiently so that I can have fun at night.  This all takes energy.

If we think that sleep is keeping us from getting ahead, having fun, or if we wear sleep deprivation as a badge of effort or social status, we’re in trouble long-term. Emotionally, fatigue from a lack of sleep can contribute to a feeling of despair, self-loathing, or a lack of confidence.

We want to avoid this vicious cycle:  I don’t sleep well.  I get tired.  I’m too tired to think straight.  I feel down.  I don’t perform well.  I have less energy to do the things that help me sleep.  So I don’t sleep well.  I get more tired…  Enough! We want to think we deserve better, and feel that we are worthy of better, because we are.

If you are tired, take a leap of faith and choose a few things from the links below to settle down, sleep well, and be energized.   You deserve better and you are worthy of your best!

37 Scientifically-Backed Tips For Better Sleep Tonight
Sleep Rocks! …get more of it! UGA University Health Center
Making Nighttime Parenting a Better Experience

Do you sleep well? What are your sleeping tips? What “better” are you striving toward?

Sleep well ❤ ~~~~~~~~ Angie Mc

39 thoughts on “How to gain energy through sleep. That’s right, sleep. #happiness #performance”

  1. My sleep routine consists of: get up at 5:30, start the feeding machine and at night, wait ’til the feeding machine is finished (at 11:00) wash the tube, go to bed. I have yet to find anyone with a solution to the machine.
    Better? Would be less stress, more writing, a little more exercise and, oh yes. More sleep.
    Great post, Angie. 🙂

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    • We mamas work so hard, right?! And sometimes just thinking about trying to get more sleep causes stress that affects sleep, oh my.

      I hear ya, Linda, and so very much appreciate your priorities ❤ Curious, can you, do you nap? I’ll likely write another post soon about power napping 🙂 And I’m rooting for you, more sleep, exercise, less stress and much more of your writing 🙂

      Thanks for your comment. Means a bunch to me!

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      • I only nap when I absolutely can’t keep my eyes open. Napping makes me feel horrid. Having said that, of any kind of nap, a 20 minute power nap is sometimes just the thing. 🙂
        Thanks for the encouragement! 😀

        Liked by 1 person

      • Same here! I researched the whole napping matter and have found it true that keeping it to about 20 minutes is right. Plus, drinking a cup of coffee right before the nap really pumps ups the “power” part 🙂

        You’re always most welcome, Linda. Your encouragement is epic!

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  3. Yes sleep is a precious gift from God. Your advice is valuable and if followed will surely work. I am an early riser and start my day with Pranayam (breathing) exercises and light yoga. Followed by a quick breakfast and a brisk walk.

    That sets me up for the day and the real test begins.☺The test is not to allow any stress to get the better of you.

    Thank you and regards.

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    • So much wisdom in this comment, thank you! I’m an early riser by nature but our family schedule can keep me up late at night. I, too, eat right away, exercise, and pray quietly to get my day off to a good start…well, as often as I can! You are right, part of keeping our energy up has to do with keeping stress down or at least moving into positive action 🙂

      Thank you for your kind regards and have a lovely weekend.

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  5. My day starts at 5am Mon – Fri. Work two jobs, I average about 41/2 hrs. I try to cat nap in between jobs. Weekends I sleep about 7 – 8 hrs. I’m striving for better situation to enjoy life more and not just work. I believe I will get there 🙂 Thanks Angie!

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    • Sylvester, my husband, Dave, is with you! 2 jobs is rough and we’re looking to change Dave’s situation by April 2016, not that we’re counting 🙂 I pray for the day when you find your better situation. Thank you for working so hard in a world that may not appreciate such efforts and sacrifice. Stay strong and may the rest your receive be high quality ❤

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  7. Reading this at 10pm with a fussy 2-mo old in my hands while watching that the 9- and 7-yo brush their teeth and go to bed and the 16-yo finishes homework (or, rather, catches up on his huge backlog of it). This is after a day that started at 6 and involved driving 70 miles between 2 schools, home, and work, a flat tire repair, and a trip to Costco. My wife stepped out to have an hour for herself after spending the day with the gang – something I never have. But, hey! I sit at work all by myself all day and have a chance to talk to other adults! Well, it can be considered rest under certain circimstances.

    Thanks for an inspiring post!

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    • Parallel lives! Oh my, I recall the season of 4 children between the ages of infant to teen as if it was, yep, 9 years ago 🙂 Right down to the flat tire and trip to Costco (as if a trip to Costco isn’t enough suffering all by itself.)

      I hopped over to your blog and look forward to reading more. Glad to meet you, give your wife a big pat on the back from me, and have a wonderful weekend. Well earned.

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  8. Great information! I am one of those who used to believe that I didn’t need much sleep. I have changed my tune and now recognize the value of sleep. The article was very helpful and reminded me of just how important sleep is to our body and mind . Thanks for the reminder, my next goal will be to get my sleep on my phone going and shoot for more sleep.
    Keep up the great work and get to bed!

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    • We’re heading into a new season of life that I hope includes more regular sleep. Well earned don’t you think?!

      Good point about the sleep app. I will do a follow up post to include things that help me sleep. I do like Sleep Cycle on my iPhone.

      Thank you 🙂

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  9. This is a tough one and I can SO relate to the infant. Kai didn’t sleep through the night until 9 mo, and months after that before it was regular. Now at 3 the daily nap is dwindling as is my sanity. Business projects keep me up late and I probably don’t sleep well because of exhaustion and then getting up with only 6 hrs of rest. Ok, so I think we know the problem – just say NO!

    Thanks for this encouraging post, I’m not alone

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Right, Ana?! With such responsibilities it is no wonder that we’re skimping on sleep. And can Kai really be 3? Wow! It does sound like you and I need the nap more than, Kai, lol.

      Thank you for staying in touch and yes, let’s keep encouraging each other ❤

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      • I agree, I do need lo nap more than him LOL. I think the girls are going out of town Saturday – I’m staying home this time and enjoying the silence 🙂

        Keep encouraging and go take a nap

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  10. After I got laid off by the big daily, I had a lot of trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, Angie Mc Fly. My mind just raced and raced as if it was the end of the world. They took away my life routine of 29 1/2 years, my plan for the rest of it up to retirement, and it was toss this way and turn that way.

    But once I realized life went on, started my blog, landed my freelance writing gigs on the other cool media sites, settled in and settled down, well … Now I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and sleep better than I ever did when I worked for the big daily. Life still has its big challenges, but sleeping isn’t one of them. Knock on wood. Good post, my friend.

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    • Thanks again, Mark 🙂 You make an excellent point that there are times in life when sleep just isn’t happening for very good reason. What you went through, a sudden change in life, is so disorienting and such a loss on many levels. When those times hit (and I’ve had my share), grief can take over. And I’ve come to see the purpose in grief, how processing through it gets us to a new (and hopefully better) place. But that takes time…time that is rightfully restless.

      So glad you are sleeping well now. Well earned!

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  11. Hey, Angie,good stuff! I used to have HORRIBLE insomnia. My doctor had me on meds, I would be awake at night and fall asleep during the day. I began to reduce my caffein3 intake and exercise every morning and take vitamins. I also made myself stay awake during the day so I was tired at night. No sleep meds for a long time!

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    • Wow, great for you, arlyn! It can be quite a long process to figure out just the right fit for our sleep needs, right? We can feel trapped in vicious cycles, for sure. Way to be patient and persistent. Yes!

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  12. My sleep’s improved since I was able to move to a telecommuting job where I can set my own hours, and can sleep until I’m just not tired anymore. That’s got the interesting knock-on effect that I actually need less sleep on average than I used to, so, it’s certainly improved my waking hours.

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