Like I said in a previous post, I’ve been having a hard time sleeping for a couple of weeks so I tried taking melatonin. It was effective for sure, but I didn’t want to be dependent on anything on a supposed natural bodily function such as sleep. I weaned myself of the supplement after a week and I’ve managed to consistently get good (unaided) sleep since then.
Probably the biggest contributing factor to this is a tiny lifestyle change — non-radical shift in diet (no heavy meals at night), diligently working out for at least 20 minutes a day, and avoiding artificial light for about an hour before sleeping. Ever the skeptic, I scoffed at the notion that stuff like this would be helpful, but boy I’m glad I was wrong.
People who know me know about my… opinions… on sleeping, in that sleeping is “such a waste of time” that could be spent doing things. “Things” in this context isn’t just doing what needs to be done in your daily grind, but literally everything from important business to trivial stuff like listening to music or reading. Sleep just gets in the way of things, and it’s true — imagine the stuff you could finish in the seven to eight hours you spend sleeping.
I do, however, understand the science behind our need for sleep. Sleep is when your body conducts repairs which, you know, is very helpful if you want to not die. But as human civilization has shown throughout history, understanding things and following through with knowledge aren’t exactly mutually exclusive. We like doing what is contrary to what we know is good/beneficial.
The longest I’ve gone without sleep is 40 hours (let’s not talk about the “why”, though lol). This happened from April 28th, 2017 (I woke up at 10AM on that day) up to April 30th, 2017 (I slept at 2AM of that day). It was simultaneously amazing and terrible at the same. I accomplished so many things, but also I: 1) almost got hit by a car for crossing the street dazed; 2) almost went mad of delirium. So no, 0/10 would not recommend.
The difficulty in sleeping I suffered last month has definitely changed my outlook on sleep. It’s one thing to avoid sleep on purpose, it’s different when you can’t sleep at all no matter how hard you try. It’s a terrible feeling, having to stare at your ceiling for hours begging for sleepiness to come. It’s even mortifying when it happens for several consecutive days at a time.
Make no mistake, I still believe that time spent sleeping could be used for doing something — anything — which is why I avoid daytime naps. However, I will never take nighttime sleep for granted ever again. I now appreciate every second of REM sleep I experience.
I started logging my sleep/wake up times every day because if NBA Twitter taught me anything, it’s that having data about everything will come in handy one day.
Sleep well.
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