#11: Sleep Is For The Week

Hello Reader,

For the past few days, I have been running on empty. Not having gotten enough sleep for even a day has its repercussions which leave a lasting impact for much longer. I’m fighting to keep my eyes open as I’m writing this, which made me think about how much I value sleep - my mother does as well, we know not to disturb her during her siestas. Although, sleep deprivation calls for an excuse to consume more cups of coffee, which I don’t mind.

Most people I know are night owls, and I honestly don’t know how they do it. To function to my fullest, I need a minimum of eight hours’ sleep and even with that, sometimes I nap in the afternoon as well. My brain slows down a bit around eleven, eleven-thirty at night and I just drift off to sleep. I’m sure many of you will relate when I say that I have alarms on my phone every five minutes which try to coax me to open my eyes and exit dreamland. 

I know it’s hard to change up your sleep cycle once the night owl phase has begun. My friends have told me about this phenomenon called revenge bedtime procrastination where people think that they don’t have as much control of their life during the day. So, they delay sleep in order to do the things they enjoy doing. What makes revenge bedtime procrastination so unique? It’s not so much the execution but the feelings behind it. The “revenge” part comes in if you’re staying up out of frustration because work and other responsibilities have encroached on your time. “Folks are more likely to engage in revenge bedtime procrastination if they perceive themselves to have little regulation over their leisure time,” says Sabrina Romanoff, a clinical psychologist. This is a serious problem as you’ll always be sleep deprived which can dangerously affect your productivity, overall mood and in the long run, even your health.

Fight it!

One way to combat this is to create a reasonable schedule and write down the things you can effectively finish in that one day, while leaving room for time to yourself, for whatever form of relaxation you want to partake in. Categorizing tasks by their importance is also of the essence. When there’s too much to do and you feel overwhelmed - execute a brain dump, which is basically writing down everything that is plaguing your mind. It’ll help you organize things without forgetting any of them. 

Sleeping at odd hours for me results in a headache and too much grogginess post nap time, so I actively try to avoid that but on days like today when I have zero energy, I don’t fight it. The effect on me after lunch combined with my already existing tiredness equals my bed calling out to me, enticing me to place my head on the pillow, and float off to another world. This is where I leave you, dear Reader, unfortunately, with a short newsletter this week.

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Links you’ll love

1. This game about 2020 kept me effectively boredom free for about ten minutes!

2. ‘Baby Driver’ was an entire film that was built around music, here’s how they did it (love this movie, 11/10 would recommend).

3. Get out of your geographic music bubble.

4. My favourite creator who uses pie charts and graphs to explain everyday occurrences.

5. A single-celled organism dies and award winning footage of the microscopic world around us.

6. Do you love your avocado toast? Thank the giant ground sloths for that!

7. How Japan’s Wind Phone Became a Bridge Between Life and Death.

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Showering you with hopes of proper sleep,

— adithi.