Sleep Challenge

I saw this post somewhere today and feel suddenly inspired to try it for the month of February:

The Huffington Post Sleep Challenge For Women

I usually do fairly well with sleep, although when I add it up I realize that I usually only get around 7 hours a night which I know is too few for me (sometimes if my book is really good, I get less, and then I really start to falter). I refuse to have more than a cup or two of caffeinated beverage a day, so I really do need eight to feel my best. So my guess is that I need to turn out the lights at... 10 p.m. Ok, there you have it. 10 p.m. lights out on work nights (Monday through Thursday, for me) for the month of February. Let's see how it goes.

Since I started working four 10-hour days, my stress level is much less, but I also know that I'm sleeping less because I didn't adjust my bedtime, so I'm sort of screwing myself out of the full benefit. I still turn out the lights around 11 (or later, if I"m being honest) mostly because I want to read another chapter or two or three. It's a bad habit.

And why am I reading so late at night? Well, mostly because I am playing on the computer, reading stuff or emailing or whatever. Wasting precious reading time. I've been trying to turn off the computer by 9, but I think it needs to be even earlier.

So let's talk it out. What do I need to do in order to turn out the lights by 10?

I need to turn off the computer by 8 pm (or earlier), and get out my book. I like to read for at least an hour every night. At least.

Maybe I just need to go ahead and say no TV or movies past 9 pm for me during the work week, too. So, let's just say no electronic media past 9 pm.

Dinner needs to be eaten by 7:30.

That all sounds reasonable and do-able for four nights a week. And I'll keep track of how much sleep I get and how good/bad I feel on some sort of little meter on the side of this blog. I'll figure that out this weekend.

A few years ago I took February and turned it into Take Care of Daphne month. Maybe I should do that this year too. Get more sleep, focus on eating better, spend more time doing art and exercising. I've been feeling really run down lately so I think this would do me a lot of good. We have a lot of important things/decisions coming up this spring so I need to be in really good health and with a sharp mind. Sleep and better overall health will help that.

***

Important Update: remember yesterday where I said it would be dangerous if the grocery store near my office carried my favorite greek yogurt? Well, shoot. Today I discovered that they DO. In my favorite flavors (honey and fig) and for CHEAPER than at Berkeley Bowl (which is a little shocking). I think this will be replacing my infrequent I'm-frustrated-and-need-a-treat chocolate bar. What? Replacing chocolate with yogurt? Is it really that good? Yes, it is. And how awesome is it that there is a grocery store within a five-minute walk of my office? Truly one of the perks.

Also, and related: I had a giant lettuce-tomato-avocado salad for lunch today which completely made up for my disgusting cooking failure yesterday. I can't wait for spring vegetables.