Rest.
Relax.
Find peace.
Don’t be a crazy stress-ball witch.
These are the guiding principles for my March goals. So far this year I have tightened up my nutrition, worked to detoxify my body, consciously moved more, and settled into a workout routine that I enjoy.
So for March, I’m focusing on rest, which probably should have come before working out… but better late than never? My recent BioSignature showed that my sleep was pretty crappy in February. I didn’t need BioSignature to tell me that though. My sleep was crappy! I have been getting to bed at inconsistent times, usually too late, and have been getting inexplicably seduced into perusing Facebook - Facebook! - right before I’m supposed to fall asleep. I don’t even like Facebook! Especially because I am now [trying to be] a beast at the Crossfit gym, I need my recovery time. Also, work has gotten busier and more stressful over the past couple of months. I welcome the challenge and the new responsibilities, but I also want to manage my stress so as not to further the ever-deepening crease between my eyebrows. For the moment, I am above the idea of Botox. For the moment.
So here are a few things I’m going to do in March to increase the volume and quality of my rest, and manage my stress more effectively.
1. Set a bedtime. Bedtime means teeth are brushed, alarm is set, lights are off, eyes are closed. Isn’t it amazing how you can reach back into childhood and recreate your parent’s rules in your adult life? That’s basically what I’m doing. Danget – my parents were right all along. On school work nights, this will be 9:45pm. On weekends it will be midnight. Oh yeah, I get really crazy on the weekends these days – I stay all the way up til midnight!
2. Establish a bedtime routine. I’ve read about people doing this, and training their body to prepare for sleep by repeating their pre-bedtime activities every night. The goal here is to get into a routine that signals to my body that it’s about to go to sleep, thus making falling asleep faster and easier. I’m looking to find some soothing habits that really get me ready to relax and snooze.
3. Power down. As I mentioned, the blue glow of Facebook has been sucking me in before bedtime. As have text messages. And Google. I am recognizing that right before bed is not the time for seeing who’s pregnant (a new baby bump is constantly popping up on my newsfeed, damn you mid-twenties!) or what someone I barely know from college ate that day. The texting is a little harder, but I think I can manage. And Google will just have to wait for the morning. My goal is to turn off my phone an hour before bed, and avoid my laptop and the TV during this hour as well.
4. Take 10 minutes a day to breathe deeply. A couple of months ago my stress was creeping up into crazy town. I realized that I could do wonders for myself by taking a few minutes to breathe slowly and deeply when I was stressed. This is reactive stress management. I still do that when I need to, but I’d like to incorporate some more proactive stress management into my day. By taking 10 minutes to breathe deeply and just be, I think I will increase my capacity to deal with life stresses.
I’m sticking with 4 goals for the month. No need to overwhelm myself when the whole goal is to limit stress, right?
Anyone out there have any favorite habits that produce rest and peace?
I really love your goals… really inspring.. I’m going to start copying you.. eventually.. have a few things I want to address still.
Copy away, my friend!
I know you seem to be more of a crossfitter/heavy lifter, but I’ve found I’m generally the most relaxed after a good yoga class, even if I just lifted right before hand. Something about stretching to the sound of chanting monks really does something to my brain chemistry and I emerge feeling like all is right with the world. You could also look into incorporating a few minutes of meditation into your regimen. My ADD brain still hasn’t managed to succeed at that one though.
Haha well “crossfitter” and “heavy lifter” are relative terms
but yes! My trainer actually recommended I find a yoga class to do once a week to balance out crossfitting (the yin to my crossfit yang). I used to do quite a bit of yin yoga and I loved it! I don’t know if I can get to another exercise class a week, but I’m thinking about trying out a video I can do at home. Something about those Gregorian chants does something to me too! Great suggestion!
OMG I am totally going to take a nap right now. I have been forcing myself to stay awake but… Your ideas have confirmed to me that that is a stupid idea! LOL! Okay, I know you’re talking about at night… But last night I did not get ample sleep – so it’s time to catch up!
Get it girl! I think it’s ok to let naps make up for a lack of night time sleep. I’m lobbying for a nap room at my office… Unfortunately that campaign has been fruitless so far.
Thanks for reading!
Don’t forget to install F.LUX on your computer like Mark suggested. I did, and I think it helps.
I keep forgetting to do that!
Agh! Good idea I totally read that, thought “I’m so doing that”, then didn’t.
Susie- As crazy as this sounds I purchased a pair of glasses off Amazon for $10 Chris Kresser recommended and wear them around my house from 7pm on. They block the blue light from everything. Obviously its a little bit ridiculous but they do help. You might want to check them out so you can continue your Facebook creeping without the negative consequences…
Susie- I bought a pair of glasses for $10 on Amazon Chris Kresser recommended to block out the blue light at night. Its a bit ridiculous to wear them around all night but I do and they seem to help. My sleep isn’t very good to begin with so anything helps. Try them out, maybe you can continue Facebook creeping without the consequences…
THAT is a great idea! I’ve actually thought of getting a pair of those for my boyfriend. He works graveyard, so he is coming home when the sun is up. Anything to help him, but maybe I’ll try it out too! (Since he’s working, I obviously have no one to impress at that time
)