SLEEPING SMART AND WRITING WELL

If you read my blog post from last week Is the Pursuit of Writing Excellence to be Enjoyed and then hop over to some of my friends blogs like Rosslyn Elliott, Are You Fast Enough For Your Deadline?, and Mike Dellosso, The Contract: Blessing or Curse? you might see why I'm so preoccupied with the need for sleep. This is not an easy road even though we all love it. Writing to deadline is very challenging. So as a way of meeting that challenge we all need to evaluate how sleep plays into what we are or are not creating.

We all need sleep. There's days I wish I didn't have to sleep because there is so much to be done, but sooner or later the mind and body call me to sleep. Of course I try to cheat my need for sleep now and then by drinking my coffee. Read this article on Caffeine and Sleep Is it worth it?

I'm currently blessed to be on an eight week break from the college where I work. I've rediscovered that I'm not a morning person. I've tried and tried to become one without success. I'd love to be able to get up at five am and write, walk, and wonder how I did that, but I've never been very good at keeping that schedule for more than a couple of days. What I have discovered is that I get most of my writing done in the afternoon and the evening. So I'm finally coming to terms with that. But now that I'm on break I'm staying up till one and two o'clock in the morning. Not good. Not for me anyway. I'm going to pay the price when I return to my day job unless I start adjusting that schedule as I get closer to returning to my counseling position.

You all know how much better you feel when you have enough sleep. I'm a full-time counselor for nursing students and I'm a writer, wife, and mom. If I don't get enough sleep I don't function to the best of my ability in any of these roles. Yet there are times when I push past my need for sleep which typically leads to getting sick.

It seems that many are sleep deprived today and that's why I want to challenge you to study up on the importance of sleep and encourage you and your families to get enough rest. These Sleep Facts may help you sort things out.

Some of us deal with insomnia and others with sleep apnea. Some of us can't sleep because our spouses are snoring or our spouses can't sleep because we are snoring. Others take medicine to help them sleep and some have no problems getting to sleep. If you have trouble sleeping try listening to The Music Box Lullaby

And then there are more dangers behind the wheel with those of us who don't get enough sleep.

Sleep Deprivation Risks: 1 in 20 Fall Asleep at Wheel, CDC SaysMore Than One-Third of Americans Say They Get Fewer Than 7 Hours of Sleep a Night

Unhealthy Sleep Habits This segment aired on ABC World News last night (3/3/11).

I wish our entire country would just take naps in the afternoon at work. Wouldn't that be nice? So when is the last time that you took a nap, had trouble sleeping, or just wished you could capture some more zzzzzzz's?  

Proverbs 3:24 ESV reminds us: If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

I'm adding this video link on 6/30/11 about the positions we sleep in and our personalities. :) Sleep personality What's yours?

If you could have an extra 24 hours added to your week for just this week, how would you spend it? What hours of the day do you write best? If you're not a writer, what hours of the day are you most productive?

Wishing you wonderful nights of sweet summer slumber.