Good morning sunshine!

Waking up at 6 in the morning five times a week is really a struggle for a nocturnal person like me. The past weeks was an extra-challenge for me because of the "bed weather." I would always negotiate with my bed for an extra five minute bliss but my body reminds me that I need to get up since I'm on the verge of being suspended because of my four lates in a week (the allowable tardiness in a month is four, by the way hehe). Given the situation, I told my mother never to leave my room unless she sees me get up and walk towards the bathroom with my towel. She's really doing her job well in motivating me not to be late for work by not just waking me up each morning but also preparing a glass of warm milk  for me and changing the password of our wifi-connection so that I can't access the internet in my room. Brillant! Still, I love her for that because I was forced to sleep at around 12:30 now as compared to my 3am bed time before. But that was just the start of the improvement in my sleeping pattern.

 

Sleeping early has its benefits 

I can still vividly recall that I was reading the last page of Para Kay B. last night. The next thing I knew, I heard my alarm clock ringing---whoa, it's already morning! Maybe those sleepless nights, stress, and fatigue that I've been encountering for the past months has something to do why I was knocked down too early in the round. I was "comatose" in bed last night haha! A small achievement for most, but definitely a big deal for me since the last time I slept before 9pm was during my grade school days. And I am just too glad and thankful of the almost 9 hours of deep sleep because I feel so energized and recharged. It seems like everything's made of (let me borrow the famous opening line of PowerPuff Girls) sugar, spice, and everything nice. Seriously, I feel light and optimistic that even the heavy traffic that pesters me daily didn't ruin my good mood for the day. Woohoo, I am more motivated to do my daily tasks today, thanks to a good night's sleep. :)

This "recent development" made me ponder that I should bond more with my bed and pillows than my latop. I found out that a good night sleep doesn't only energize me but boost my immune system also. In a 2009 study led by Sheldon Cohen, PhD, of Carnegie Mellon University, he was quoted saying, "People who slept less than seven hours were about three times more likely to get a cold than people who slept eight hours or more a night." When we sleep, our body repairs itself by producing hormones that help boost our immune system in order. Sleep deprivation or disturbance limits the body from doing this, therefore making the body susceptible not only to colds but also coughs and flu...and sometimes, even the more serious health diseases. Yay! Well, that explains why I get colds easily despite taking Vitamin C on a daily basis.

Another interesting fact that I discovered is that sleeping for eight hours or more protects one's memory from interference.  According to Dr. Jeffrey Ellenbogen of Harvard Medical School, a person who falls asleep after reviewing for an exam or learning a new skill has a better chance of remembering those things later on. Waah, I should have known this way befooore! Admit it or not, back in our students days, we would wake up at 2 or 3am just to review because of the belief that by doing so, we will remember the things that we have read. I always find myself snoring after finishing a page...and wake up only to realize that I haven't finished reviewing for the exam which will start in two hours. I passsed some tests, but most of the time I flunked haha. So now, I know that the true secret in reviewing is to get a good night rest.

 

You don't want to be seen this way right?

People who are sleep deprived are also at risk of obesity. Eeeek! The more we stay up late at night, the more we get tempted to have our midnight snack which most of the time include chips and chocolates. By sleeping early, appetite stimulant hormones reset themselves and suppress of our midnight cravings. So if you don't want additional pounds, you know what to do. ;p

I'm sure most will agree with me that lack of sleep affects one's mood for the day.  I get cranky and irritated for unknown reasons and I'll just snap immediately. Maybe because it's because of the headache or simply the feeling of being all weary and exhausted. Chronic lack of sleep, I just found out, may result to emotional disorders like depression and anxiety. Uh-oh.

With the positive results that a complete sleep can do to one's body plus my goal of living a healthier lifestyle (cross fingers),  I promise myself that starting tonight, I'll really try to sleep earlier and longer each night...that is if I don't get tempted with good movies hehe.

Let this be my motivation:

By cutting down on sleep we learn less, we develop less, we are less bright, we make worse decisions, we accomplish less, we are less productive, we are more prone to errors, and we undermine our true intellectual potential! ---Dr. Piotr Wozniak