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I’m doing a little experiment and I thought you all might want to join me.  READY?

I am attempting to get 8 hours of sleep each night. I want to see how long of a streak I can go sleeping 8 hours each night.  So far, I’m at 4 nights in a row.  And, I have to tell you… I feel like a different person today.

WHY 8 HOURS of SLEEP?

Honestly, I’ve been googling this… why does 8 hours of sleep matter?  I’ve heard that it is the optimal amount of sleep to be healthy.  But, then I’ve also read reports that say people only need 6-7 hours of sleep.  And, some super stars only need 5.  (I laugh at this.)  I do think that people function differently.  A lot of things go into this “hours of sleep factor”.  Without being a scientist, I’ll guess that genetics, age, health, and maybe even biology have something to do with the “optimal” amount of sleep.

So, I’m focusing on 8 hours because:

a) it sounds like the right number for me
b) I think that not sleeping enough may result in me work harder not smarter – I want to know how much more capable I am
c) I have read that not getting enough sleep can hinder weight loss (and well – let’s be honest I could lose a few pounds).  I know that… at the very least… when I’m tired, I do not want to move from my desk let alone walk around the block.
d) I don’t remember the last 3 day stretch that I slept these many hours each night.

I’m up for the challenge!

BEFORE my CHALLENGE…

I’m one of those people that doesn’t get jet-lag traveling across 3 or 4 time zones.  This is because I do not have any consistent sleep routine.  I go to bed one night at midnight, the next night at 3AM, the next night at 11PM.  And, I wake up at 5am, at 9am, and noon.  (I only get noon every now and then on the weekends.)  My mantra is: “I hate to GO to BED.  But, once I’m there, I don’t want to WAKE UP.”  I am a NIGHT OWL.  So if I’m in bed before 3am it’s because I have forced myself to do so.  (Gosh darn, I hate being a grown-up.)

For me, this challenge of sleeping 8 hours every night is monumental.  Because my kid usually wakes between 7-8am on weekdays, I know I need be asleep at 11pm every night.  This means I need to be in bed no later than 10:30pm to do the “falling asleep”.  And, realistically, I should be in bed by 10pm to read a bit first.  YOWZA.  10pm – like clockwork – I need to be in BED.

I have NO IDEA what it is like to be in bed by 10pm, asleep by 11pm and awake at 7am.  LIKE CLOCKWORK.

The RESULTS, so far…

The first couple nights were ROUGH.  I had a hard time falling asleep.  Then, for no reason, I woke up at 3AM each night.  I’m thinking my body was going thru night-owl-I-wanna-boogie withdrawal.  My body was thinking that asleep by 11pm must mean it was only a disco nap… up and at’m at 3AM.  I tossed and turned and finally fell back asleep around 4am.

Like trying to break any addiction, this was not going to be easy.

But then… last night… it was incredible… I slept the best I’ve slept in SO LONG.  And, today, after 4 days of my 8 hour sleep-at-night streak, I woke up feeling like a new person.  And, I had energy for the WHOLE day (not just for the 3 hours surrounding coffee.)

And, here’s the best part… I got SOOOO much done.  I was far less distracted.  I was able to focus better on the more complicated tasks.  I also didn’t get cranky at all (chip, chip, chipper me!)  And, because I had worked smarter, I actually had time to go on a walk – and the energy to do so.

WANNA JOIN ME?!

Sooooo… I’m gonna ask you… wanna join me?  Shall we see how many days we can do in a row on this 8-hour sleep streak?  Just comment down below and I’ll set something up where we can track our progress.