The Health Chronicles: Prioritizing Sleep

And Other Life Updates

Hello there! I know it has been quite some time since I have written one of these, so I’ll be giving you all a quick life update.

I have a new part time job! I am a studio coordinator for an ballroom dance studio here in the DC area. I started last week and I am loving everything about it so far. It is something that will eventually grow into a full time role, but having it just be part time for the time being is actually precisely what I need right now. Furthermore, since there is SO MUCH information to be downloaded, it’s better for me to get it all in bits and pieces rather than feeling like I need to learn everything all at once.

Plus, as someone who majored in opera, being in the classical music space again, even if it was not my specific discipline, has been a wonderful thing. I understand all new things tend to have honeymoon phases, but I really do feel good about where this opportunity can lead to in the future.

So, I’ll drop in life updates like that here and there. But this one is something I believe can really catapult me into some of the other goals I will have going into 2025.

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Speaking of goals, let’s talk about sleep!

I have started to prioritize my sleep almost religiously since about the middle of November. Some living arrangements had made it difficult to get more adequate sleep, but since things have changed for the better, I have noticed such an improvement since being able to get more and more sleep every night.

Studies for most adults say 7-9 hours of sleep a night is optimal. As of right now, I averaged just over 7 hours this past week, which is pretty incredible for me. Having a mostly quiet space, my window open at night to cool the room, and a place where I feel anxiety free is helping tremendously.

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But there are also some other things I am doing to help. As much as I love my sports, my biological clock (for the time being) seems hellbent on making sure I wake up no later than 6:30 AM. So, sadly, I have to cut some of my late night sports viewing down. Younger me would have been obsessed with staying up for everything and if I can sleep in later we may get back to that. But for now, I think consistency is key.

I am also making sure I do some form of exercise daily. Whether that be walking during my commute, walking in general, or doing some pushups and squats when I wake up, I have dedicated myself to making sure my body is moving during the day in some way. Once my work schedule solidifies more I want to make sure that exercise is also integral in what I continue to do. I have goals after all, and continuing to move is definitely key to those as well.

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It is pretty remarkable how different I feel when I get adequate sleep too. I think some people can run on less sleep than others, but we all need to do the amount of sleep that is optimal for us. For some (like me) that can be more difficult at times because of our brains not wanting to shut up. What’s striking for me is the fact that when I get at least 7 hours of sleep, there’s pretty much no brain fog for me. I can’t wait to see what happens when I start to stack those sorts of nights back to back. Heck, I’m even throwing in some 8 hour sleep nights in there too, something I never thought was going to be in the cards for me.

So, that’s the life update, and that’s part of where I am in my health journey. I look forward to keeping these entries steady to close out the year and going into 2025. Since I am back into my Substack account that will help, and it also helps with my mental health when I have a space to allow my thoughts to flow freely into the ether. Apparently some of you also like reading about them too.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

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