Sleep Diary Reflection

Sleep Diary Reflection

From Wednesday September 28th until Tuesday October 4th, I kept track of my sleep habits, which included: wakeup time, bedtime, number of awakenings during the night and caffeine intake. I have struggled with stress-induced insomnia all of my life, and so keeping track of my sleep is a fairly familiar routine for doctors to analyze. I've learned a lot about sleep from specialists, and I find it an extremely interesting process. I learned that it is more important to have a consistent wake up time rather than trying to focus on a set bedtime. This is because it is impossible to force sleep, but it is easier to wakeup. 

I personally have found a routine that works for my body, I go to bed later but I sleep more soundly than if I tried to lie down at an earlier time. Spending too much time in bed lying awake creates stress and anger, making it even more difficult to fall asleep. The sleep diary that I did for this assignment looks very similar to the ones I have kept in the past. I only get 7 hours, on average, of sleep but I wake up a lot less in the night than when I tried to get 8 or 9 hours of forced sleep. Uninterrupted sleep feels more refreshing than a restless night. Overall, this assignment is a good reminder that sleep is important to my wellbeing and the consistency that I have found has been beneficial for the other health pillars of my life.