November, It’s the season of tired. If you are in school, whether teaching or attending, the late fall/ early winter months can be extremely draining.
The high of starting fresh in September is reaching it’s lull and December holidays seem so close, yet so far away.
The weather is changing somewhat spuratically and we begin to prepare ourselves for the long winter ahead. This alone can make for a hard transition, which is why now as an important time to take an inventory on some of your lifestyle patterns.
If you are starting to feel the days drag on, tasks pile up and your motivation slipping then turning over a new leaf of healthy choices may be just what the doctor ordered.
Sleep is one of the most common needs we put off when life starts to feel hectic however, establishing a routine to get optimal sleep each night could dramatically impact your daily activities for the better.
Research shows that eight hours of sleep combined with habitually getting to bed before midnight is optimal at any age. Try not to kid yourself with shortcuts; you may be OK with five or six hours of sleep each night but with eight you are doing your mind and body a huge favour.
If you add it up, vetoing two hours of sleep each night translates to 14 less hours per week, 56 per month and a whopping 672 lost hours of healing sleep per year.
Another shortcut to avoid is staying up too late, even if you are getting enough hours. Hitting the hay before midnight has been shown to increase sleep quality significantly which means optimum concentration and functionality throughout your day.
Understanding that this may seem as impossible to a college student as drinking a four litre jug of milk without throwing up; I assure you it’s not.
You may think good productivity means staying up until three a.m. to finish a paper, but the truth is a shift in your sleep habits could help you find the time and the energy to be more effective in the daytime.
Adequate sleep can help everything and so can a number of other small tweaks and adjustments. Drink eight hours of pure drinking water each day, take a multivitamin daily to supplement your healthy diet, take time to relax and take time to exercise for at least 20 minutes, three times per week.
These changes could be as simple as filling a water bottle, taking a few evening strolls and loading your grocery cart up with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Make the efforts to take care of yourself this pre-winter season.
You may find your days becoming a little easier with just a little effort.