Louisiana, Here’s Why You’re Always Tired and How to Fix That
I looked into her eyes at the Circle K on Eraste Landry Road in Lafayette. I could tell this Louisiana lady was about ready for a nap, if not an entire week in bed. Her story might not be that different from yours. For a lot of folks in Louisiana sleep is hard to come by and even if you're doing all the right things you find yourself moving slower than a cane truck down Highway 90 during harvest season.
Tell me if you've ever experienced a scenario like this one. You get to bed at an early hour, fall asleep fast enough, and wake up after sleeping six, seven, or even eight hours, and as you get out of bed you realize that you feel as if the lack of sleep train has hit you. Does that sound familiar? The old "got plenty of sleep but feel like I didn't get any" syndrome. You're not alone and there is a way to remedy that problem.
In order to fix the problem, you need to know a little bit more about sleep and how your body uses sleep to keep you healthy and happy. You've probably heard of sleep cycles. If you haven't they are important in determining how you're going to feel when you wake up following your pillow time.
An average sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes. During that time your body and brain go through various stages of sleep and deep sleep. If you wake up at the end of one of those 90-minute cycles you usually wake up feeling rested and refreshed. It's when you wake up in the middle or during the deep sleep stage of the cycle that you get out of bed feeling like hammered poo.
Here's how to figure out when you need to go to bed courtesy of Tik Tok user @addison.jarman. Addison explains the method to the madness when it comes to calculating your best possible bedtime.
As someone who lives in an alternative time zone, I exist in British Summer Time. Because I wake up at midnight to come to work. Because of my odd bedtime, I know a lot about getting the most out of getting very little sleep. Trust me, this tiny bit of preplanning will make a world of difference in your day.
Here use this online bedtime calculator to figure out when you need to turn the lights out.
Another way to enhance your good night's sleep is to make sure your sleeping space is regularly spruced up. Make sure bed linens are changed regularly and you might want to consider adding a splash of lavender oil to the wash when you wash them. Lavender has been proven to have soothing effects on the human psyche.
One other thing, turn your phone and other gadgets off or put them someplace where you won't be tempted to look at them all night long. And if you get any messages you won't be tempted to wake up and respond to them. Sleep is important, you need to treat it as one of the most important things you'll do during your day, even if it's at night.
And since we're getting into the time of year when climate control is necessary for a good night's sleep you might want to tackle some of these suggestions now before it gets too darn hot later.
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Gallery Credit: Bruce Mikells