Around this time of year, as winter transitions to beautiful MN summer, I take a MAJOR crash in time spent under the covers. I find that on an annual basis, my sleep rapidly declines in the spring. More patio time, happy hours, friend and family obligations creep in and take over my precious 8 hours. For the last two months, I have been experiencing an uncomfortable lack of sleep. The De-Stress Quest is coming up and I am SO excited to take part in it (have you signed up?). However, I want to enter the De-Stress Quest with the best mind possible, so I am preempting it with a month of SLEEP QUEST 2016.
Sleep Quest originated in 2012, when I was working two jobs and barely sleeping. I followed some simple rules, and I took the quest for three months. It started as a 1-month try and I ended up extending it without fail for 3-months. It was an incredible experience, and I felt so good afterward. In addition, I permanently changed my sleep habits after the first quest and have been maintaining decently well since then… until recently. Suddenly I am noticing that my body doesn’t want to sleep past 7 am, but I am still going to sleep at midnight. Not good! Enter: Sleep Quest 2016.
Rules for Sleep Quest 2016
- 8+ hours per night (I am shooting for 9)
- No caffeine after 11 am
- No sugar after 2 pm (ideally, no sugar at all)
- No screens in the bedroom
- TV and phone off 30 minutes before bed time
- Low-light in the house after sunset (no bright white bulbs)
- 5 minutes in #mobilitymonster pose of the month before bed
- Ear plugs while sleeping, sleep mask if available
Obviously, many of us are going to have some major challenges here, like phones before bed (I am the worst at this), and getting 8+ hours. One caveat to that rule is that you can accumulate nap time throughout the day to reach those 8 hours if you miss it for some reason. Also, if you have a child or something else that makes your sleep totally out of your control, you could reduce your goal amount to 7-7.5 as to start, and see where you end up.
The great thing about calling it a Sleep Quest is that if you set out your goals beforehand, you have a great excuse to say no to the things that will get in the way of your rest. With SQ2016 on your side, you can say no to late-night invites or early morning favors. I can’t wait to get started tonight with some delicious sleep. Personally, in addition to completing sleep quest for one month, I am also going to journal how I feel and what I notice from the extra rest. Who is on board with me?
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