What do you do to improve your sleep?
People have several things that they miss from their past, particularly from their childhood days. I certainly do, thinking of it as one of the most amazing childhoods out one has lived. Just yesterday I was sitting in my late maternal grandparents’ apartment and I could see the little boy playing all around the living room, occasionally sitting on the little study table and chair to draw or read something.
One thing in particular I think I have lost from my teenage years that I certainly don’t have in the present is the endless energy. Ignore the practicality of the thought, just think about it if you aren’t a teenager anymore and it has been past for like almost a decade, it does seem like the magical ability to keep going.
The last few years of my teens and the few years of early adulthood, I just couldn’t sleep. There was so much to be done, it was just so difficult to fit everything into 24 hours. The concept of tomorrow did not exist, something came to mind, and was within reach, it had to be done now. I have spent nights reading books, playing games, watching movies or my favourite anime. I just cannot imagine now how the body could keep going with little to no sleep and ignorance of proper diet. Look at my bulging belly now, it is glaring evidence of how unfit I have become. That weak, thin but decent-looking boy grew into this.
No, if I met my past self, I will not stand with him for going on without sleep. Maybe it’s the older, less energetic me speaking, a bit out of envy but more out of wisdom. I was lucky to get out of that unhealthy lifestyle (my parents are not to blame, both were working very hard professionally for the family), but I have seen a few children who faced some challenging consequences later, one of them sadly even passed away.
Food and sleep are two things I don’t compromise on. Maybe I should, a little on food, but that’s another issue. After a certain time, your body completely relates to the amount of sleep you had, good sleep, good productivity, good day. I know there are all those people who claim to need very little sleep, I have not known any of them personally, so no comments, but with my present knowledge if someone says, sleep for 3-4 hours and that’s all you need, I would just turn around and silently walk away from that organism.
How to improve sleep? Work hard, no not only professionally, on every aspect of your life, make the most of the energy you have by the end of the day and sleep will walk to you just like a good friend and it will sit beside you to convince you into calling it a day over.
I used some other ways as well, like listening to music or just letting the television run for the ambience, but those just keep on running after you have fallen asleep and you would wake up to a phone dead of battery, or some addition to your electricity bill. I did once read about imagining walking towards a far away closed door only focussed on what’s behind and it is supposed to be sleep behind that door, did work a few times, but as the thoughts of mind became more chaotic it became harder to focus.
Moral of the story is don’t skip on good diet and good sleep and keep living a happy life which almost always associates itself with a healthy one.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 