Teenaged boys need a lot of sleep, more than their tween brothers, and certainly more than their ol’ Daddies.
Yet even as a teen, I was plagued with insomnia. For the last couple of years of high school I stayed up until midnight watching Kung Fu reruns (the original one, remember, I’m old), after which I took long walks, often until 2 am, before I finally could fall asleep.
This pattern continued through my entire life, even into my mid fifties.
Now, as I confront the treble challenges of:
- living with my depression
- planning my new career, and
- transitioning (mentally, physically, emotionally) into my final act,
I came to a realization; to successfully confront these challenges, I need better sleep.
I spent the fall of 2022 in a haze of exhaustion. I couldn’t focus, my mental health was a mess, I couldn’t exercise properly, and my fledgling freelance writing business had stalled. I was stuck, and the main anchor was sleep deprivation.
At Christmas I had conversations regarding the health benefits of intermittent fasting, and decided to try it, in combination with previously failed attempts at proper sleep scheduling and sleep maintenance.
It’s been three months and there are promising signs. I have successfully shifted my wake up time to 6 – 6:15, and for the first time in my life getting up early is a habit not a struggle.
I have more energy to focus and attack my day. Fewer things are slipping, for instance I’ve not missed posting daily here, and on YouTube or Rumble, in that time.
I have more time and energy to study, practice, and to write for clients.
And it all comes back to this old dog learning a new trick; how to get better sleep.
