Hormones just suck. I don't know any other way to put it. I hate the hormonal surges that accompany my menstrual cycle. I hate the way they affect my depression. I the way I feel out of control and self-absorbed. I hate that for the last several days I have had very little will to do anything (including blogging).
Then I read this in Blueprint magazine:
Staying up late screws up cortisol levels, putting you more at risk for diabetes and obesity. Try to hit the sack by 10 p.m. and get eight hours of rest. If you go to bed at 10 and wake up at 6, your body will get its optimal hormone fluctuations. But if 10 p.m. is just crazy talk, the next best thing is to go to bed by midnight and get up at 8. Melatonin, our sleep hormone, spikes between midnight and 1 a.m., so you don't want to be awake then. It's a very powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory; it decreases the amount of estrogen your body produces, and it stimulates your immune system.On most nights, I hate going to bed early, because it's my only precious time when I don't have to be responsible for children and when I can do what I want to do. And I don't usually get 8 hours of rest.
I read recently that you're much more likely to overeat if you haven't gotten enough sleep, and I've definitely noticed that I eat more when I'm really tired, like I'm substituting the pleasure of eating for the pleasure of sleeping that I've been deprived of... I'm hosed.
17 comments:
Oh Michelle this was exactly what I needed to hear...I am really good about going to bed by 11 since I wake up by 6ish...but last night was an all nighter...I actually went to bed at 5 am...ridiculous. I got a cool large number... 33 pieces of mail ready to ship...but my body did take a toll big time. I think this article is sooo right, but I also fight the impetus of staying late, because it is the only quiet time I find to myself and I am in so much need of...because once it is AM...the whole day is upon you weather you want it or not. Hope you feel better...but thank you for reminding me of this wise piece of information...as you can see, I have to hurry...my melatonin is going to arrive and spike soon.
ciao darling
thanks for sharing all of that important info!! i, too, hate giving up my precious *me* time after everyone has gone to sleep. and, of course, i have to get up and get going early, too.
i've also heard that your body repairs itself during sleep in a particular order (you know, like respiratory systems, nervous system, liver functions, etc., etc.) i'm not sure of the order. but it makes sense that if you don't get your full 8 hours, certain parts of your body are not getting enought repair.
i feel like a total slug this morning. not just sleepy. run down. i guess my body is trying to tell me something...
Night is my time too. Usually I get to bed by midnight but when Dave is gone I don't. I just can't stand the thought of going to bed just to get up and do it all again (by myself) the next day. Its ridiculous because surely I would handle life (by myself) much better if I was actually well rested.
I have those same feelings on the night being my ME time and I just hate the thought of going to bed at 10. When I don't get enough alone/me time I am in bad shape because I feel all bitter and stretched too far. So I wonder how that would play into the whole physiological aspect of it.
In any case, sorry you have been in a bad way. The excess eating when you are tired is just like salt in the wound.
This is funny, and that cartoon is great. This is exactly what you and I were talking about the other day (courtesy of Adam's reading). I have a hard time going to bed early for the same reasons you do, but find that when I get up early to go to the gym then I'm tired earlier at night and actually want to go to bed. This makes for a good cycle of early to bed, early to rise and find that I'm able to do lots more in the morning than I would have done at night if I'd stayed up late.
Of course, you have early-riser Eva to contend with, but maybe if you're up and feeling good then everyone will feel better.
hmmm very interesting information in that article. That sleep thing really intrigues me. What's a mother to do?
Too funny, and too true. I love that you wrote, "I'm hosed." Anyway, as one who doesn't have children and has hours of "me" time, I find that I still love the late night hours for getting things done. I just function well at night.
that is a lot of good info.
i have become a morning person and force myself to go to bed at night and it has helped a lot.
thanks for sharing this info.
michelle, as i'm sure you've noticed, i've slipped into a black hole in the blogging world and today decided i will just try to stop by three friends (trying to keep myself from getting overwhelmed). i know i was meant to read this. i am HORRIBLE at getting the sleep that i need. HORRIBLE just doesn't even begin to describe it. (i was up until nearly 2 a.m. last night). i don't know why i do it and i always vow to do better, then find myself up doing nothing important enough to be up that late and feeling guilty knowing that i'm not taking care of myself the way that i should and that i will pay for it the next day. and that my littles will end up paying too because they don't have a rested mother. unfair. and yet i find myself doing it the next night again. we should form a support group and help each other get to bed!
and oh the hormones. i'm still nursing so i don't feel as many fluctuations, but i am experiencing some mood swings here and there. i'm certain they have EVERYTHING to do with lack of sleep.
i also saw your organizing from the inside out book. i read that years ago and LOVED it. just a few weeks ago i was thinking i should give it another read. it was very helpful at the time.
sounds like we may be kindred spirits after all ; ) thanks for this post and reminder. sooooo glad i stopped by.
In this very pregnant state can I just say AMEN to your whole post and especially to your title? The sleep deprivation and highs and lows are just too much! I'm sorry you are dealing with this but hopefully with these comments it feels good to not be alone on this crappy hormone ride. Hang in there, I'll think of you at 1am.
why IS going to bed so hard?
I love all the brilliant comments to your much needed post- in the AM the day is upon you, ready or not and we need a support group! maybe we should have to post what time we went to bed each day :)
sad you have been in a bad way.
Oh dear. . . .
I never clue in that it's PMS until it's over. How can I have been doing this for this many years and not see it for what it is right away?
The sleep connection is something I've been learning about from a friend of mine who is a personal trainer. Fascinating.
This was good for me to read. Altough I think being pregnant pretty much screws any chance I have of a level hormone level (:
Hmmm. Maybe I should set my alarm for 6:00. Thanks for sharing this... I don't normally feel sleep deprived more just blah... but I know my hormones are out of balance... maybe I should work on the sleep end... it is my talent.
I guess my getting to bed early recently can explain why I am feeling better now. As I had been going to bed at 11 or after and I am up between 5-5:30 am. What are you suppose to do when you got a high school student who does not drive but has to be there before 6am for an earyly practice?
I am going to make and effort to go to bed early.If I can't the I just may join our already out of balanced hormone teen's and be out of balance. What a combination! NO wonder teen's and mom's have trouble getting along. We are all out of balance.
Good post!
I can totally relate to this late to bed, not enough sleep struggle. I think I will finally be a grown up when I at last succumb to this and don't fight it any more. Hopefully it's soon.
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