Well, I'm trying something new.
I'm getting up early.
Now, before you think that I used to sleep in until noon everyday, getting up at a normal time for me was really around 7:30 or 8. My husband is a night owl and so are my children, but I however, am not. I do like to get an early start on the day, but only if I've had enough sleep. So, by the time I actually got to bed and got enough sleep, waking up at 8 was normal.
If I don't get enough sleep over the course of a few days I start feeling terrible- like someone has poured glue over my head. I get grouchy. I get nauseous, even.
And, especially for the last 17 years, I've had a baby (or more than one child at a time) waking in the middle of the night.
Some days, even getting up at 8 am I still felt like I could just sit and stare at the wall for three hours.
Now, that is tired and overwhelmed.
Well, my husband has to go into work at 5:30 for his current job. Just to make sure he doesn't sleep through his alarm, he has me set my phone alarm as well. So, when my alarm would go off and I would make sure he was up, I was finding that I was wide awake at 5 am. And, then it hit me.
Normally, I would just say, "FIVE AM!" and roll over and go back to sleep without a second thought. But, since I was already wide awake briefly at 5 am......
And, I had heard over the years that some people actually get up at 5 am even if they don't have somewhere to go. I always thought, "Well, what could possibly happen at 5 am that can't wait until 8 am?"
Apparently a lot.
By getting up at 5 am, I have been able to do at least an hour of Bible study, a 30 minute workout, make my breakfast, make the kids' breakfast, check my email, get a shower, start laundry and get ready for homeschool.
Who knew?
So, now I've been doing this for over a month, and let me tell you, I LOVE it.
I've had to tweak it a bit to still make sure I get enough sleep. Some days I will get up at 5:30 and some days 6, and 7:15 on Sundays just to make sure I get enough sleep.
Also, I have one cup of coffee with stevia and 4 teaspoons of creamer (60 calories). I didn't use to drink coffee, but I have read that one cup of coffee can actually be good for you. I have always loved to smell coffee and I have always loved anything coffee flavored, and I may have possibly eaten and entire carton of Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar ice cream in one sitting on more than one occassion. So, one cup of coffee is a bonus.
Anyway, the start I'm getting to my day and the uninterrupted Bible study alone has been so beneficial to me. I don't think I'll be giving up this habit anytime soon!
4 comments:
I hate this post. Hate it hate it hate it. Can you tell I am a night owl??? LOL!!
Seriously, I usually love everything you write because our lives are so similar it's quite crazy, but today, I am saying "see you later" and hoping I don't accidentally scroll too far down and see this post EVER AGAIN!!!!
; )
Haha!!! Now if this had been even three months ago, I would have said, "Uh. NO THANK YOU. I will be sleeping." But, it's funny, because I'm also running on the tread mill now, too. This from a gal who doesn't run even if someone is chasing her.
WTG Courtney! Are you actually getting to bed at a decent hour with all those night owls around?
Since I work until 11, I never get to bed before midnight and couldn't get up that early but I use to be an early bird. I think Todd corrupted me. ;-)
Oh, that Todd! LOL! I try and get to bed by ten. I fall asleep very quickly, so if no one is bothering me, I can fall asleep in ten minutes. The only problem is Brennan is still waking up some at night. So, I usually just lay her down beside me and fall back asleep. I know some anti-co-sleeping people just had a mild heart attack just then.
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