I hate being sleepy in the daytime! I know that I can’t nap because I won’t be able to go to sleep. I know that I can’t drink coffee, because I know that will keep me awake too. What’s the solution to daytime sleepiness?

Getting quality sleep is essential in combatting daytime sleepiness. It’s about getting into a rhythm of sleep where you generally go to sleep and rise about the same time. I’m currently challenging myself to rise earlier. By rising earlier, I’m forced to go to sleep earlier at night.

Eventually, I hope to get into a rhythm and become more productive.

If you are experiencing chronic and constant daytime sleepiness you should seek a physician’s advice.

Personally, I expect some daytime sleepiness until I can get into a normal sleep routine or habit.

As machines become more and more efficient and perfect, so it will become clear that imperfection is the greatness of man.
– Ernst Fischer

Robots don’t complain.
Robots have to be maintained to work efficiently.
Robots have to be programmed to do the job right, but once they are programmed they can do a job faster than a human.
Robots have to be reprogrammed to do a new task.

Stop Complaining
Robots don’t complain. Complaining is making excuses. When you start to complain about the job you have to do, you are looking for reasons to not do it. So, maybe your job is harder than it should be. Maybe your boss is being a jerk. Maybe it’s too hot where you have to work. Don’t complain. Just do the work and get it done. Like a robot.

Perform Maintenance
Robots are machines that must be maintained in order to remain efficient. Sometimes their parts need to be replaced or they need to be lubed up. How about us humans? How do we maintain ourselves to make sure we are in top condition to perform at our highest levels?

• Quality Sleep – I can’t stress this enough. Getting quality sleep is essential if you want to be efficient at what you do. Getting quality sleep is considered routine maintenance. Robots power down too you know.
• Get Exercise – To keep your heart healthy and to make your body function the way that it should, routine exercise is necessary. You should do at least 30 minutes of exercise 3 – 5 days per week. If you don’t want to feel slow, lethargic, lazy and sluggish: get out and start walking, running or lifting weights.
• Eat Nutritiously – It’s amazing how good I feel when I am eating well-balanced and nutritious meals. Your body was designed to take in nutritious food. If you fill your body full of crap all the time, you’re going to feel like crap all the time. Would a robot eat crap?
• Take Vitamins – Again, your body was designed to take in proper supplements to function correctly. Talk to your physician about what supplements you should take. Personally, I take a B-Vitamin, C-Vitamin, D-Vitamin and an Omega-3 capsule. I rarely get sick, even around 4 kids that are always sick and I believe it has a lot to do with the vitamins I take. (I was getting sick once per month prior to taking vitamins.)

Program Yourself
To do a task correctly, robots need to be programmed. Robots that work in an automobile factory don’t just start assembling cars on their own. They are given specific instructions and have a specific task.

We are the same way, aren’t we? I didn’t just sit down and start designing websites. I have spent years researching, reading, taking courses and actually doing the work to learn how to do what I do.

In order to do a job as efficiently as possible you must program yourself to do so.

photo courtesy of flickr @ tannermoehle.com

I set myself up for a perfect night of sleep, yet I had trouble falling asleep. I had great ambitions of rising earlier today. I had planned on getting up at 5:40am. Instead, I rose at 6:10am.

Having Trouble Falling Asleep Sucks When You Want To Sleep

Ok, maybe I did something I shouldn’t have done. We had an extended birthday party for my son and I drank to glasses of Pepsi and had a big piece of cake. My last glass of soda was a little after 7:00pm and I went to bed right around 10:00pm.

Another thing that is not helping is the rest of my family isn’t quite on board with rising early like I am. Therefore, they are up later and I can hear everything that is going on. Perhaps I need to look into earplugs. I worry about that because then I may not hear the alarm going off. I would also be paranoid about not hearing a potential intruder at night. I know what you’re probably saying: “It’s a wonder you sleep at night!”

I can’t stand it when I have trouble falling asleep. I was extremely tired getting into bed. Oh well, I guess be more aware of what I’m eating and drinking prior to saying good night.

On the brightside, I did rise early again!

Are you getting enough quality sleep? This post is an offering of tips that have helped me enjoy quality sleep.

Quality Sleep Defined

These are tips that have worked for me personally to achieve quality sleep.

I’m sure you’ve heard that 7-8 hours of quality sleep is what you need each night. Quality sleep is getting 7-8 hours of uninterrupted deep sleep.

My Tips on Getting Quality Sleep

Quality Sleep Tip #1: Exercise

Whenever I am exercising I typically fall into a regular sleeping pattern. It’s much easier for me to fall asleep and I generally end up with a better quality of sleep as a result. Try to avoid exercising a few hours prior to your sleep time.

Quality Sleep Tip #2: Limit Caffeine Intake

This is hard for me to do, but I’m slowly cutting out caffeine. If you have to have caffeine during the day make sure to cut yourself off 4-5 hours prior to going to sleep.

Quality Sleep Tip #3: Avoid Snacking Before Bedtime

Snacking before going to bed will raise blood sugar levels making it hard to fall asleep. When you come down from the sugar rush you can actually wake up totally screwing you for the balance of your sleep!

Quality Sleep Tip #4: Avoid Napping

Do your best to avoid napping during the day. Once you have fallen into a regular sleeping pattern you shouldn’t need a nap during the day.

Quality Sleep Tip #5: Sleep in a Dark and Cool Room

The slightest amount of light can disrupt your circadium rhythm. If you have to get up to use the restroom try to avoid turning on the light. Your body will stop producing melatonin immediately if you are awake and lights are on. When our kids were babies, I would be so in trouble the next day at work if I had to get up and the lights were on. Occasionally, if one of them wakes up puking we have to turn on the lights to clean it up and I become a total zombie at work. Personally, I like a cool room to sleep in. I sleep much more comfortably when I have to warm up to a cool room versus trying to cool off to a warm room.

Quality Sleep Tip #6: Avoid Watching TV Before Bed

Television stimulates the brain and fills your heads full of thoughts that have to be processed before you fall asleep.

These tips help me get a better quality sleep each night. I’m much more productive during the day when I have had quality sleep at night.

Leave a comment and let me know your methods for producing quality sleep.