Sleep getting you down?

[Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 30 seconds.]

Photo by Sébastien Lavalaye on Unsplash

Happy July 4th to all of those who celebrate!

Random thought: How is it at home I lose socks all of the time yet on the road, when hopping to multiple places, the sock monster doesn't visit? Discuss!

Greetings from the Arctic Circle. We just landed on the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway. 

We're so north that we're in the time of year where the sun literally doesn't set. Some people call these 'white nights'. Some people refer to this as the 'midnight sun'.

I've experienced this once before on the very southern tip of South America 25 years ago. The hubs has not so this should be fun. 

For the entire trip thus far (we're on day 13 today), sunrises have been in the 3am hour with the exception of Bergen just after 4am. Sunsets have been in the 11pm hour with the exception of Oslo being just before 11pm. 

What does this mean, especially if you love to watch sunsets?

Sunsets along the way.

Not a lot of good quality sleep. 

Now don't get me wrong. We are having an UH-MAZE-ING time on this trip. The scenery has been incredible, the people have been lovely and the food is very seasonal and tasty. 

But my sleep has been crap and I don't need my Garmin to tell me that. That said, the data I have backs it up. And I've learned that sleep quality is really important. But when you're perimenopausal or post-menopausal, good sleep can be really elusive.

I like to sleep in what the hubs calls a "meat locker". Fortunately in Seattle, this isn't a problem as most nights cool down quite a bit. And when it doesn't, we're fortunate enough to have AC. Plus we have something called an 'Ooler', which you can think of as a mattress pad that has cold water running through it. This has helped a ton! 

Fact: When I don't sleep well, I don't perform well in life. It's much more difficult to show up for others in my life and my workouts take a hit.

For those of you not in Seattle, most homes do not have AC because up until recently, it wasn't really deemed necessary. But with climate change and such, the summers have definitely been warmer than when I first moved there in late '02.

We packed eye masks in anticipation for the daylight issue. The hubs was savvy enough to pack earplugs for both of us (once again, another reason I married well). 

What we did not plan for is that while the places we are staying at are very nice, they do not have AC. Yes, you can leave the window(s) open. But that also means you'll hear the birds chirping at zero dark thirty. 

Plus all of the places we are staying at have black out curtains of some kind for the sunlight. Use those to block out the light and that negates the cool air flowing into the room. 

[Again, these are first world problems.]

Needless to say, I've probably had 2 good nights of sleep out of 12 nights. We adapted to the time zone change pretty quickly so jet lag hasn't been the issue.

What am I doing to combat the lack of quality sleep

• Not beating myself up about it. I knew the upsides of what we're doing was going to have downsides. I'm having a great time with the hubs. I'm eating and drinking all of the things without apology.

• Trying to not push myself as hard when we have activities scheduled. We've probably had 5 days where we had some strenuous activity. The other days, I'm just taking in the scenery and not forcing myself out of bed unless we have a schedule to adhere to.

• Drinking lots of water. I've noticed my skin feels drier here so also ensuring I stick with my skincare routine. 

What do I do at home that's different than the above?

Let's just say it has been a non-linear path. Kind of like this road.

1. When I see something that riles me up, that's not a good omen for my sleep so I obviously need to improve on this. 

2. Ironically, I get into our steam room to "chill out". The hubs laughs at the irony of this statement but I listen to music and it just helps me wind down.

3. I've learned having a regular sleep schedule regardless of the day of the week puts me in a better position to have a good night's rest.

4. Limiting alcohol helps a lot. I know, I know.

5. We have the above mentioned Ooler.

6. We redesigned our master suite in 2020 (like everyone else). We removed the TV from the bedroom and chose a darker color palette for the walls and furniture. It feels calmer and less busy in that room. 

7. On most nights, I shut down work at 630pm.

   1. The work from home phenomenon has its pros and its cons. A major con of WFH is not having a forcing function (e.g., like a commute) to stop working. 

8. We tend to eat dinner at the same time when dining at home. It's also 2-3 hours before we go to bed. That helps, especially because I have acid reflux.

I know sleep is a complex topic for most people, particularly for women 40+. I'm also not saying that these will definitely work for you. Everyone has different hormones and different home environments. Those variables matter!

If you have any good practices worth sharing, I'd love to hear them. And if you have any questions on sleep for future posts, please let me know.

If you want to follow along on the trip (#OperationMidnattsol), you can find pics on IG or on our blog. 

Thanks for reading!