A Good Night's Sleep

Mine is still all black, but I need to get some bright bands like this one!!

So while we were apart, I bought a Fitbit (the new Charge model).

I bought this puppy for two reasons. The first of which was, that I was tired of walking with my phone in my hand or in a small pocket to measure my steps. Because, as every woman reading this blog knows, there is a double standard when it comes to pants pockets. Never, ever has there been a pair of men's pants without pockets I expect, whereas women have to fight for the same thing. Walking the mall with the phone in my hand and using my finger to check my heart rate, or putting said phone down my bra just wasn't working for me any more. Never mind that it didn't cover the steps I did in my normal round the house stuff.

The fact that it measures my heart rate as well, and tracks non walking exercise is just a plus.

The other reason though, was to measure my sleep. If you've been stopping by for any length of time, you may know my sleep issues. Which began after my husband died and presented as severe nightowl-ishness and have continued as it relates to severe pain (the kind that makes you holler "Oh my God that hurts", in the middle of a public place). That, plus general restlessness has made sleep VERY uneven at times, and some days almost non existent.

Also if you've been here awhile, you know about my experience using medical marijuana. Which did help me sleep-in fact, edibles knocked me completely out. But marijuana is a drug, and I cannot use it when I go other places (never mind the fact that it probably doesn't address part of the underlying problem). So I still use it as needed, but not as  daily, regular solution.

Instead, I've slowly been working on what the experts call "lifestyle changes". Except for my Amazon fire tablet, I put all devices including my phone away for an hour to two hours before bed. The phone needs to be in my room in case of emergencies, but I have it face down and on low vibrate. I rarely read in bed any more, but if I do the Fire has the anti blue shade that protects.

 I also keep the lights low in my bedroom. I replaced a bedside clock and my phone with my Amazon Echo Dot. Which will play music, set an alarm, snooze, answer my questions and generally function complete darkness with the exception of a quick glow when I tell her to do something. I'm still working on getting room darkening curtains for my east facing room, especially as the sun gets to be greater in the morning.  I also take my two Tylenol arthritis tablets three times a day on schedule (with a doctor's approval), once at bedtime and once as soon as I wake up, instead of waiting for pain to arrive and then dosing.

These days, my in bed before I go to sleep routine is more likely to include writing a quick journal or some notes, listening to music and even knitting a little bit before I brush my teeth and turn off the light. Along with a glass of milk or sleepy time tea (with or without Valerian). And I am going to bed around nine thirty many nights and turning the light off by ten thirty fairly often. Who on earth would have believed that last part, when I used to write posts at 2 am (admittedly part of this is that I live with two people who do wake up in the morning and as a result wake me up). My rising time is between seven thirty and eight thirty. I'm still obviously not a morning person though, as it takes me a couple hours to dress and move fully.

I still am a restless sleeper (mainly because my legs are often aching, or restless). I wake up at least once most nights to hit the bathroom (although I generally manage to go back to sleep afterward). I toss and turn and open my eyes and then go back to sleep eventually (sometimes after asking Alexa to play my sleep play list). 

But my changes and efforts seems to be working, or at least partially working. According my my friend the Fitbit, there was one night in the last week when I slept for a little over five hours. Other than that the least amount of sleep was seven hours and twelve minutes and the most was eight and a half. And this is only the time that I was asleep, not the times I was awake during the night.  Believe me, I'll take it.

The Fitbit, being the modern piece of technology that she is, also measures things like REM, light sleep and deep sleep. Stuff which I know absolutely nothing about, in truth. It also tells me that I am doing better than most women my age. Again, I'll take it. I wish I had more time than I do in deep sleep (seems to be the first few hours of the night only),I wish I wasn't restless, and I expect that once I live alone (or the other person does not arise for work)that my natural schedule will return to something closer to a midnight bedtime with a nine am arousal.

But I no longer feel the need to nap in the day!  I still take those first couple hours of the morning very slowly (I never schedule anything before noon and am forcing myself to get to the library ten once a week for my balance program), and although I am up to almost five thousand steps and a half an hours seated weight training on the good days, the pain and fibromyalgia still sap my strength. I'll never be the higher energy girl I was once.

But there is nothing, nothing my friends, like a good night's sleep. No matter what you need to do to get it.