Day 15

Take me back to the lesson for Day 14

Here's your suggested reading from Bliss More:

 Read Chapter 8 (Chapter 12 in the audiobook) on the Sleep Effect (9 mins)

Better Sleep?

We dealt with the importance of rest yesterday and, like Otto's story in the book, you should start noticing a better quality of sleep at night. But if you've been sleep deprived, it may take a little longer to notice changes in sleep.

How do I know I'm sleep deprived?

• Does it take you longer than normal to fall asleep?

• Are you easily awoken in the night?

• Do you have trouble falling back to sleep once you are awoken

• Do you wake up in the morning tired and wishing that sleep worked better?

Being sleep deprived can have serious long-term mental and physical health consequences, such as weight gain, heart problems, an inability to focus, and more. In case you're experiencing some degree of sleep deprivation, here are some ways to improve your sleep on top of meditation:

How to improve sleep tonight

Unplug before bed: Unplug or turn off all gadgets in the bedroom while you’re sleeping (especially those near the head of your bed).

Curfew on blue light: Refrain from using electronics right before bed and especially in the middle of the night.

Change directions: When possible, sleep with your head facing south. Keep the head of the bed a couple of inches from the wall and as far away from the entrance to the room as possible.

Meditate earlier: Refrain from meditating right before bed, as the E.A.S.Y. approach will significantly boost your energy levels, and therefore hamper your ability to fall asleep. Meditate in the late afternoon or early evening, and ideally no later than 3-4 hours before going to bed.

Avoid late-night binging: Eat lighter meals earlier in the evening, and avoid caffeinated foods and beverages at night.

Limit libations: Experiment with drinking alcohol earlier and/or cutting back on the amount of alcohol you consume.

Become more scheduled: Go to bed around the same time every night.

Manage your expectations: Don't expect the quality of your sleep to improve dramatically overnight. Expecting it to do so may stress you out, and stress works against your interests.

Today's Challenge:

Meditate as instructed for 20 minutes and implement some of the above tips when you go to bed tonight. The higher quality of rest you are able to get both in meditation and during sleep, the more dynamic and more productive you can be in action. 

Assessment

How did you sleep last night? Were there less signs of sleep deprivation? Did you feel more rested when you woke up. We're not looking for dramatic differences. Even incremental changes are a step in the right direction.

Accountability Exercise

Post an image of one of your nighttime bed hacks that you implemented, or another one that you've been using with success. And as always, make sure to tag #blissmore and #blissmorechallenge on your post, and take an extra minute to "like" some of the other posts under the #blissmorechallenge hashtag.

Sample accountability post

Wanna get a head start on tomorrow's reading?

Start reading Chapter 9 (Chapter 13 in the audiobook) through The Anatomy of the Stress Response (10 mins)

(Follow #blissmore to see everyone’s progress)