MARKETING EVOLUTION
Unable To Sleep !!
By Marion Wakahe
I
’ m unable to sleep . Actually , no , let me rephrase that . I don ’ t sleep well . Nights are interesting . On many nights , I ’ ll get into bed and won ’ t fall asleep until one to two hours later . Two to three hours after , I ’ ll be awake . I ’ ll toss and turn searching for sleep that finds me in about one hour or slightly more . I ’ ll fall asleep again and wake up hopefully at the same time with the alarm . Most of the time I ’ ll wake up well before the alarm and decide to switch off the alarm altogether .
As you can imagine , as a result , I ’ ll get up later than I planned to and have a hurried , anxious and unsettled morning . I ’ ll self-flagellate and chastise myself for not having done better . A little later in the morning I ’ ll accept that my day hasn ’ t started as well as it could have , try my best to practice some self-love and make the best of the situation .
I feel a little sting whenever someone tells me that they wake up at 4.30am or 5.00am . Truth be told ; I do get jealous . Since I was a little girl it was inculcated in my mind that successful people woke up early in the morning and had an advantage over others because of the extra hours they put in that compounded over time . Waking up late I was told , is a sign of laziness and lack of focus . If I ’ m not wrong , I believe in primary school , just to drive the point , I wrote a composition titled , ‘ The Early Bird Catches the Worm .’
I ’ ve tried a number of remedies to help my situation . Some include : not looking at a screen after 10pm which doesn ’ t work very well since it takes 1-2 hours to fall asleep , working out , reading , watching some TV but none of these seem to work very well . I have a friend who insists that the remedy to my problem is to stick to particular sleeping and waking hours no matter if I ’ m tired in the morning . According to him , initially it ’ ll be hard but with time it ’ s a habit that will stick . His advice is sound given that it ’ s supported by research from credible bodies like the Sleep Foundation . Honestly though , it ’ s hard to not steal minutes for extra sleep in the morning .
Sleep is important , we ’ re all aware of this . However , did you know that the mammalian brain eats itself if it doesn ’ t get enough sleep ? Worse is that even if you catch up with sleep over the weekend for example , the damage does not reverse . The need for sleep is necessary for more than just replenishing our energy levels . Our brains actually change states when we sleep to clear away the toxic byproducts of neural activity left behind during the day .
Researchers have found that persistently poor sleep causes the brain to clear a significant amount of neurons and synaptic connections , and recovering sleep might not be able to reverse the damage . Not getting enough sleep kicks the brain into overdrive resulting in not just toxins being cleared out but also part of the brain . Now this certainly can ’ t be a good thing . Those who think that sleeping is for the weak might want to reconsider their position .
Did you know that the mammalian brain eats itself if it doesn ’ t get enough sleep ? Worse is that even if you catch up with sleep , the damage does not reverse . The need for sleep is necessary for more than just replenishing our energy levels . Our brains actually change states when we sleep to clear away toxic byproducts of neural activity left behind during the day .
Benefits Of A Good Nights Sleep
Just a refresher . A good night ’ s sleep has the benefits of :
A stronger immune system : Sleep helps the body fight infection and is useful in helping the body regenerate .
Greater social and emotional intelligence : Sleeping well increases the chances that you ’ ll better manage your emotions and interpret the emotions of others . Not surprising is that people who
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