Background:

The month of May for me began the “Busy Season” at work, meaning hours became longer, there was be more stress, and getting proper sleep was more difficult. Now, to be clear, many wonderful things happen during the Busy Season, but maintaining a healthy training, diet and sleep schedule becomes more difficult. Therefore, Jen, an avid sleeper herself, challenged me to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night… every night!!!

Observations:

Well, I found through trial and error that my body naturally WANTS to get about 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep per night. Twice during the challenge I got less than that and I found I was sleepy and not at my best during the day. With more than 8 hours I also would not be at my best.

Today, almost a month and a half after finishing this challenge, I woke up without the use of an alarm after exactly 7 hours of sleep, so I seem to be consistent with this want for 7 hours of sleep. I have also reconfirmed over the last month and a half that getting less than 7 hours of sleep is not ideal for me. Additionally, sleep after a night out of drinking is not the most revitalizing and regardless of how many hours of sleep I get after drinking I always wake up at 9:00am… been like that all my life… odd.

Successful?

The challenge itself was a smashing success. I got my 7 hours in basically every night and was able to pinpoint my ideal sleeping times to be 7 to 7-5 hours per night. I still struggle with the snooze button, but moving forward I think I will try to set my alarm for 7 hours and just wake up then instead of waking up less fresh after 10-15 minutes of hitting the snooze.