“It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.” —John Steinbeck

Unsurprisingly, I recalled this quote after a long, hard, stressful day. I had been at my office since seven that morning, and by 9:30 pm, I was still working. My brain was on fire—so many tasks still left to do and so many items to check off The List. At the university where I work, my colleagues and I found ourselves taking on new duties after the abrupt departure of a fellow faculty member. For me, that meant teaching an additional course. In the midst of this, my colleagues and I were in the trenches completing a self-study for our accreditation: two hundred plus pages showing how and where in our curriculum we are teaching our students important details of what it means to be an ethical, effective counselor. It’s tedious work but necessary. In addition to the additional workload of the additional teaching and additional pressure of completing the accreditation self-study, I also had laundry, dishes, cleaning the litter boxes, returning that phone call to my friend, texting my niece… all of the “other” things that keep a life moving. I felt torn in 5271839213926982630173 directions, paralyzed and unable to prioritize anything. There was the nagging fear I was letting down my friends, my colleagues, my students, my family, hell, maybe even myself! My problems felt so big, and I felt so small. So around 9:30 that night, I opened my computer once more. In the harsh light of the screen, I checked in with myself and asked, “Pam, what do you deeply and truly NEED?” 

The first thing that came to mind? “I NEED SLEEP.” Immediately I brushed that thought away with the age-old, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead!”– the battle cry of those who wear their overwork as a badge of honor. And yet, I thought of how choosing to abandon my own needs wasn’t helping anyone, especially me. Begrudgingly, I closed my laptop, put on my pajamas, did my skincare, brushed my teefies, and crawled into bed. My eyes sprung open, and I stared at the ceiling. My mind raced, screaming, “YOU ARE A WEEK BEHIND IN GRADING. YOU ARE A CRAPPY TEACHER. YOU HAVE THAT WHOLE SECTION OF THE SELF-STUDY TO FINISH. WHY ARE YOU IN BED?” I realized I had a couple of choices to make at that moment. Did I want to feed into the negative self-talk? Or did I want to allow my body and my brain the gentleness I give everyone else? 

I wish I could say the choice was easy, and I fell into a perfect, dreamy sleep and woke up refreshed and ready to take on the world. I could tell you that, but it would be a lie. The truth is, I stared at the ceiling for a good bit longer and realized that everything would get done. It always has. I am a good, hard worker, and care deeply about my students,colleagues, and clients. I also thought about how live-giving sleep is and how, growing up, my mother reminded me that “things always look different in the morning.” 

How right she was! I fell asleep and woke up the next day not quite fully rested but with a different perspective. With sleep, my body and brain reset, and I was able to have that restorative time that we get during sleep that we simply can’t get when we are awake. 

Research says adults should get between 7-9 hours of sleep daily. Or is it 6-8? Or is it biologically we fall asleep and then wake up around 1 am, do tasks until about 2:30 am, and then fall back asleep until about 7 or 8 am? Or is it 5 hours of sleep during the week and then catch up on sleep on the weekends? Or is it that we can’t “catch up” on sleep?

Sleep research and what we need for sleep is as varied as we are. I’m a doctor—admittedly not that kind of doctor— but I still have some thoughts on how to make the most of our sleep. 

• Consult your medical doctor. Are you in need of a C-PAP machine? Are you a woman in perimenopause or menopause who might benefit from HRT? A medical professional can help you ensure there are no biological issues that could explain a lack of restful sleep. 
• Examine your sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene is a fancy phrase for all of the habits and behaviors that someone engages in that help them have a good night’s sleep. 
• Put. Down. Your. Phone. Blue light truly wakes your brain, making it more challenging to drift off. I struggle with this habit. I really, really like my phone. I pretend that it helps me relax when, in fact, I know it doesn’t. I need to re-evaluate my relationship with my phone, but that’s a blog post for another time! 

Sleep is essential. It’s restorative, soul-enriching, and helps our mind and our body. Take small but measurable steps to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep.