Are You Sleeping?

I went to bed at 6 pm last night and I wasn't sick...just tired, very tired. As a result of my checking out so early I missed text messages from my daughters, supper with my husband and any other responsibility that might have been mine to attend to, respond to or finish up. And you know what? The sun still came up this morning and the world is still spinning on its axis.

I've never done that before. No matter how tired or sick I was there were things I had to take care of. Sleep came after everything else was done and everyone else was tended to. What about you? Does the thought of it give you palpitations or does it feel like a glorious luxury you could definitely see yourself doing?

As a culture we are sleep deprived. As busy women we passed sleep deprived so long ago we aren't sure what is a normal sleep cycle anymore. And some women who say they can't sleep are only dealing with the fallout from not being able to shut off their brains, their to do lists,or their endless sense of responsibility.

Study after study has shown the positive effect of enough sleep on our bodies and our productivity but still we claim we don't need it, don't have time for it or can't. Is this really a badge we want to wear? What does it tell our children about the need to care for our bodies by getting enough sleep? What does it say about our own self-respect?

So I'm going to challenge you for the new year to get enough sleep, make it a priority, put your health first and see what surprises await you.

(PS My early bedtime threw my husband so much that he didn't sleep at all last night. Too bad, because it was a lovely night for sleeping!).