I was finally able to fall asleep in own bed last night! One win for sleep hygiene. I managed to sleep through my alarm which was set to play 2 hours of Joshua Tree by U2. I didn’t move throughout the entire night because when I woke up I was stiffer than I could be.
A lot of people I know with Bipolar Disorder either don’t like to talk about sleep hygiene or are committed to an almost religious sleep cycle to maintain their circadian rhythms. When I am working I do much better about going to sleep and staying on a more consistent pattern of going to bed and waking up at the same time. While I am off work, it is much harder to do so.
There was a research study done at the University of Michigan that reported that sleep was one of the most important factors impacting a person’s ability to regulate their mood. It stated that the amount of sleep needed was 6-8 hours per night. Missing one night of sleep takes weeks for the body to recover from. There are other key points from this study/lecture that was done that I might share with you over time. I think that it is important that people with Bipolar Disorder know the tools at their disposal besides medication to help them regulate their moods more effectively. I know need to use every possible advantage I have over this illness to in order to try to be as stable as possible each and every day.
Pic from Pixabay
