#TeamNoSleep: When I Finally Stopped Thinking Not Sleeping Was Cool
If you were to ask anyone who knew me or followed me online, one thing that they could all agree on is that a night owl who never slept when she needed to. I am a full-time student, involved on campus, and I work to support myself. At one point I had five jobs during my junior year. Crazy right? I was a devoted member of #TeamNoSleep. I was proud of not sleeping.
Somehow in my mind there was a correlation between not sleeping and success. For no apparent reason I believed that If I wanted to be successful, then I had to sacrifice something precious; sleep was the first thing to go.
Needless to say, I documented my contribution to #TeamNoSleep on Twitter.
April 25, 2015:
I knew it. They knew it. So it must be okay right?
April, 24, 2015:
*Shakes head*
I apparently had no idea what sleep was so I asked Twitter repeatedly.
August 3, 2015:
Now what was I doing at 4:53 a.m.?! It is never that serious. *Shakes head again*
You get the point. But I didn’t.
I didn’t get the point until my health was at an all-time low. It came to a point that I had to take a term off. Nevertheless, I still went right back to my old ways.
- I was constantly burned out;
- Tired: I mean not sleeping would do that to you;
- Had more energy drinks and coffee than food;
- When I did eat it consisted of fast food favorites such as Chipotle.
- And I gained quite a few pounds that I couldn’t blame the “Freshman 15? on.
I realized that if I continued down this path it would only hurt me in the long run. Honestly, I was tired of hearing my own excuses. If I was going to continue to share success quotes, preach on self-care online and to my friends then it was about time I practiced it myself. It took 10 long months but I finally made my health a priority.
My mother and I joined the Massy Arias October fitness challenge. For the first time ever I scheduled in working out, meal planning and most importantly, sleep. It gave me the organized routine that I needed. Once I changed my sleeping pattern, I was able to be more productive throughout the day. I have never felt better; physically and mentally.