REM. (Mom, this one is for you)

There are very few things I would say I’m obsessed with. Some of my friends would say I’m obsessed with Sunscreen, Anthropologie or Texas. While they are probably right, the thing I have a near-obsession with is a good night’s sleep. This all goes back to my drug-dealing mom....

OK, my mom really isn’t a drug dealer, she used to sell pharmaceuticals. That would be my running joke all through school when my friends would ask what my mom did for a living. One of the many drugs she has worked with have involved sleep. Therefore, my mom knows quite a bit about sleep and always was willing to share her findings with our family. Maybe the medical news she told me scared me to the point that I have become obsessed with sleep, but I also remember her telling me that I was very difficult to get up in the morning as a young child. I don’t like to sleep all day or even sleep-in on weekends that often. I actually really love to get up early and enjoy mornings. I just simply love getting a full 8 hour night of sleep. In college I never pulled an all nighter and sometimes would actually go to bed early, just to wake up at 4 or 5am to study in the mornings. Maybe I cut my studying short – but it seemed to work for me! (Your brain needs to sleep to regenerate cells for memory and recall during the REM cycle – right mom?) Now my friends give me a hard time (all in good fun) about always being the first to go home on a Saturday night or if I make it past midnight I practically get a standing ovation! During a girls weekend in San Diego, my sweet friend Shey even took my picture and a picture of her watch to prove that I stayed up almost until 2am! (I'll see if I can find it and post it to prove it!) It’s not that I’m anti-social -I think my body just needs it more than most, I can really feel the benefits that it creates for me. As soon as I shortchange myself I seem to get sick or just feel icky. I know it helps me feel so much more productive at work and just a feeling of being healthier overall. On days that I don’t get enough – working out or being productive is the last thing I want to do. Feel free to contact Linda for even more reasons why you should sleep. :) I’ve even started to influence of a few of my girl friends in to changing their sleep schedules from being late night owls to early to bed early to rise gals! I guess I’m rubbing off on them.

The only downside of this near-obsession is that I tend to get a little anxious if I think I’m not going to get enough sleep. Any time someone suggests going on a road-trip or get away weekend, one of my first thoughts is, “ will I get some rest?”. I know…I’m a mess. I’m working on holding this with an open hand and in the spirit of remembering promises, I know that God will give me rest and restore me.

I can’t wait for my head to hit the pillow again tonight. There is nothing like a day of hardwork or fun finished off with a great night of sleep. Cheers to 8 hours of the REM cycle!