A bad nights sleep makes me moody, unpleasant, sluggish, reactive, hangry and unproductive. The upside is that I’m also unbearable so people stay away from me and I can sulk in complete solitude. Now that I think about it, I like to be around people because I can scream at them and blame them for something I did wrong… because I was tired… because I had a bad nights sleep. Maybe I should figure out why I’m having trouble sleeping (aside from the times I wake up feeling like I’m in Dante’s Inferno). I wish the answer would just come to me in a dream. But I need to be sleeping to dream. Do you see my predicament?

As I studied sleep and how it could become disrupted I found that there could be 1,462 reasons that my sleep sucks. That didn’t really narrow it down from the 6 reasons I originally thought. What I did find helpful was that there were some simple things I could try and one seemed particularly helpful given that I would wake up in the middle of the night with discomfort in my delicate belly. You may be saying… duh Carrie, I could have told you your problem. But, you won’t because you apparently get enough sleep and aren’t crabby enough to be that mean. The suggestion was to stop eating 2-3 hours before I went to bed. So I did and voila, my belly was very happy and my sleep improved! Immediately!

If you’re having trouble sleeping (or even if you’re not), your next vibrant habit is to stop eating and close your kitchen 2-3 hours before you normally go to bed. This gives your body time to digest a meal thus limiting indigestion, upset stomach, possible weight gain and acid reflux (which could result in restlessness and sleeplessness and way less vibrance). If nighttime eating is a regular occurrence for you, this habit may seem impossible. But remember, habits don’t need to be all-or-nothing! Start your journey by ending your typical snacking at night 30 minutes earlier than usual. Once that becomes easy to do, tack on another 30 minutes until you hit the 2-3 hours that is recommended. So don’t delay, make this habit a priority because the one thing you should never get tired of is sleeping :)