Friday, November 6, 2009

Fighting the Urge to Snuggle

The weather's turned cold, and this is my body's cue to curl up and nap, apparently. Somebody done flipped the "HIBERNATE" switch. It's a tough urge to fight -- I've got a super comfy couch, a toddler who likes to cuddle, and streaming movies on Netflix.

I've been doing pretty well at keeping the naps under control, though. I've taken a couple of power-snoozes (less than an hour) on days that I work AND run, but that's it. I made up a few rules for myself to help:

1. Ask yourself, "Are you REALLY tired, or are you just bored?" I find that a lot of times I'll just go to sleep if I don't have anything interesting to do. I've been combatting this by getting back into photography, and I'm about to jump into scrapbooking again (that's my wintertime hobby).

2. No run? No nap. If I don't work out, I don't really have any excuse to be tired. If I do run, I let myself have a 45 minute nap, max.

3. No work? No nap. If I don't work in the morning (my usual 4:45 - 8:45AM shift), again, I don't have any excuse to be tired. And I really only need a post-work nap on days that are super busy, like today (lots of customers, supply order to put away, etc.).

4. Turn on the lights, or better yet, go outside. When I want to nap, I'll get up and turn the lights on (I usually keep them off during the day) or zip outside for a few minutes. It really helps.

Another thing I've been doing for a while now is to regulate my bedtime. This is one of those things that your mom or dad's been telling you your whole life -- go to bed at a reasonable hour. Again, so simple, but it really, really works. I've learned that I really need a solid eight hours in order to feel really good the next day. I just make my bedtime non-negotiable, like an appointment or any other time commitment.

I know I'm not the only one who must be feeling the urge to snuggle. How do YOU handle it?

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