Getting enough sleep is one of the most important things a person must do to be the best version of themselves. Sleep keeps us healthy, energized, and functioning well. However, I for one, have not taken sleep seriously enough. Ever since the seventh grade, I have been going to sleep at 1:00 a.m. every night and waking up at 7:00 a.m. It is also common for me to pull all-nighters the day before big tests so that I can study. Although my terrible sleep schedule has not hindered my academic performance yet, I have started to feel the consequences of sleep deprivation in my personal life. That is why I have taken on the challenge to get 10 hours of sleep a night by going to bed at 8:00 p.m. and waking up at 7:00 a.m. What follows are recordings of the effects of the challenge.
Today is Jan. 10, and I have officially started the sleeping challenge. Last night was a very rough night. I got into bed at 8:00 p.m. but could not sleep until almost three hours later. I laid in my bed, restless, and fought the urge to get up and do something. Luckily for me, my parents were also in on my challenge and made sure to keep me in bed. I switched sleeping positions and even flipped my pillow onto its cold side but nothing worked. To make matters worse, I woke up feeling just as tired, if not even more exhausted than I normally feel. Today just feels like a normal day, and nothing changed.
It is now Jan. 13, and I am three days into the challenge. In all honesty, I still do not feel any different. Although I am better at falling asleep early, I still have trouble with doing so. This challenge also makes me worry about my school assignments. I do a lot of homework late at night, and I have been forced to do my homework earlier, which I definitely am not used to. I also still feel the dread of hearing my alarm wake me up every morning. Everything feels the same, and I am not going to sugarcoat it to make this challenge seem better than it is.
Today is the 20th, and I am ten days into the challenge. To maintain the integrity of this challenge, I am going to admit that I got into bed at 10:00 p.m. on the night of Jan. 18 because of an assignment I forgot to do and also because of the crazy loud winds. Other than that, I can genuinely say that I feel happier. Other than the change in my sleep schedule, my daily routine has remained the same. Therefore, I believe my sudden boost in happiness can be attributed to my increased amount of sleep. The early bedtime has also forced me to be more productive during the day. Instead of studying and doing work all night, I have started to finish all my work right after class. Because of this, I feel more responsible than I have ever felt in my high school career. Also, going to sleep and waking up is not that much of a challenge for me anymore. Once I enter my bed, I am immediately knocked out because of how hard I work during the day. My family can also see the change in my mood and have noted that I am more willing to do my chores.
Today is Jan. 24, and it is officially the last day of the challenge. I am more productive than I have ever been in my entire life. I turn in high-quality work and finish assignments quickly. However, the most important thing that I noticed is that I have started to become healthier. At the beginning of the experiment, I predicted that I would have to sacrifice time for exercising since I had less time in the evening, but this challenge had the opposite effect. I am working out even more now compared to the past because I feel more energized. In addition, this improved sleep schedule has caused me to fix my eating schedule. I used to eat breakfast during the break, lunch after school, and dinner at eight. Since I have more energy to make meals, I now eat breakfast before class, lunch during lunch break, and dinner at 6:00 p.m.. Although this may seem very normal to many, it is an absolute miracle for me.
Overall, this sleeping challenge has started a domino effect that drastically improved my life. The challenge not only helped me experience the positive effects of getting more sleep, but it also helped me improve other aspects of my life. The only bad thing I can say about this challenge is that the 8:00 p.m. bedtime may have been a little overkill. I believe that a 9 or 10 o’clock bedtime would have sufficed. After seeing the positive effects of this challenge, I have decided to go to sleep at 10 o’clock every night from now on. I also encourage other students to try this challenge so they can feel the positive effects as well.
