Sleep — The Underrated Healer

Summary

The article discusses the author's evolving relationship with sleep, emphasizing its role as a healer and its importance in their life, especially after taking up running.

Abstract

The author reflects on their changing sleep patterns, from excessive sleep during teenage years to becoming a night owl in their 30s. The transformation into a morning person came with the adoption of running, particularly when training for a marathon required early starts. Initially resistant to the idea of waking up early, the author came to appreciate the restorative power of sleep for muscle recovery. This realization led to a conscious effort to go to bed earlier, allowing the body to be "massaged by the soft hands of SLEEP." The article also extends an invitation to other members of "The Brain is a Noodle" community to share their thoughts on the significance of sleep.

Opinions

The author initially valued sleep for its comfort and length, sleeping 10-12 hours as a teenager.
There is a noted resistance to waking up early for marathon training, with the author questioning the necessity of such an early start.
The author's perspective on sleep shifted from viewing it as a passive activity to recognizing it as an active healer, especially for muscle recovery.
The author believes in the healing power of sleep and its role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, particularly after engaging in strenuous physical activities like running.
There is a sense of

I believe that time and sleep heal everything.

My relationship with sleep has been like a roller coaster ride. I slept between 10 to 12 hours as a teenager till my early 20s, after which I turned into a night owl during my 30s.

When I was 41 years old, I became a runner and ran my first marathon. My runner friends wanted to meet early in the morning to do our long runs, which, at first, it sounded ludicrous to me.

Some of my thoughts were: “Why should I relinquish my sweet sleep? Why did we have to start so early?”

And yet, the more I ran, the more I realized that my body will repair itself the best during my sleep.

I started to go to bed earlier — letting my muscles get massaged by the soft hands of SLEEP.

Tagging other fellow members of The Brain is a Noodle. Hope you can also join this prompt and share some thoughts about the importance of sleeping and its habits.