Day 91: Ryan vs. The Alarm Clock
Red Sox vs. Yankees; The United States vs. The Soviet Union; Jennifer Aniston vs. Angelina Jolie; Coke vs. Pepsi; they all pale in comparison to the rivalry between me and my alarm clock. This exercise and diet plan has put a definite kink in the sleep schedule that I’ve been used to.
For those of you that aren’t aware I’m a computer geek. I work in electronic health records management and I really like what I do. Geeks are inherently nocturnal. If we’re not trying to meet a deadline we’re working on our own projects well into the wee hours of the morning. I have spent many a night chugging soda, eating junk food, and operating on 4 or less hours of sleep. Obviously these habits had to change if I really wanted to be healthier.
The first week of the transition was tough! I initially thought I would be able to keep the same schedule (minus the soda and junk food) and still be on the bike or at the gym by 5:30 in the morning. WRONG! Besides the lack of caffeine and the drastic change in nutrition, the exercise was making me tired. I was really dragging that first week or ten days. I knew that I had to change some bad habits. The alarm clock would sound at 5 or 5:30 (depending on the day) and I would not be happy about it. It wouldn’t be the first time I swore at a piece of electronics, but it was definitely the most consistent. Like many people I use my cell phone for an alarm clock and finding the spot on the touch screen where I could punch “snooze” was always a chore. I also made the alarm some bluesy guitar riff that I thought would make waking up easier. It has simply made me loathe the blues.
Skyler talked to me about the importance of sleep and mentioned that ideally I should be getting an extra hour of sleep for every hour that I worked out. According to that I should be getting 9+ hours of sleep. That hasn’t happened since I was 15. It still hasn’t happened (it may be impossible for a parent) but I’m getting better.
Things have actually changed quite a bit since then. My body is used to waking up now. In fact there are a lot of mornings where I wake up before the alarm goes off. Granted I’m hitting the sack between 10 and 11 which makes me feel kind of like an old man, but energy-wise things are much better!
There are definitely still mornings where I don’t want to climb out of bed, but they are much less frequent (maybe once a week). I’m a competitive person by nature, but this is one case where I’m willing to admit defeat. Alarm Clock, you win!
4 Responses to “Day 91: Ryan vs. The Alarm Clock”
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| Current Weight: | 261.0 lbs |
| Goal Weight: | 225.0 lbs |
| Calories Eaten: | 0 |
| Calories Burned: | 0 |
| Exercise Status: | |
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9+ hours seems like quite a bit. You might want to read this article: http://health.ucsd.edu/news/2002/02_08_Kripke.html
@Muti, I actually don’t disagree. The point was more that I should have definitely been getting more sleep than I was. Also, sleep does give your body the opportunity to recover from rigorous workouts better. Anywhere between 6 and 8 hours of sleep is sufficient, it just depends on the person. http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0,,20188020,00.html By the way, the array of domain aliases that you use is always entertaining!
You should try coffee, I hear it tastes great, is good for you, and will make your bishop give you Sundays off of church…
@winslowlds, if everything you say about this miracle drink is true. I will start tonight.