Final Report on the 60 Day Sleep Challenege

Hi,

Today is June 3rd, a few days after my 60 day sleep challenge ended; May 30th. You'll remember the goal as to get myself into a better sleep routine. Also, I gave myself the following conditions.

1. No alcohol
2. No caffeine
3. No chocolate
4. Avoid dessert and processed sugars

I gave a progress report on May 6th, to keep you posted on how I was doing. Here are the final results.

-I’ve lost 5 pounds. I am now at 170. I don’t have any pictures to so you as I’m still working on getting back in shape. I’ll have a before and after photo for you soon as I am still working out and working towards my goals.

-I did cheat a few days with the alcohol and chocolate. Just a stray Hershey kiss here and there and one small piece of 80% dark chocolate. (Hey, it has a lot of antioxidants!) And the alcohol was in social situations were it would have been rude not to share a drink. That said, never did I get drunk and I didn’t go over two drinks per occasion. Overall, it was a HUGE reduction in my alcohol and chocolate intake. Though I must be honest, for the past few years chocolate intake has been far greater than alcohol. (Damn sweet tooth!) I do feel better because of it.

-For the first few weeks, I got rid of caffeine completely. Did my body good. (Wait, sorry, it’s milk that does that.) I slowly reintroduced caffeine with green tea because of the benefits of antioxidants it contains. I’m now drink “half-caff” coffee in the morning. So my usually two cups now only has the caffeine of one cup. I’ll have a cup or two of green tea at the office, but I don’t drink any caffeine after 3pm. So far, I’m feeling good.

-Overall, I am sleeping better. I am still waking up during the night most days, however the number of wake-ups have drastically lessened. I also have realized that many of my wake-ups are caused by external stimuli. And that by eliminating those stimuli, I sleep better.

For instance, the way my apartment is set up, I hear a lot of the noise generated by my roommate when she comes home late at night. Since she is on a different schedule rarely does she go to bed at the same time as I do. We’re working on a remedy to that here in the apartment, however, there is another solution coming very soon.

I’m moving out. Now before you lose yourself singing that Billy Joel song, (because I sure as hell ain’t dancing no Twila Tharp routine) let me explain why. I’ve decided to change careers, well at least day-job paths. I’ve been accepted to a massage therapy school in New Jersey. My classes start July 20th and will run through until April. I know moving to a quieter environment, as well, as starting on a path that my soul tells me is the right path, will improve my sleep tremendously. (As well as exhausting myself as I continue to work out.)

Well, that’s it for now. The details of my move, and my new path, will come in future blog posts. Thanks to every one for there continued support!