Luus and Sleep: Focus on Increasing Restoration

Any of you listen to or read Dr. Lisa Damour - parenting expert and teen psychologist extraordinaire? I loved two of her best selling books, Untangled and Under Pressure, recommended to me by my sister-in-law. Or did I recommend them to her? Now I can't remember!! 

I also listen to Dr. Lisa's podcast "Ask Lisa" periodically.  I always walk away with some tibit of useful information, no matter what subject she's covering.  Usually the valuable nuggets are about parenting, but these little tips fit right in line with my journey with Lupus. 

I talk a lot about sleep on this blog. Primarily because daily fatigue is something I've dealt with every day since I was diagnosed with lupus 24 years ago. It's the one symptom that has persisted, despite all the others that plagued my life for so long - the joint pain, joint swelling, rashes, hair loss, kidney and lung complications -subsiding over time. 

Not fatigue. It continues, even to this day. 

For now, my fatigue is managed with one or two short naps every day. The naps are relatively easy to fit in, being self-employed, and because they're not too long, as long as I don't get too uptight about my productivity from one day to the next, all goes smoothly.  But the naps are non-negotiable. I have to take at least one, but usually two, every single day.  

(Note: I am trying to increase my sleep at night by an hour to see if I can eliminate the short early nap. I will keep you posted!)

But whether we're talking about napping during the day, or getting extra hours of sleep at night, here's what Dr. Lisa has to say about sleep:  

First, she says we need to prioritize sleep.

(Yes! I agree!)

Second, we can't feel guilty about the need for extra sleep, even if it appears to take away from our productivity at home or at work. Hint: it really doesn't. 

(To all that, I say, yes, again!)

Third, instead of trying to reduce stress, we should focus on increasing restoration. (Yes, yes, yes!))

You can listen to the podcast where she talks about all of this here. It's titled, "Finding Balance in the New Year". It's actually from last year, but it definitely still applies! 

If you want to read how my relationship with my nap(s) has evolved over the years, click here and here.

It's not always been easy, but today, I'm at peace with my need to restore and renew!