Sleep Issues

Today was a weird work day…I wasn’t in my office for most of the day and had a simple turkey sandwich with fresh fruit (peaches & strawberries) for lunch.

When I got back to the office around 2:30 I was hungry again/getting there, but I wasn’t in the mood for snack foods so I bought Toyko Buckwheat Soba Noodles made by Macro Vegetarian

Their products are 100% vegan and mostly organic. I ate half and brought the rest home.

Grapes & cheese (and lots of unpictured tortilla chips!) also made it into my stomach before dinner.

Dinner: Chicken Piccata with Lemon, Capers & Artichokes

I based it off of this Food Network recipe.

My artichokes were from the Trader Joe’s frozen section instead of a can, so first I had to defrost those on the stove

Then sliced a chicken breast into 4 pieces and sprinkled them with salt, pepper, paprika & the juice of half a lemon

Coated in wheat bran (I wanted something with more texture than flour)

Cooked in olive oil (couple minutes on each side)

Added 1/2 c. veggie broth, 1/4 c. rice vinegar + 1/4 c. water (to replace white wine), the last bit of juice I could squeeze from that half lemon – simmered about 5 minutes

When it reduced, added the artichokes and about 1/4 c. capers, drained (I would use less next time)

Served over rice (made in the trusty rice cooker, of course)

This was good, but not fantastic. I was disappointed I couldn’t taste the lemon (I think I added it too early in the process and it cooked off) and I think white wine would have been better than the rice vinegar. Still makes for a yummy dinner though, and I bet if you followed the recipe more closely, it would taste better!

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Now to a very important and often neglected topic: SLEEP

Despite sleeping well last night, I’m still sort of experiencing that hit-by-a-bus feeling again today. I think it’s going to take more than one good night of sleep to get back to feeling really well rested.

I have had sleep issues my whole life. Well, not major ones (I know there are people who literally hardly ever sleep), and it certainly never got bad enough for me to even think about medication. But my parents tell me I broke our Little Mermaid VHS because I watched it too many times when I couldn’t sleep as a child.

I think most of my issues stem from things that are under my control. I am a sensitive sleeper who needs a very relaxing, consistent pre-bed routine to get good rest, and often I don’t take the steps that I could to make that happen. In college it was hard (especially for the 3 years I had roommates), but I still could have done a better job. And this year, in an apartment with my own bedroom, there are things I could work on.

Problems with my current “routine” (or lack of routine):

• I use my computer while laying/sitting on my bed. BAD. Bed should be the place you sleep. (I think this stems from the fact that I don’t really like sitting at my desk…I will need to consider this when I move, BIG TIME).
• I will often be on my computer or watching TV right up to the point of going to bed. I think I would benefit from turning the electronics off sooner, and really allowing myself to unwind with a book or magazine instead. A lot of sources seem to agree that the type of mental stimulation you get from TV/computer is not conducive to sound sleep.
• I sometimes think about what I have to do the next day or things that are bothering me right before bed, when I’d probably be much better off distracting myself for the night and getting good rest to deal with those things the next day.

Some things I might have right:

• I have a pretty consistent bed time during the week and am good about at least getting into bed at a decent time. (The other night was a major exception – I never stay up late to do things like that!! I never even came close to pulling an all-nighter in college).
• I either use my fan for white noise or put on the ocean wave music I bought on iTunes (which is actually meant to help babies sleep), because little things outside my window or in my apartment will wake me up otherwise. This low level of calm, consistent noise helps me stay asleep.

Do you have trouble falling/staying asleep? What is your pre-bed routine, if you have one?