I am writing this while on the train to work. It is 7am and behind me I hear snoring – not the gentle wheeze of somebody in light sleep, but the heavy rattle of somebody completely passed out. This is the type of snore that most people have only when they are ill, or really tired.
It’s been a slow week for blog inspiration this week. Having had all manner of ideas last week I had drawn a complete blank early this week. This is hardly surprising considering the exhausted state I found myself in at the start of the week. Exhausted yes, but I’m not as tired as some. It is not my own snoring I’m currently listening to.
It was a combination of factors that led me to this exhausted state – it usually is. Work, travel, and late nights. At the start of this week my body said that it had had enough and I was in bed by 9:30 pm – asleep before 10pm. I know from experience that I need 8 hours a night and I had been getting as little as 5 hours some nights. The last three nights I’ve had 9 hours a night and suddenly today my inspiration has returned.
Tiredness robs your life of colour, forcing you into a monochrome existence
Lack of sleep has very real consequences for many people. Aside from the physical affects there is also the drop in mental capacity. Ask any new parent what they want, and they’ll most like say “sleep”.
I find it sad that a lot of people could be missing out on their true potential, purely due to a lack of sleep. But I find it harder when I think about children. Teachers in Europe have been complaining for a long time that they have tired children in the classroom. These children will find it harder to:
- grasp new concepts,
- retain new information long term,
If they are anything like me then they will probably be grumpier as well. (Sorry family)
The last time I was truly exhausted was when we relocated here from Europe. For a few short weeks we lived in a temporary apartment, took the children to school by bus, and generally had our first experiences of living in Tokyo. I have only snippets of memory from that time, my mind was so fogged by jet lag. I remember my daughter falling asleep against me on the way back from dinner, I remember the brightness of Tokyo Tower at night. The memories that I do have feel like they belong to somebody else. There is no richness to those experiences at all.
If you want to perform better in life check how much sleep you are getting. If you want to help your child perform well at school, get them to bed early so that they feel refreshed in the morning. Start them on a good habit for life. I would not like to live long term tired. Why should they?
Learning Till I Die 