Hey everyone, Christen here! If you listened to the podcast yesterday, then you are up to speed on our discussion this week regarding migraines, and you will have heard my take on migraines and headaches. During the podcast Amber and Cindy explained what their migraines were like and how they cope with them. I had mentioned that I rarely if ever get headaches.
I feel really lucky that I don’t have that issue! It seems that I skipped out on getting frequent headaches. When I do manage to find my head feeling painful I can reason with why I had a headache, as mine are always self-induced due to lack of sleep and eye rest.
Since I work at a computer all day, play games, and read eBooks on my phone as well as binge watch on Netflix, it is common for me to get eye fatigue, otherwise known as eye strain. I also have a sensitivity to light and have allergies, so having eye discomfort can be a daily occurrence for me, and too much time in the sun will cause photokeratitis, a condition where the UV rays from the sun cause symptoms much like a sunburn.
To make matters worse, because I am a glutton for punishment, I tend to keep myself up way past my bedtime because I am enjoying my book or a particular show. When I wake up the next morning after a screen-viewing marathon, I will notice my eyes are very dry and will have a tight pulling sensation. It will feel like there is sand under my eyelids, and sometimes they will sting or feel warm under my eyelids. Overhead lighting and the sun will be exceedingly bright, and as the day passes, I find it more and more challenging to keep my eyes open. I will also have issues with watery eyes, which makes it even harder to see and focus. Taking a nap or resting my eyes will usually cure this pretty quickly.
If there are a lot of extra activities that go on beyond my normal routine, I don't ease up on my screen time, though, or take time for a nap. I enjoy the time away from the hustle and bustle when I am engrossed in a novel, or teaming up with my friends online to play a game. I make sure to have room in my busy schedule for screen time, even if I am exhausted and stretched too thin. I continue this same behavior for days on end, until I just crash and burn because I can barely hold my head up. Ultimately, what stops me like a brick wall is the headache.
After pushing myself to the extreme, I will suddenly have a headache. When my head starts to hurt, then I know I am done for the day. It’s not often that I let it get that far, but today, I can say that it has come to that; I noticed that I had a headache when I was at work today. I had headphones in and I was listening to a call. There was someone else in the office with me today, and it felt like they were yelling - my ears were so sensitive (I work in a call center, so it can be overwhelmingly noisy on a regular day). I know that my headache was induced by lack of sleep, as I have been keeping myself up too late these past couple of weeks. I have lots of fun things going on throughout the week in addition to working countless hours of overtime. On top of that, I still have a home to maintain, so I have been overdoing it.
I want to be careful, though, not to push myself too hard; I need to make sure to schedule self-care time for things like sleeping, meditating, creative/art therapy, and personal care. If I skimp out on my sleep, my personal care time gets cut short, like my skin care routine for example. There has to be some type of balance.
Other areas of my life can be impacted negatively from lack of rest. It is not healthy for the brain or the heart to get partial sleep. The body and mind need that time to recuperate, rebuild and process the day. Not getting enough sleep can lead to heart disease, depression and obesity. My family can also feel the side effects, as our moods change when we are not rested. Your manifestation power is compromised and your ability to perform tasks at work can be similar to someone who is intoxicated. When you put it like that, forgoing a few hours of sleep just to read another chapter sounds like a horrible idea.
Do you have something that you do that keeps you up at night, or things that you sacrifice sleep for? What do you do to overcome this? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, or be sure to check us out on our Facebook chat group MMC Chat.
No comments:
Post a Comment