A comedienne used to joke that the dividing line between childhood and adulthood is the willingness and desire to take a nap. Kids: can’t force ‘em. Adults: is there anything more you desire on this plane of existence?

IF the thought of a good night’s sleep fills you with a simultaneously joy and heartbreak only commensurate with an until-now-unrequited love you know will never EVER be, you may be sleep-deprived.

IF you fall asleep the second your head hits the pillow. Or the couch. Or the headrest of the car(!) You may be sleep-deprived.

IF you are hauling butt in every other respect of your fitness regimen, working out, eating on-plan but hit with cravings you may or may not succumb to, and NOT getting the results you want, you are most assuredly sleep-deprived.

There are a couple of different categories we can shuffle you into - can’t sleep and won’t/don’t sleep.

Either way, your hormones are working against you, and ladies, I’m not just talking to you. Leptin and ghrelin are two hormones connected with appetite and satiety (feeling of fullness) negatively affected by lack of adequate quality sleep. Insulin resistance is increased with chronic sleep deprivation, potentially leading to diabetes and the many attendant health problems associated with that disease. Blood pressure increases as well as your risk of heart disease. Even if you DON’T cheat in response to the signals your body is sending trying to get lost energy needed from sleep replaced by calories instead. Even then - your body will hold onto fat.

It’s all well and good to say you need to get more sleep, but how does that actually happen?

Institute a screen-free time after a certain hour of the evening for the whole family? Smart phones, laptops, Ipods, TV - the whole shebang? Aside from keeping us up via distraction, light from screens does interfere with our ability to get to sleep (keeping your phone at the bedside as an alarm can have the same impact - consider going old school with a wind-up clock - no worries about power outages!)

Have an evening routine that allows for a more streamlined exit in the morning? Lay out all items that need to leave with you in the morning, as well as your clothes. Did your Mom make you do this? She knew she didn’t have time to chase you and your siblings around before school :).

JUST SAY NO.

I challenge each of you to lay out a time budget of your current life the same way you would lay out a financial budget. How many hours of your day are taken up before we even allot a few minutes to tinkle and shower? If you’ve ever been faced with the choice of shaving one leg or the other because you don’t have time for both, you _might_ be overcommitted. 24 hours. That’s all each of us has no matter how we try to fold space. Faced with a true accounting of the ins and outs of our days, the next question is what needs to give? We’ve all heard the old saw, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” It’s OK to acknowledge the limits of your day. If it makes you feel better to put something on a to-do list as a placeholder until you can face NOT doing it (a personal fav strategy), trick yourself with this psychological sleight-of-hand. You will be around a lot longer to do good if you don’t burn yourself out now.

Be well - as always, write with your thoughts and strategies! [email protected]

Coach Marcey Tidwell is started as a client with NGPT in January 2011. Joining the team as an accountability coach, she wears many hats in assisting the Meltdown Nation! Nurse Marcey by day, she brings a wealth of knowledge the program!