5 Ways to Boost Your Will Power

The following five "Ways to boost your will power" are from the Dr. Daniel Amen video that I just watched (and I'm currently reading his book). STATEMENTS IN PARENTHESIS ARE ADDED BY ME.


5 Ways to Boost Your Will Power

1. Maintain healthy blood sugar (don't let yourself starve. If you are like me, you become ornery and can't think straight when you're hungry).

2. Get good sleep (everyone should get 7-9 hours every night. don't kid yourself into believing that you are just 'one of those people who can get by on 4-5 hours').

3. Have clearly stated, reinforced goals.

4. You have to practice will power (practice telling yourself 'no' and over time it will become easier for you).

5. Balance your brain chemistry (fish oil does wonders).

Are you on Speed?

Yes, my next door neighbor just asked me that question (after first asking, "What are you doing up so late?!) It was 10:30 pm, and normally I am frowning, drooping, hungry for sleep just before 10 pm. Alisa knows that my life is screwed if I don't make my normal bed time.

BUT EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT NOW!

Ambien has made me feel like a normal person, rather than an injured person who must plan her life around her sleep schedule.

Last night, for example, I took Ambien at 9:24 pm (after a long, tiring day because I didn't sleep well the night before -- I didn't take an Ambien) and NO JOKE, I awoke at 5:31 am and not a minute sooner. I got 8 full hours of sweet sleep. Does the world understand that I have not experienced 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep in the past 14 years? Today was bliss! I've been up since 5:30 am and didn't even begin to feel tired until 10:30.

I just took a bit of my Ambien pill a few minutes ago and I'm beginning to deteriorate, in a most yummy way. I love this!

Sweet dreams!

Sleep Consultation (I'm glad I did it!)

I found out an interesting fact about my own sleep during the consultation. Only 16% of my sleep reaches R.E.M or DEEP SLEEP. 22% is normal. This difference is a result of my Traumatic Brain Injury, which explains WHY I never sleep more than six hours at one time (occasionally seven hours) and I WHY I NEVER feel rested. My quality of sleep sucks.
So now I'm on my way to pick up a prescribed sleep medication, AKA AMBIEN. Some patients have weird dreams and awakenings in the middle of the night with Ambien, but she said these are not the majority. So I'm going to try it for a month and see if it helps me.
As a side note, I must acknowledge that Dr. Mark Ashley told me at the Brain Injury Association of Utah Conference a few years back that TBI survivors must fix their sleep hygiene along with taking prescribed medication. You can't assume that a sleeping pill is going to fix it alone. So I'll be sticking with my early bed time, no sugar or salt late at night stuff.

Sucky Sleep Study PART 2

So it is now 9:54 pm and I need to brush my teeth and crawl into bed in the next six minutes. Therefore this post is going to be quick and short.
Tomorrow morning I have a "Sleep Consultation" with the office who did my sleep study (which I might add was basically a waste of time because the only thing they told me was that I didn't have restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea, which I already suspected, but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry when dealing with your health).
I have little idea what to expect with the sleep consultation, but I really hope, hope that they can tell me something "helpful" about how to improve my sleep. I'm sure one thing they will tell me is "go to bed at the same time every night." My time is 10:00 pm which is in exactly one minute, so I must away. I'll update this blog with the results of my consultation tomorrow.