Gems of Wisdom - Stop Anticipating Tiredness

I overheard two men speaking. It was as if each person was trying to convince the other, and perhaps themselves, how many hours and how hard they were working, how few hours of sleep they were going to get, and, most of all, how tired they were going to be. I wasn’t quite sure if they were bragging or complaining, but one thing was certain, they were appearing more and more tired the longer the conversation continued. 

The problem with anticipating tiredness in this way, or in any way, is that it clearly reinforces the tiredness. It rivets your attention to the number of hours you are sleeping and how tired you are going to be. Then, when you wake up, you are likely to do it again by reminding yourself how few hours it has been since your head hit the pillow. Who knows what really happens, but seems to me that anticipating tiredness must send a message to your brain reminding you to feel and act tired because that is the way you have programmed yourself to respond.      

Clearly, everyone needs a certain degree of rest. I’ve read a few articles suggesting that many, if not most, of us don’t get enough sleep. And if you’re tired, the best possible solution would probably be to try to get more sleep. But in those instances when it’s not possible to do so, the worst thing you can do, in my estimation, is to convince yourself, in advance, that you are going to be exhausted.      

I’ve noticed this habit of anticipating tiredness creep into the conversations of many people. If you are someone who does this, see if you can avoid the tendency as much as possible. If you do, you may find yourself feeling less tired.