Health & Beauty: Get Some Sleep, Girl!

I think it's safe to say that between 83 - 95% of people between the ages of 15 - 26 are sleep deprived. The good news, for me anyway, is that I have narcolepsy. Or at least I'd like to think so. I'm like the 80-year old grandpa at the family reunion who walks in, sits down, and passes out for the next five hours. Or the girl who started drinking at 11 a.m. and is blacked out on your kitchen table by 5. So it's more like a curse than a blessing, but that's beside the point. The real point is that sleep deprivation is causing more harm than you think. Not only does it cause you to spew jumbled and nonsensical sentences in an incredibly half-assed attempt to participate in the conversation that, in reality, took place 75% in your head, it also leaves way for those around you to take embarrassing photos of you sleeping with your eyes half open, and in some cases, videos. I feel so bad for the people that that happens to.

In my recent Pinterest research, I happened upon a post that maps out the regions of our bodies that are being affected by our 100% necessary all-nighters. Apparently, lack of sleep leads to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and an increased risk of developing breast cancer, among other things. I totally buy the part about heightened levels of anxiety, because when I'm tired I am paranoid about everything. At about hour 18 I'm on high alert. Everything is a threat. I have to look over my shoulder every 5 seconds. Every shadow I see is an intruder, or worse, a monster. I eventually lose the will to get up and get ready for bed, so instead I lay in bed, staring at my computer, eyes drying by the millisecond, waiting to die of exhaustion. And that's not good. So after reading this little sleep map, I've decided that I'm going to attempt to increase my HPN (hours per night) by half an hour per week. Starting today. So tonight I'll get a full 45 minutes if my plan goes as anticipated. The Sleep Map