Progress Report

Example of mood tracker using bullet journal system, photo from Pinterest.

As promised at the end of my last post, this week I will be discussing how I track my progress. Around the turn of the new year I was seeing a lot of blog posts and Instagrams about bullet journals. I'm aware that the concept has been around for a while but it seems to have taken off recently. If you search for 'bullet journals' on Pinterest you'll see dozens of beautifully illustrated pages that have been painstakingly planned ahead of time. People go to town on their journals using various pens, fonts, doodles and numbering the pages. Despite being a creative person myself, I couldn't get my head around spending hours on setting up the structure of the journal. I respond best to simple plans with some kind of easy to read visual scheme, which is exactly what I created for myself. I decided to take the general concept of the bullet journal; using a dot paged journal and creating a code to easily decipher progress in various topics.

My main areas that I wanted to track included my mood, quality of sleep and daily activities in terms of fitness. Each page contains a view of the entire year ahead, each square represents a day and is coloured in at the end of day according to how it went, whether I had insomnia and how active I was. Over time I can see patterns emerging such as how my activity levels drop if I've had a period of insomnia or a number of low days in a row. I decided to also created a two page view of each month to show how many steps I was wracking up and summarising what I got up to each day. I have to make a note of what I've been up to as my short term memory is terrible. If I forget to sit down and fill the pages in, I really struggle to think back on what I did a few days ago. For the step count pages I've been writing down the numbers provided by my Fitbit. At the end of each month I total up the steps and compare how well I've done against previous months. So far the total monthly step count has increased each month which is brilliant.

Using this type of journal has been a great way for me to track my progress. It also shows how well I'm doing in terms of meeting my fitness goals. I've always known that I experience a particularly bad period of insomnia each month and this has helped to outline when it happens. I love that I can see so much information from month to month on one page. I also find these tables a great way of keeping track of various chores I need to keep on top of such as when did I last change the bedding or clean the bathroom as well as things like when I last gave the pets their flea treatments or whether it's time I changed my toothbrush! I definitely recommend giving it a go, it isn't too late to set one up either!

  

Sleep Hygiene

A strange phrase I heard this week from my GP, 'sleep hygiene'. Essentially this entails having a good routine before going to sleep, or attempting it in my case. As you may have already gathered I frequently have insomnia. I can either go to bed feeling exhausted, fall asleep at 10pm and be wide awake at midnight. Other nights I simply can't get to sleep. On average I've been getting 3 hours of sleep a night for...well over a month, possible two months now. So, I set about improving my 'sleep hygiene'.

Good sleep hygiene includes:

• having a long, hot bath (also good for general hygiene)
• freshly washed bed sheets- no need to change them every night (!) but it's a nice feeling when you do
• no tech before bed, switch off the screens and don't be tempted to scroll through Instagram one last time
• read a book for half an hour before bed, preferable a physical book rather than on a Kindle or tablet
• light a candle with a relaxing fragrance
• anything on your mind? Scribble down a note rather than letting things run through your mind

Since I mentioned Insomnia in last week's post, a friend recommended that I take magnesium supplements (thank you!). I looked into it and discovered that a deficiency in magnesium can present itself in the body with eye twitches *check*, cold hands and feet *check*, insomnia or chronic fatigue *big fat check*, anxiety *check*, depression *hello old friend* and irregular heartbeats *thank god there's an explanation*. That's just naming a few symptoms, so check it out and see if any of them apply to you! Taking one or two supplements half an hour before bed can improve the quality and length of sleep. Some people experience WILD dreams as a result of taking magnesium, I already have enough of those thanks to my anti-depressants but if it will perk them up (actually crazy nightmares not dreams) then go ahead. Please ensure you do your research before taking anything, seek advice from your GP and buy any supplements from a good source.

As for candles, be safe! I will not be held responsible for any house fires. However, I will recommend the following candles:

• Heavenly Sleep candle from This Works. Some people love the pillow sprays they do. I tried them and came out in a pimply rash, probably due to sensitive skin but worth a mention. The candle is gorgeous and the smell lingers long after it has been blown out, getting a waft up the nostrils is rather nice. 
• Real Luxury 3 wick candle by Neom. I received this one for my birthday, a totally unexpected gift from Robbie. It is a smidge pricier but the fragrance is SO nice, it burns really well and the scent stays in a room for a few days after it has been lit. 

I've linked where you can purchase the candles above, just hover over 'This Works' and 'Neom'. I hope you find something that works for you if you are having sleepless nights. Let me know if you have any other tips and tricks!

Follow

Absence

At this rate I'll be a fortnightly blogger! I'm afraid there won't be a post this evening. Insomnia has finally taken it's toll. I can't remember the last time I slept through the night, it certainly hasn't happened in February. I suppose this is the risk you take reading my blog, it's the nature of the illness, it doesn't care for schedules no matter how important your day is. I never want to let anyone down, I'd hate to think of someone that relies upon the blog gearing up to read a post only to find there isn't one. Then again, it would fill me with immense pleasure if I knew that I was helping someone, that they eagerly anticipated my posts each week. When times are tough I usually try to rally. Even if it's been a hard day, I can usually bring something together for a post. I never want to give up on this, writing has helped me so much. However, I also don't want to lose the joy I have for the process. Putting too much pressure on myself risks flattening that joy and myself in the process. Fear not, I will return. I'll always make an effort to let you know what's going on the Facebook page. I look forward to getting out of this period of insomnia so I can be running on (almost) full cylinders again!

Follow