When I wake up in the morning, I spend anywhere from 40-60 minutes simply laying in bed, in a state of half-wakefulness, stressing about everything I have to do today.
I’ve found it quite easy to get up in the mornings this past month when I was on vacation I’m hoping to continue this habit now that I’m back in school. This habit is quite clearly tied to stress and anxiety, as it was hardly an issue during break when my workload was low.
Day 1. Saturday.
I set an alarm and immediately shut it off when it rang. I stayed in bed for another hour, this time purely sleeping. I’ll consider that a win, since at least I wasn’t stressing. If anything, I’m alright with spending extra time in bed on Saturdays – it’s the one day a week when I get to destress. I ought to savor the luxury of time when I have it. I was also up late the night before, so I needed the extra sleep to have a good day.
Day 2. Sunday.
The night before, I set the alarm to my default wakeup time that I follow during the weekday. This was overly ambitious, and, again, not mindful of the fact that I genuinely want to enjoy my weekend. I decided that the following night, I should set my alarm with intention and genuinely put thought into when I want to wake up.
Day 3. Monday.
When I was setting my alarm the previous night, I set it to get exactly eight hours of sleep. I didn’t have anything early in the day, so I figured I should anchor my decision around a healthy habit. I got up reasonably quickly (after about 20 minutes), which I would consider to be a success. The stressing was still there, though.
Reflections
This exercise made me consider how much time I spend in bed stressing about the upcoming day. In addition to having a better wake-up routine, I’m going to try better sleep hygiene. No doing work in my bed or checking emails. Nothing that stresses me out. I’m also going to keep the space around my bed clear so that I associate it with spaciousness and ease. This separation between work and life may reduce my anxiety at getting out of bed in the morning.
I also drew two diagrams to explain how the habit is intertwined with my environment and thought processes. The connection circle shows the numerous factors that impact my propensity to stay in bed.
This causation diagram illustrates how my behavior is self-reinforcing, leading me to spiral.
