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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Night Owl

It seems that every time I get on a productive sleep schedule (of at least waking up by 9am - which to some of you is sleeping in), I backslide into my Night Owl routine (staying up 'til 2-3am and waking at 12-1pm). I googled Night Owl, which took me to Wikipedia and I stumbled upon the term DSPS - Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, which
"is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, a chronic disorder of the timing of sleep, peak period of alertness, the core body temperature rhythm, hormonal and other daily rhythms, compared to the normal population and relative to societal requirements.... patients can sleep well and have a normal need for sleep. Therefore, they find it very difficult to wake up in time for a typical school or work day. If, however, they are allowed to follow their own schedules, e.g. sleeping from 4 a.m. to noon, they sleep soundly, awaken spontaneously, and do not experience excessive daytime sleepiness.
Not to sound hypochondriacal, but that totally sounds like me and my husband! Finally, a reason! A legit medical explanation to give to friends and family!

I find that I am more alert, productive, and creative at night, which is when I tend to have most of my inspired writing for my fantasy novels, or when I get the most ideas. It's also the time, say at 2:45am when my husband and I plop into our cozy bed with our snuggle-buddy cat, that he and I talk the most - we'll be up 'til 5am sometimes, just chatting or having deep conversations (my favorite). 

And now that I look back on it, my sleeping schedule has always been like this... Sure, teenagers are usually known for sleeping in, but now I'm an adult and I've never been able to hold a regular morning schedule. My parents would give me so much flack for sleeping in when I was a teenager, viewing it as lazy, even though I was awake for the same number of hours in a day, just not at the same time as them. It was so frustrating!

Honestly, I would love to be more of a morning person...I really would. But - now - I'm just going to stop beating myself up over my Biological Clock's screwy gears. This might sound like quitting or admitting defeat to some of you, but I would rather stop stressing over it and instead turn this into something positive. I accept it. I accept myself (some times this is difficult for all of us). I (like all of us) just have to know my limitations - for example, I would be setting myself up for failure and doing myself a disservice if I enrolled in a class that started at 8am (I know this from personal experience).

So guess what, it's 1:30am and what am I doing? I'm writing! So here's to all you Night Owls! All of you who run the late night services that we may need, like gas stations or Emergency Rooms...thank goodness we're not all the same!

Variety is the Spice of Life!

Cheers,
~*Nicole



Monday, January 17, 2011

About The Author


Nicole A.

About The Author


So, I’ll get down right to it - who the heck am I and why should you read my blog? I guess I should introduce myself - isn't that what polite strangers do?

I am not a doctor, healthcare provider, or scientist, but I am passionately curious, a student of the world and of life, and I question everything. I don’t believe in accepting a detrimental status quo or taking much of what we’re led to think (by the media) at face value. I feel everyone, person or agency, has an agenda and it’s best to be aware of it. My personal agenda is spreading Truth (with a capital T), open-mindedness, justice, equality, maybe challenge the way you been taught to think, and shine a light on a few subjects that we should have been taught in school.

I feel it is my duty to compile and share this amazing information in the hopes that it could change a life, like it’s changing mine. I try my best to write accurate information on both sides of an argument and I’m open to changing my opinion if presented with better information (especially if it’s backed with science). And I’m open to respectful discussion and constructive criticism, but not conflict.

While on my own journey to lasting, holistic, natural health, I am discovering so many things that I wish had been taught in high school. I’ve never needed to use Geometry, but I wish I’d known about in-depth nutrition and environmental toxins because that’s going to affect my whole life – whereas math won’t. I think if the information I’ve been researching, backed by science and medical studies, were more wide-spread, then America wouldn’t be in such a health crisis. More people would be energetic, less obese, vibrantly healthy, even joyful. If we educated our kids to be healthy, happy, and kind over cramming for tests (for things they won’t use in adulthood), we’d have a different kind of generation altogether; I think we’d raise people that would go out and change the world for the better.

My passionate curiosity has led me down many roads of study: holistic and natural health, alternative medicine, ancient practices, simple living, minimalism, Zero Waste, Plastic-Free, eco consciousness, self sustainability, natural earth building, tiny homes, real education, politics, social issues, science, medicine, anthropology, psychology, spirituality, meditation, and mindfulness. And I feel, like most things, they’re all intertwined and not separate disciplines.

I'm a perpetual-learner, writer, wife, and foster mom. I don’t like to put myself in a box because I am so many things. I like to think of myself as creative, artistic, and practical. I’ve been an artist since I could hold a crayon, a writer since I was 11, and an eternal avid reader. I have struggled with my health, depression, anxiety, weight and body image since I was 16. I’m currently turning my struggles into strengths, but it has (and continues to be) a long, uphill battle. I am focusing on my health journey, writing about it and sharing the important science with you, and enjoying life with my husband, cat, and any foster kids we might have.

In my hope to educate and heal myself, I’ve stumbled upon many great sources that I wish to share with you if you have similarly struggled. Stay tuned, subscribe, and share the knowledge if you, too, are seeking sustainable health.


Glad to have you along for this journey with me,

~Nicole A.