Gidi Gidi!!! The ever busy city that’s got almost everyone on their feet. It’s either you’re moving fast or you get kicked past. It’s never a dull moment in the streets of Gidi; from the daily road struggle to the regular street adventures, then one natural disturbance (flood) or the other; all of these coins down to the Lagos hustle. Indeed, it really takes so much courage to live in Lagos.
For most of us, we are either here or there, and this is one thing Life in Lagos really entails. In a bid to keep tabs with so many demands in Gidi, we deprive ourselves (we go at war with) of certain important stuffs which have always been and known to be beneficial to us.
One thing which Gidi seems to have successfully snatched away from us is our precious sleep. Gone are those days when an individual would opt for his/her siesta during the day and also have a good night rest (that same day) after a long day. A huge thanks to Gidi, all of these are now memories.
One truth remains that having “sleep” as something that doesn’t come often could really hurt you and put you in conditions you never wish to be. You could either be found sleeping always at almost every location, or you could always feel fatigued carrying out the littlest task. You could even breakdown, having no other place to be but the hospital bed.
Hollup! Don’t get scared, there’s good news in this post. You could still be living those memories of a sound sleep in this present time amidst the regular Lagos struggle. Here are various ways (to bring the long gone memory back) to make sleeping easier:
- Proper Planning: Draw out daily plans showing your activities and add sleep in the list of those activities. A 10 minute nap during the day would go a long way in improving your performance for that day and relief you of so much stress.
- Exercise Regularly: Regular exercise helps you sleep better and increases the amount of time you spend in the deep restorative stages of sleep.
- Know your body clock: Know how your body works when it comes to sleeping. Establish a particular time of sleeping and waking up. By sticking to this, sleeping becomes easier.
- Know your limit: When you’re feeling fatigued, take a break and have some sleep to clear your head. Avoid doing so much than you can handle; this will only result in breakdowns.
- Avoid stimulants: Stimulants such as caffeine (found in coffee, cola, chocolate and tea) and nicotine (in tobacco) disrupts sleep. If you must take them, do so at least four to six hours before bedtime.
- Be time conscious: Do all you can or all you have to do before bedtime. Also, avoid staying up late in the night.
- See your doctor if you feel you have any sleeping disorder.
The benefits of doing all of these are:
- Resting well at night boosts productivity during the day.
2. It enhances your brain’s performance. You feel sharper after waking up from sleep.
3. During sleep you can strengthen memories or “practice” skills learned while you were awake.
4. Sleep also affects quality of life. Too much or too little sleep is associated with a shorter lifespan although it’s not clear if it’s a cause or effect.
