It sucks, doesn’t it?
Going to bed at night . . . and . . . NOT being able to sleep, despite hours of “trying to”.
I see it all the time.
People complaining of insomnia, and “welcome to my world!” comments when another person refers to having insomnia.
As if staying up until the wee hours of the morning (when you do NOT want to) and then not being able to sleep was a badge of honor and the most normal thing in the world.
Anyway, just so you know, I’ve been there. Used to be, way back in the day I could barely get to bed (sleep) without a solid “heft” of liqor in me, and then some.
Or, without the conditions being “perfectly right” for me to sleep.
And so forth.
And often times, I STILL couldn’t sleep.
Tossing and turning until 4 AM, “wishing” that I’d finally fall asleep, and when I did, it was with the “dread” that the alarm clock “Stood ready” to toll an hour or so later anyway . . .
It’s a shitty feeling, and a most annoying one at that.
Of course, if I knew what I do now, this wouldn’t happen at all. And if it did, I’d do what I do on the VERY rare occasions that it happens NOW . .. that being to hammer out some work while I’m up and unable to sleep.
Or, and this works like a charm, a quick 100 squat workout. Isn’t a lot for me, but works like a charm anyway when it comes to insomnia . . .
Anyway, my wife was telling my daughter something about this the other day.
My daughter (when she doesn’t exercise, and being it’s “lockdown time” these days, that happens quite a lot) is anything BUT sleepy at night, and she usually hollers for a good hour or so before going to bed.
(this is unless she’s done a solid Kiddie Fitness or park workout with me earlier on in the day, of course, but that happens quite often for whatever reason)
And my wife was telling her this.
“When I was young, they used to ask me if I died when I slept, so soundly did I sleep, moving nary a limb!”
(this is me translating the Hindi version into English for y’all) . . .
And for whatever reason, my daughter found that hilarious.
But the point stands.
My wife (when she was young) used to wake up at 530 AM and go to “exercise” in a field with her Dad.
You wouldn’t believe it by looking at her now (no she is NOT fat, but she’s hardly the “six pack” owner you’d expect her to be from following the routines she did, and yet, she’s fitter than the average gym bro – and can outdo ME TOO in some of the exercises we do together, if you can believe me!).
It truly “stays with you” if you start ‘em young . . . which is another reason I make it a point to do as much Kiddie Fitness with my daughter as I can. Yours truly, as you know, had the exact opposite upbringing, and those tight hamstrings are STILL an issue for me!
Anyway. 530-730 of running around in a field, often times with mud up to your ankles.
Helping around the house.
A half an hour or so bike ride to school and back.
And then 3-4 hours of solid sports in the evening.
My my my.
Is it any wonder she slept like a a log and then some?
And lest you think you too have to follow this sort of regimen in order to fall asleep instantly, think again.
You CAN if you want to (think back to the times I hiked hills for hours daily in the sweltering HEAT).
But you don’t have to.
A quick 30-40 minute blast, TOPS (most people don’t even need that much) is literally all you need my friend.
A 100 pushups is MORE than enough for most people to be exhausted for not just that one day, but DAYS afterwards.
Ditto for some of the other exercises I teach.
Believe me my friend. There IS a way to get rid of the annoyance, and it’s easier than you think!
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee
P.S. – Here is where you can get the BEST damn course on pushups my friend: (and YES, the workouts therein WILL banish insomnia so quickly you’ll wonder if you ever had it in the first place! ?) https://0excusesfitness.com/pushup-central/