More is Not Always Better
Sometimes, we can have too much of a good thing.
Take a potted plant, for example.
An inexperienced indoor gardener can easily overwater a plant, thinking more is better. Instead, the plant will get droopy, weak, and floppy.
The same thing can happen to us with too much sleep.
Our body only needs so much sleep.
When we stay in bed for longer than the body needs, sleep becomes sloppy and shallow.
We drift in and out of light sleep, dosing.
This is the danger of the morning sleep-in.
It feels nice and cozy at the time, but sleeping in on a regular basis has profound repercussions for the quality of our days.
A habit of sleeping in can contribute to a general feeling of apathy and listlessness.
There is an underlying sense of "I can't" and "it's too hard."
This attitude can easily spread to other parts of your life, draining energy and sucking self-esteem out of you like a deflated balloon.
What happens is both psychological and physiological.
In the morning your hormones are going through a shift.
The "fall asleep" hormones are shut off and the "wake up and greet the day" hormones are revving up.
When you stay in bed beyond what the body needs, these hormonal signals get messed up.
Like trying to drive a car with the clutch not engaged, you can't move forward. Your energy wanes and peters out over the course of the day.
I had a spell of this languishing feeling recently.
I felt blah and unmotivated. Everything felt flat and there was an underlying sense of dissatisfaction and irritation about the world. I couldn't get myself to focus on anything.
Then I realized what it was — I'd gotten into the habit of sleeping in!
So easily, we can fall into these habits, even when we know better.
After catching this in myself, I quickly got back on track.
When I woke up in the morning, I got up.
Feeling energetic, with the vitality to sustain myself through my day, I am positive and uplifted again.
Amazing, the impact of this one thing — getting too much sleep and especially sleeping in.
Just like the plant that was droopy and wilted when overwatered.
We can self-correct. We can regain our vigorous capacity with the right amount of sleep.
Wake up — and get up!