Splash No. 264 - Sleepless in San Francisco
Sleepless in San Francisco
It's as if the universe reads my newsletter. After writing about how the month of July was catching up with me, I felt like I had some of my worst nights of sleep through the end of July. I've trudged into August with an unshakeable tiredness and a strange unintentional habit of waking up at 5 AM and not being able to sleep well. Somehow, I made it through most of July like this without it catching up to me too much, but it's starting to catch up to me a little bit.
I've had on and off problems with sleep since college, when I started drinking coffee at all times of the day and discovered that I would have to alternate going on and off of it every few months to keep my sleep in check. Ever since, I've kept an eye on the science of sleep, learning all there is to know about getting good sleep and all of the ways that not getting enough is horrible for you. Unfortunately, it's all very lame and obvious — get enough exercise, don't use your phone before sleeping, don't drink caffeine too late in the day, have a wind-down routine.
Knowing these things doesn't make it easier to do them. I've been swiping on TikTok before I go to bed and I know that isn't doing me any favors. Also, as I've been focused more on working out, I've found myself sleeping worse than before, which seems to be antithetical to what's supposed to lead to good sleep.
In July, I tried to do it all, and I did! I enjoyed my month and had a great time. Now, I think that I need to slow down a little bit and figure out how to incorporate the summer energy of July into each of my days a little bit more evenly. I felt like I was the happiest I ever had been through the month of July, and felt that way until I woke up dead tired this morning. Even when everything goes right, the basic animal needs must be met to feel good!
I feel like this month will be more focused on art than the last. I've found myself bursting with ideas for different creative projects to focus on. Perhaps the social interaction fuels the creative, but both draw on the same pool of time and energy, so I must find a schedule to balance these out. I wrote a new piece for my Substack for the first time and am thinking of other things I could put there instead of my "monthly" updates I was trying to do.
Stay tuned, there's a lot more coming.
Drops of the Week
PLAYLIST - july 23 - I listened to a lot of music this month! crazy mix from electronic stuff to the Beatles
POEM - "The Lake" by Sophie Cabot Black - Having lived with such strict beauty / She comes to know how the sun is nothing / But itself and the path it throws
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*Yaaaaaawn*,
Nikhil