Hello @boychick nice to meet you. I struggle with insomnia and random sleep patterns too. So do my brothers, even though our parents were very strict with sleep habits when we were kids. I think some people are just wired differently and that’s okay. It is a drag if you’re needing to get up early for appointments though and needing to be alert for various things. But I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that. I will say that when I slip into the late night/early morning pattern and want to change back I ask myself, what am I doing that I can do differently, and then I do that. Sometimes the fact that I play catch-up with an afternoon nap causes me to remain awake through the night. But so be it. The next day though, or once I have caught up with my sleep, I’ll cancel my daytime nana nap to try to sleep earlier in the eve. Gradually, this phases in a new sleep cycle for a while. Just be patient and gentle with yourself. I am going through a phase of life where I wake at 2 am if I sleep early, I stay awake and write with a cuppa til 4 and then go back to bed til 6:30. It seems to work and I’m getting about 6 hrs a night.
Re overeating, I do that too! I actually am diabolically fast at eating and once beat a 6’3 guy in a Dagwood eating competition. So I have the capacity to eat abnormal amounts however, its not healthy. And comfort eating doesn’t lead to feeling comfortable. So, I trick myself. I use all sorts of ways, but usually begin problem solving in my mind by being honest with myself about what might actually be going on in a particular cycle that I’m in. One thing I’ve noticed is I overeat when the food tastes really good. So while in the overeating phase, I plan a few mega healthy meals, like nutritious meals involving greens…which taste amazing to me… So I get all my nutritional benefits : ) For me this is Asian ginger greens, or brocolli, carrots, cauliflower, garlic, olive oil and lemon. I eat as much of it as I want to and honestly, it’s hard to overeat that stuff so you don’t eat as much. But if you do, it’s fine : ) you cannot overeat veggies for long because of all the wonderful fibre and goodness. Another favourite is mashed potato, sweet potato and pumpkin with spinach leaves mixed through. You can eat that to town and back and it’s still going to make your body sing a happy tune. I cook it in a saucepan with a steamer tray on top - the veggies in the steamer tray taste so good with a little salt and pepper or your herbs and spices of choice. There is another fav of mine which is soup, made just with a little chicken and a lot of veggies including carrots and celery. The thing with that soup is you get extra hydrated and also nutritional boost but also, full. And it burns more energy than you ingest to digest, so you begin to change your brain chemistry around food…this helps reduce craving discomfort food. Essentially it’s crowding out other things. It adapts your microbiome to send improved signals to your brain. It’s a 3 day cycle. Try to choose healthy choices for 3 days and everything changes. Especially if you have fruit and porrage for breakfast. Try to stay away from bread, I do, it makes me crave other things unless it’s my own magical high fibre spelt recepe. Try salads for lunch. Fun salads. Rainbow salads with all the colours. When I actually commit and try something along those lines for 3 days, everything changes. Thankyou biology. Thank you science. Thank you nutrients.
Next, time to move. Totally get the arthritis and creaky joints as I have rheumatoid arthritis which is like feeling 90 at 50 essentially. But I got that 10 years ago so I am a little way down the line and have learnt to manage it. So to keep moving, because it is essential to reduce muscle wasting, which we need to support joint mobility - try water. Not just any water but heated salt water if you can find it in your area. You will feel like a new man! And your wife may enjoy the freedom it brings too! Try googling heated saltwater pool and you are sure to find one in your area. Or google indoor pool, salt water. You don’t need hydrotherapy, although if you’re lucky enough to find it, go that! But any salt water pool is good. Heated salt water is optimal. Your body will dance on the inside and thank you : ) You will truly break free from the complaints you’ve shared because it is impossible to feel like crap once you get out of one of those pools. It’s it weightless and the salt does wonders, as does the water. In Asian countries they soak a lot for the health benefits. It’s a thing! I hope these ideas help and you can glean as little or as much as you like from my enthusiasm sharing this. It’s lovely to be able to offer my two cents worth because I get stuck too. We all do. Sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zone because if we always do what we’ve always done we’ll always get what we’ve already got. If you want more from life - you’ve got to seize the day. Whoops, I think I’ve just motivated myself to go for a swim. Here’s hoping
: ) My best to you @boychick and your darling wife. Be the force and/or may the force be in you.
