Sleep and Why It’s Great

My three year old son, Rhys

There are a lot of things that I look forward to throughout the day. Coming home from work, taking my shoes off, relaxing. But there is nothing I love more than crawling into bed and feeling my body relax completely. So much so that my muscles spaz a little bit when I’m getting to the point of no return and I jolt just for a moment. After that, it’s smooth sailing into the world of dreams.

Sometimes sleep is overrated and I don’t allow myself to get the required amount, the next day I usually suffer, especially if I have to work. Sometimes my job has nothing to do except mind dulling work that makes me want to curl and take nap. Usually by the end of the day and about five cups of coffee, I’m wound up to the point I’m bouncing off the walls. Then comes seven in the evening and I’m yawning. I will literally force myself to stay awake to avoid a repeat in sleeping history. Eleven pm rolls around and I’m usually ready for bed.

It is largely known that most people need about seven to eight hours of sleep a night or their performance will begin to deteriorate. I know I for one, hardly ever see that amount of sleep. Once in a great while I’ll manage to get myself a decent night sleep. Sometimes there are just not enough hours in a day for sleep, so we go without. Usually the price that comes with this is silliness. Granted while everything may seem funny, you are doing more damage to yourself by not sleeping.

A bad idea before bed

Personally I can understand completely how sleep can seem unimportant, however for survival reasons alone sleep is essential. Birds, mammal, reptiles, and many other creatures in this world need sleep to rejuvenate, or heal, and most importantly grow. It is well known that children grow while they are sleeping, that wounds heal faster, and that people are generally more pleasant when they’ve had plenty of sleep. There are plenty of things that can prevent us from sleeping. Stress caused from work, home life, or even a chemical imbalance that trigger insomnia. Stimulants like caffeine affect sleeping habits. This is why it’s a bad idea to chug that twenty ounce bottle of coca-cola and hour before bed.

Sleep is good… no sleep is great. So put down that bottle of sugar, and crawl into bed. Trust me, your mind will thank you for it in the morning.

Until the sun shines…

Keep it real and rockin’

 

Patriotism and the drive for five

Team Canada celebrates after defeating the Russians 6 to 5 in an overtime shootout at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa, Ontario on January 3, 2009.

Each year rolls around and every new year that comes along means one thing for a lot of Canadians.  A renewed patriotism.  That might sound a tad odd.  But in Canada, we don’t celebrate patriotism in grand fashion.  We have our silent patriotism and we often shun outbursts.  I believe that to be an injustice to Canadians that like to shout it from the rafters, so to speak.  After all, I am one of those Canadians that likes to shout it from the rafters.

But there is one thing that happens around Christmas time that makes 95% of Canadians shout it from the rafters.  The World Junior Hockey Championships.  Canadians don’t celebrate wars or heroism in the field of battle.  We celebrate it at the rink.  We wave the flag and sing the national atheme with pride and often times loudly, as the Canadian junior team has done the past four years, winning the gold medal at each tournament.

This year, the world juniors are held in Ottawa, Ontario.  There’s a bit more pressure for the Canadians being on home ice.  And as TSN stated, the players come from Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, and all parts of the country.  But for two weeks, while they are in Ottawa, they are all home town boys.

Bring the fire!

Until next time…

…keep ’em flyin’!