1. Sleep is not optional. I thought I could push through. I thought sleep was for people who weren't in a crisis. I was wrong. When I stopped sleeping, my writing got worse. Not better. I made mistakes. I lost track of arguments. I deleted things I should have kept. I'm sleeping now. Not enough. But some. It helps.
2. You can't catch up. I thought I could sleep all weekend and fix the damage. You can't. Sleep debt is real. My body needed rest. It didn't get it. Now I'm paying.
3. The dissertation will still be there in the morning. I used to stay up until 3 AM writing. I thought if I stopped, I'd lose momentum. I don't lose momentum. I lose my mind. Now I stop at midnight. I go to bed. The dissertation is there when I wake up.
What helps:
2. You can't catch up. I thought I could sleep all weekend and fix the damage. You can't. Sleep debt is real. My body needed rest. It didn't get it. Now I'm paying.
3. The dissertation will still be there in the morning. I used to stay up until 3 AM writing. I thought if I stopped, I'd lose momentum. I don't lose momentum. I lose my mind. Now I stop at midnight. I go to bed. The dissertation is there when I wake up.
What helps:
- No screens after 11. I read a book. Not my dissertation. A book about something else.
- No coffee after 4. I drink tea instead. It's not the same. It's okay.
- A walk before bed. Not far. Just around the block. Enough to move.
