Renewed Health Today

I remember November 2006 very well. I was just plain scared! I had never been sick a day in my adult life and now I had lost 42 pounds in 30 days or so. I was not really walking, but shuffling. I remember now I wasn’t standing up straight. I am a proud man who is only 6′ 1″ tall, but could seem taller to everyone since I stood up straight with my shoulders back naturally. I could not get more than a few hours of fitful sleep.

I had begun to change my diet. I had not yet tried any exercise. because I was lucky to walk around the office building. When I did try walking for exercise I remember I had to swing my whole leg to get what seemed a reasonable stride. I had acquired a tread mill for the family at Christmas. I had to hang on for dear life at 2 miles an hour. Actually, as I learned later my stride did not get longer at all, I just worked harder. I remember meeting a jogger who may have ran a half mile beyond me and would catch me on his way back way before I finished my half mile walking. Today that same jogger cannot catch me at all in the 1.5 mile I walk to catch the bus to work.

So what changed? Well my friend concerned about how I looked then asked me if I was well. I told him than I had just been diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic (HbA1c 12.1 and daily finger pick results 600+). I was on insulin to gain control of my glucose levels. Now I did not know anything about diabetes except that my father struggled with it and not very well. He suggested a diet supplement that he took. I trusted him a lot and knew that his  health had been much worse than mine most of his life. So I accepted his offer. I’ll explain about the diet supplement another time. Many small facets about my overall health improve quickly. There was a dramatic change in my diabetes.

One small facet this article is about is that I could now sleep restfully at night. I was still getting up in the night to relieve myself, that had not changed yet, but I could now quickly return to a restful sleep. I would wake up to my alarm fully awake not groggy and rested. I not talking magic here if I did not get a full night sleep due working late was tired later in the day. I swear that getting a restful night’s sleep has made big difference in my renewed health today.

Now what do I call restful sleep? For me it is being able to fall asleep quickly, sleep soundly and wake up ready to go. I require 6 hours sleep for a good night’s rest. If I get more than 7 hours sleep, I wake up a little stiff or I feel like a pile of rocks and not quite so ready to go.

So anything that helps me get restful sleep is important. I consider restful sleep the other half of getting daily exercise. Are you getting restful sleep that makes a difference in your next day? Talk to you doctor and discuss the benefits of restful sleep. I wish I did not have to  discover it myself so late in life.