Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer...

Welcome to July!  Officially the heart of the three month "summer vacation" of which most American children and educators get to partake.  Of course, by now the kids are bored and mom and dad are counting down the days until school starts again--so families may be pressured to fill the lingering weeks with fun-filled activities, adventures, and trips!

Summer vacation can provide a whirlwind of fond family memories (remember when brother Andy hooked sister Jane's bikini top during the family fishing trip? or when Little Joey threw up Doritos all over the backseat on the 14-hour trip to Yosemite? Ah...summer...) but it can also be exhausting.  With so much time to spare, it's often difficult to leave yourself enough time to truly "relax."  

What do I mean? Well, I am notorious for itinerizing my trips down to the very last second--8:27am brush teeth while checking the weather on smartphone.  This can be very useful in mapping out one's adventure ahead of time and seeing the most while in a particular location, but the go-go-go nature of such a strict schedule can also be pretty exhausting for those less-inclined toward the itinerary (read: my husband.)  Likewise, it's important to leave yourself enough time to relax and to actually sleep during such summer vacation adventures--or your healthy routine might suffer.

With summer's expanded daylight hours, it is often difficult to convince oneself to get to bed when the sun is still shining outside, despite an early wake-up time the next morning.  This is true of those on vacation, enjoying a "stay-cation," or just living the American dream at work every day.  However, just because we might feel more energized in the summer months (thanks Mr. Sunshine!), doesn't mean we don't still need our beauty sleep--the requisite 8 hours as it were.

A lack of sleep can also impact your health.  When I'm tired, I feel hungry.  According to the US Department of Health and Human Services website, "Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When you don't get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down. This makes you feel hungrier than when you're well-rested."  I've caught myself eating a snack to "try to stay awake" before when a nap wasn't possible.  Studies show that those who get less than 8 hours of sleep a night are more likely to be overweight or even obese.  Instead of a snack, take a nap!

Sleep is also important because it's a time for our bodies to repair and rebuild.  In children, it's a chance for their bodies to grow and develop.  In adults, it's a chance for muscles to repair themselves, for brain functions to improve, and for your immune system to fight off sickness.  Even with proper diet and exercise, we still need sleep to function efficiently.  In my running world, this means I have to take into consideration the benefit of a morning run over an extra hour or two of sleep.  If I've gotten less than 7 hours of sleep--sleep is more beneficial than that early morning run.  Snooze it is.

Moral of the story?  Enjoy the lazy days of summer by being lazy.  Get out the hammock, blow up a raft and float in the pool, enjoy sleeping-in a bit here and there.  Yes, it gets hot out in the summer, so you'll need to exercise outside earlier--go to bed earlier the night before!  Or wait until evening to take that long run--take advantage of that longer daylight.  Enjoy it.  The best memories are made in the summer, wouldn't you like to be around to remember them for years to come?