The End-of-Summer Chaos, and the Sleep Lesson I Didn’t Expect!

• 

“I am SO bored.”

Those were the words I kept hearing from my daughter, and honestly, I understood why.

We are in that crazy stretch of summer when day camp is over, school hasn’t started yet, and we are all trying to keep the wheels on.

Work.

Kids.

Meals.

Schedules.

School supplies.

Uniforms.

Shoes.

Trying to remember who needs what, when, and where.

Preparing for Yom Tov.

Answering emails while someone is asking what’s for dinner.

Trying to get everything done while there are still approximately 47 things left to do.

It’s a lot.

In the middle of all of this, my daughter was bored. Very, very bored.

“I’m bored.”

So I did what any mother would do.

I started throwing ideas at her.

“Why don’t you do this?”

“No.”

“What about this?”

“No.”

“You could go outside.”

“No.”

“You could read.”

“No.”

I was coming up with 77 different things she could do, and every single one was met with a “no.”

And then I stopped.

Because I realized something.

She wasn’t really looking for an activity.

She was handing me the problem.

I’m bored. You figure it out.

And I was happily taking it.

So I told her, “We’re not using that sentence anymore.”

Not because she wasn’t allowed to be bored.

But because “I’m bored” had become a habit, and she was stuck in it.

Twenty minutes later, I could see she was about to say it.

She looked at me.

Smiled.

And then…she didn’t say it.

Instead, she walked away and found something to do.

Now, this didn’t solve all my problems. She is still my daughter. She still gets bored.

I’m sure I’ll hear “I’m bored” again, but something had shifted. She stopped throwing the problem at me, and she started figuring out what to do with it herself.

That’s when I started thinking about sleep.

When a Bad Night Becomes the Whole Day.

You had a terrible night.

You wake up exhausted.

Then you start talking about it.

To your spouse.

Your kids.

Your friends.

Your coworkers.

Anyone who will listen.

Maybe even the cat.😂

“I slept horribly.”

“I was up all night.”

“I am exhausted.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to get through today.”

Here’s where I think we can get stuck.

There is a difference between acknowledging a problem and rehearsing a problem.

You didn’t sleep well.

That’s true.

You don’t have to pretend otherwise.

But when we keep repeating the story all day, the problem starts taking up more and more space.

We put it on a pedestal.

Our brain keeps paying attention to it. Now we’re not just tired from the bad night. We’re also carrying the frustration of it. The worry about the night. The fear that tomorrow will be the same. The constant reminder that I didn’t sleep.

The original problem is hard enough.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk about your sleep.

Please do.

Talk about it with someone who can help you understand what might be underneath it. Ask questions. Get support. Don’t struggle alone.

But maybe we don’t have to spend the entire day reminding ourselves that we didn’t sleep.

Maybe we can simply say:

“I didn’t sleep well.”

And then, gently:

“Okay. What do I need now?”

Not because the problem has disappeared.

But because you still have a day to live.

My daughter didn’t suddenly stop being bored.

She simply stopped making “I’m bored” the center of everything.

Maybe there is something in that for us, too.

A bad night is a bad night.

It doesn’t have to become a bad day.

If you’re tired of talking about your sleep, thinking about your sleep, and worrying about your sleep, and you’re ready to understand what’s really keeping you stuck, I’d love to help.

Do you finally want to know how to get yourself out of this?

Book a complimentary clarity session with me. Schedule a Free Sleep Consultation

There is hope.

You don’t have to figure it all out by yourself.

Missed a blog? https://www.chevymermelsteinsleepcoach.org/post/is-insomnia-making-your-world-smaller