Advice from Amy: Get Enough Rest

By Amy K. Andrews — “Don’t forget,” Grandma said to me a few weeks ago, before I boarded the plane in Houston for my return flight home to Seattle, “get good rest.” We all know that it is important, so why do we still choose to stay up late, forgoing the extra hour of sleep in favor of catching up on Twitter feed? There are nights, magic ones, where we must not rest our heads. The night it first snowed in Boston, or the evening I met my wife. The day turned dusk turned dawn, losing oneself in favor of the moment, becoming insignificant, stars in the massive black sky. This is paying attention to something else. This is worth losing shut-eye. Paying attention to oneself requires commitment, the kind easier to give away than to give yourself. Most of us, when we listen, hear what our bodies need. We may not follow, standing in front of the fridge, door ajar, choosing makes me feel bad instead of makes me feel whole. But when we make the right choice, we are rewarded. Energy. Alertness. Happiness. This is true of sleep, this sustenance, requisite. Our bodies crave it so intensely that we [...]