How insomnia brought me to where I am now
Do you struggle with insomnia or bad sleep?
Do you always feel tired due to lack of sleep?🥱
I totally get your pain!
I had my share of insomnia, which eventually led me to where I am now.
(This is the second part of my personal story- if you missed the first part, please make sure to read it so you get the context!)
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I moved to Berkeley from Japan in 1996, after a long exploration of where I wanted to settle.
I had a strong desire to study nutrition, because I was interested in understanding how what we put in our bodies affected our health.
When I came here, I did not speak English, had no money, and didn’t have family or friends to rely on.
I did have a dream of getting into UC Berkeley’s nutritional science program.
What I didn’t know was that this Cal program only took a few students each year and that you needed straight A’s in order to get in.
Because I had no science background, I started taking classes at City College of San Francisco to complete the science prerequisites.
It was already a struggle to find a place to live, get myself registered, figure out a way to commute (I was living in a very sketchy part of SF but didn’t have a car so I biked everywhere- really a bad idea!)
I finally signed up for some of the basic science classes (chemistry, physics, biology, you name it!) 👩🏻🔬🧪🧫🧬
I didn’t expect them to be so hard.
For example, I was in Chem 101 class. I didn’t even know what ‘oxygen’ meant! 🤷🏻♀️
I had to carry around a cassette recorder🎙️(if you know what it is!) to record all the lectures and had to listen to it a few times in order to take notes.📓
😭 I cried a lot because it felt impossible to get A’s in these classes along with a bunch of premeds.
My dream seemed like it was collapsing in front of my eyes.🫠
I was really stressed.
I studied really hard and often stayed up late to catch up with the material.
I HAD to get into this Cal program because I promised my family in Japan that if I didn’t get in, I would come home.
If you read my last blog, you know that was NOT an option!🙅🏻♀️
Basically, I put myself under a lot of stress and pressure...😵💫
... and, eventually, I developed severe insomnia.
My body was exhausted 😩 but I could not fall asleep.
I was often up until sunrise 🌅 and the moment I fell asleep, I had to get up to go to my 8am classes.🏫
I would drink a lot of strong coffee ☕️ to stay up in class.
I felt wired.
I felt like a zombie.🧟♀️
I dreaded going to bed every night- when you have insomnia, the night just feels like eternity.
Your brain does not shut off and all sorts of worries would take over your brain- it is just exhausting.
I tried acupuncture.
I tried melatonin.
I tried prescription sleep medications.
But nothing worked.
When my body was about to break down, someone invited me to a yoga class at the YMCA.🧘🏻
It was before yoga was popular- there were no yoga studios back then.
But I remember my mom used to have a book on yoga in Japan so I decided to try.
After the first class, I felt calmer and actually slept.💤
I tried again and I was able to sleep again.😴
I was hooked.🤩
I became a Y member and started to practice yoga regularly.
Over time, my insomnia got better.
Along with it, I was able to manage my stress better- I felt calmer and happier.😌
In the meantime, I somehow managed to get straight A’s and got accepted into the nutrition program I wanted (yay!)💪
Over the next few years, I got deep into my yoga practices and eventually decided to get certified to teach yoga because I truly believed that yoga had so much health benefit.🩺
Fast forward many years, I decided to get a PhD 🎓️ because I wanted to demonstrate the benefit of yoga and mindfulness in the medical community.🥼
So here I am now. Although it was tough, my personal experience with stress and insomnia AND studying human health as an epidemiologist made me fully realize the significant impact of stress on human health.
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Insomnia is one of the most common issues 🥇 I hear about from my clients, and it is definitely related to stress and lifestyle.
As we are nearing the end of the year, I encourage you to reflect on the source of your stress
Are you always running around without having extra time to take care of yourself?
Do you feel that you are never doing enough?
How is your stress manifesting in your mental and physical health?
Make a list of the sources of stress in your life, because without knowing what exactly is stressing you out, solutions cannot be created.
Going back to the sleep issues, it is a topic I emphasize a lot in my Mind-Body Reset program.
If sleep is something that you have been struggling with, I would love you to consider joining me!
Although insomnia can be caused by a lot of reasons, the majority of the people who go through the reset program report significantly better sleep quality.
💬💬💬 Praises from previous participants 💬💬💬
“I got off my sleep meds after so many years of relying on them!”
“I can’t believe I am getting up without an alarm, and I feel so deeply rested!”
➡️ I just opened the registrations for New Year’s Reset (starts January 13th) so grab your spot now!
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.😊
👇 Also, I am sharing a recipe below for tisane (herbal tea) that will help you sleep- great for cold winter days or when you are stressed too!
Happy December!
Much love,
Ai
Tisane for better sleep
Ingredients for one tea pot (16oz)
Dried chamomile flowers (1 teaspoon)
Dried lavender (1/4 teaspoon)
Dried mint (1 teaspoon)
Directions
Place the herbs in the teapot, steep in boiling water, cover and let it sit for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!
