Thailand Blog :: my own room

It just occurred to me as I'm on the bus heading to Chanthaburi that I've forgotten what it's like to have my own room. I was fretting about spending 280 baht per night on a room, but now I'm thinking about it that's cheap considering I paid 250 to stay in a dorm!

I have been living in dorms for at least 8 weeks now, sure some nights I had a room to myself but the majority of my time has been spent with other people. 

Do you know why I'm excited? Well firstly, I can walk around naked! Sometimes I don't want to wear clothes but it can be difficult sharing a room with others. When I stayed in a girls dorm I wasn't afraid of getting naked to change my clothes, but I have to be more conscious when I stay in a mixed dorm. Secondly, I can dance, sing, play ukulele, meditate, lay in bed, do whatever the heck I want without the need to be considerate for anyone in the room. Sure I'll think about my neighbours but man I have felt somewhat restricted living in dorms. 

I'm really looking forward to being alone now. I think part of the reason why I have been up and down, here and there and slightly confused is because I haven't had that serious alone time with myself. Fair enough I'm travelling solo and do everything alone but it's not the same as being alone with no one to talk to. I'm looking forward to not having to speak! This may be the perfect time for me to retreat for a few days and avoid civilisation. 

I think it is so important to be comfortable with being alone but similarly it's important to be able to socialise and not lose that feeling I get when being alone. Often I'm thrown off balance and find that I lose everything I've worked for when being alone. It's very difficult to stay centred and I believe that is the issue I need to overcome in order to integrate back into a standard society. Especially when having such different views and opinions regarding the thing we all have in common, food. 

I'm so grateful that I have this opportunity to travel and grow as an individual. I appreciate having the time, energy and love to do this. May I be blessed forever more by God for my life. 

Try it Tuesday

Sleep

In 1910 adults got an average of nine hours sleep each night; in 1795 it had decreased to seven and a half; and in 2000 it has decreased further, to seven hours. Making a Good Brain Great, D. G. Amen, M.D

Since discovering the raw food lifestyle, I have put a lot of emphasis on sleep. In the height of summer it is more normal to sleep less because we have more daylight hours, whereas in winter it is normal to have more sleep. 

The problem we have nowadays is most people do not make any seasonal changes.

I often get questioned about my long sleeping hours at home and they are often disrupted too because my family play the TV too loud or use raised voices. These are problems if you live with other people, so discussing your sleeping patterns with your house mates is a good idea. Also, I have been told to buy ear plugs, so I will give that a try.

Sleep is so important so I hope that you can try to get as much as you can. 

Try to go to bed earlier. Make sure you don't watch TV or be on the computer just before you want to sleep. It is important to wind down. I know this and I still manage to distract myself with my smart phone. Therefore, turn your phone off or place it somewhere far away from your reach when you get into bed!

Purposefully leave lights off in your house. This will allow your body to become tired naturally and you will have no problem going to sleep!

Read a boring book. This tried and tested method does work!

Have a partner? It is very important that you can agree on a specific bed time. There is nothing more disturbing than having your partner go to bed after you. They may turn on lights, make noises undressing, shake the bed when getting into it, be cold, which you may feel, etc. If you cannot agree then sleep separately! Seriously, there are many times in the past when I would have preferred to sleep in a different room. Sharing a bed is so important that you need to get it right!

I haven't scratched the surface, but I will leave it here.

Start small if needs be, get at least 15 minutes more per night. We often forget who is important in this life. It's not your boss, your mum, your dog, etc, it's YOU! Only you can live your life. 

Jennifer x

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Sleepy Saturday

Sleep log

Would anybody be interested in seeing how much sleep I have? I was thinking that if I post my shopping every fortnight then I might use the other weeks to log my sleep on here for you to see.

I must average 8 hours a night, but it would be good for me to see how much I actually have and how often I get up to pee.

I definitely won't make this 100% accurate because I don't really want to spend all my time logging it to the minute, so this will be a guesstimate.

During the week I go to bed at 9pm and wake up at 5.30am. Most nights I get up once, occasionally I'll sleep right through. Thursday night I slept for 11 hours, although I think I got up twice. Last night I only had 7 hours sleep and I didn't get up at all.

I think this will be really interesting, so I will work on a way to display the information.

Let me know your thoughts.

Jennifer x

Sleepy Saturday

I admit I've been lazy. Winter is really killing me off. My schedule has not started yet. 13 hours of work last week hurt my eyes. They've been bloodshot since. I am not feeling my normal self, so my focus is off already! Still raw though :-)

Let's start from Monday.

Much love

Jennifer x