When I was entering my sophomore year at Stanford University, I piled up my schedule with everything there was. Not only was I taking a heavy course load, I was also in two shows, and trying to work outside of school. In addition, within the first couple of weeks, one of my good friends went through a major life trauma. I wanted to be there for her as much as possible. However, when you're doing everything, something has to give. What gave was my health. I wasn't working out. I wasn't eating right. And above all, I wasn't sleeping.
I probably pulled an all-nighter a week, if not more. I was so exhausted I was falling asleep in class, on benches... under tables. By the end of the quarter I was a complete mess. I had never needed a vacation more. Starting in January, I vowed to take better care of myself.
I stuck to my promise! Yet, as the year went on, I began to get more and more tired. This didn't make sense to me, as I was sleeping around 8 hours a night. I wrote it off as sleep debt. However, by the time summer started, I would need to go lie down if I ever worked out. Sometimes, I would collapse in my car when I got back from the gym, and would sit there for 30 minutes before driving home. I was sad -- all of the time. And I just didn't have strength in the mornings to get out of bed.
Then one day, I had shortness of breath. This is an extremely uncomfortable situation where you feel as though you are not getting enough air into your body. It went away pretty quickly. The next day, it came back. But this time, it lasted for an hour...then two...then three. It got to the point where I woke up feeling like I couldn't breathe, and the feeling would last all day.
I pushed these thoughts aside. I was fine. I had to be fine. It didn't once cross my mind that I had a health issue.
A few weeks later, I was on a hike, and I fainted.
I went in for blood tests the next week. The results came back, and they said I was extremely anemic. My iron levels were so low it had affected my thyroid, my adrenals, my B-levels, and my hormones. They said that my iron levels had been low for a while, and had only just reached tipping point of getting severe. They asked me if there had been any point in the last year that I had maxed myself out. Specifically, if there was a period of time where I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep.
I told them all about my fall quarter at Stanford, and about the pressure I had put on myself. The doctors said that when I used up all of my energy, I had destroyed the levels of the enzyme that absorbs iron. It turns out my anemia was initially kick-started by my lack of sleep.
I had to have a 3-hour intravenous iron injection, and then started taking multiple supplements. After about a month, I began to get my energy back. Now, I look back on how I felt and I can't believe I was actually able to function with such low energy. I feel so much better now there is no comparison.
Going into this quarter, I have a lot of work on my plate. But despite it all, my number one priority is sleep.
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I probably pulled an all-nighter a week, if not more. I was so exhausted I was falling asleep in class, on benches... under tables. By the end of the quarter I was a complete mess. I had never needed a vacation more. Starting in January, I vowed to take better care of myself.
I stuck to my promise! Yet, as the year went on, I began to get more and more tired. This didn't make sense to me, as I was sleeping around 8 hours a night. I wrote it off as sleep debt. However, by the time summer started, I would need to go lie down if I ever worked out. Sometimes, I would collapse in my car when I got back from the gym, and would sit there for 30 minutes before driving home. I was sad -- all of the time. And I just didn't have strength in the mornings to get out of bed.
Then one day, I had shortness of breath. This is an extremely uncomfortable situation where you feel as though you are not getting enough air into your body. It went away pretty quickly. The next day, it came back. But this time, it lasted for an hour...then two...then three. It got to the point where I woke up feeling like I couldn't breathe, and the feeling would last all day.
I pushed these thoughts aside. I was fine. I had to be fine. It didn't once cross my mind that I had a health issue.
A few weeks later, I was on a hike, and I fainted.
I went in for blood tests the next week. The results came back, and they said I was extremely anemic. My iron levels were so low it had affected my thyroid, my adrenals, my B-levels, and my hormones. They said that my iron levels had been low for a while, and had only just reached tipping point of getting severe. They asked me if there had been any point in the last year that I had maxed myself out. Specifically, if there was a period of time where I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep.
I told them all about my fall quarter at Stanford, and about the pressure I had put on myself. The doctors said that when I used up all of my energy, I had destroyed the levels of the enzyme that absorbs iron. It turns out my anemia was initially kick-started by my lack of sleep.
I had to have a 3-hour intravenous iron injection, and then started taking multiple supplements. After about a month, I began to get my energy back. Now, I look back on how I felt and I can't believe I was actually able to function with such low energy. I feel so much better now there is no comparison.
Going into this quarter, I have a lot of work on my plate. But despite it all, my number one priority is sleep.
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