I bet that some of you imagined a comfortable tented area underneath a sky full of stars. Or, maybe you’re imagining a beach where you fall asleep on the sand and wake up to the waves.
For the most part, I was able to experience a mixture of these images during my trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
“An ocean breeze puts the mind at ease.”
This time, my family had driven to MB to spend a week there so I hopped on a flight to experience some vacation time with them. Not only was my family there, but many other family friends booked condos in the same location so it was jam packed with around twenty of us for the entire week.
Unfortunately, unlike most of them, I still had priorities to fulfill with my job so even though it was a vacation atmosphere there were times that I had to avoid distractions to get work done.
I mention this just to show you that it is possible to work and travel at the same time, it just requires a bit of discipline when it comes to proving you can produce the same, if not better, quality of work away from home.
All you need is WIFI, and a dream
Anyways, I’ll be honest, when it comes to sunny beach locations, Myrtle Beach is far down from my top contenders list for favorite places.
My four days there were filled with constant sunshine, but almost directly matched with 90% humidity at times. Each morning usually started with a jog down the beach, which would turn my body into a wetland by the end. The nights were a bit cooler, but with no air conditioning and the constant humidity, sleeping outside wasn’t easy.
“…I smoked every little child out on that track.”
One of the nights I was able to prove my racing skills on the go-kart tracks. Without trying to be biased, I smoked every little child out on that track.
Truthfully, the most exciting part of my trip was convincing myself to sleep outside in non-ideal conditions. I made this decision because I wanted to step outside my comfort zone. Recently, I’ve been mindfully making improvements in my sleep.
The Improvements in My Sleep
First, I have been experimenting with my sleep cycles and have noticed that I fall asleep quicker to natural sleep sounds, such as waves or noise from animals in the wilderness. On top of that, most nights right before bed I’ll take a cold shower.
For most people, including myself, sleeping in cooler conditions provide a better sleep. Lastly, I pay a lot of attention to making sure I am not exposed to any sources of lights, including blue light on phones or computers (more info on blue light from this Weekly Wave here).
Myrtle Beach Sand Sketching
After discovering these habits that improved my sleep, I wanted to find out how I would adapt in a more natural and exposed environment. Ultimately, though, this goes beyond biohacking my sleep cycle with nifty techniques. I decided to sleep outside to challenge myself with stressful conditions to practice not letting external factors influence my wellbeing.
Why is this the type of way I want to challenge myself?
Challenge Yourself
Well, it’s not the only way I try to do so, but for now we’ll stick to one. When’s the last time you forced yourself to do something that you did not need to do? But you knew it would probably help you in some way?
My beautiful sleep setup
Accomplishing something as little as sleeping outside makes myself have to be okay with simply, what is. Like, what is, right now at this moment. As soon as I consider sleeping outside something negative, I have let my environment control me.
In other words, I DON’T let my environment, such as three couch cushions on a wooden patio in steamy humid weather, ruin my energy or slow down what I’m after. And this goes for all of you as well. Try to not let externalities negatively impact your life, and you will be much more happier and fulfilled over time.
Comments