Ever since I can remember, I have always had the ability to sleep anywhere, any time. There were no limits, I would fall asleep at birthdays, weddings, and even (the loudest of all) new years parties. No matter how much energy I had, I always found it easy. It is said that people change, and throughout all of the changes I went through in my life, this has been the one constant so far. It's because of this I decided to embrace it as a part of my identity: I changed my Instagram username @_bedhead_ed_ and decided to title my blog on here to match it. By definition, a bedhead is someone who has messy hair from being in bed. I appropriated this term to mean someone who likes to sleep. You must be thinking: well almost everyone likes to sleep, doesn't that just make us all bedheads? But being a bedhead is more than just liking sleep, it means to find comfort within sleep. It might sound ridiculous but being a bedhead is not only a personality trait but also a way of life. And sleep as a form of comfort is becoming increasingly popular within the younger generations.
If you live up to 75 years, you spend around 25 of them sleeping.
Millennial's, more than the generations before them, place a shared emphasis on self-care. This includes sleep, as it has been scientifically proven to have a stronghold on an individuals' state of being. The emphasis placed on sleep is commonly seen in millennial's, and even more so in gen z's, sleep habits. And with that, the number of bedheads are rising.
"Bedhead" is a personality trait which is both a blessing and a curse.
On one hand, being a bedhead means putting yourself first. Sleep is very important in all aspects of the individual: mentally, physically, and emotionally. It helps reduce stress and blood pressure while improving your memory and can leave you in a better mood than before going to sleep. When I feel like I have too much on my mind or just need a break from reality, I go to bed and fall asleep within minutes. Although this might sound like a dream come true to insomniacs, it goes a step further and, instead, creates a whole different issue. I result to sleep whenever I feel any type of discomfort. This happens especially when I am emotionally drained, as soon as I get home I go straight to sleep rather than talk about what's bothering me in a healthy manner.
I have grown accustomed to saying "I'm just tired" when I'm feeling depressed or frustrated.
Although sometimes it makes sense to put some time between yourself and the situation, while resting, this shouldn't always be the answer. Going to sleep won't solve anything, because at one point you will wake up and be right where you left off. Initially, I decided to use "bedhead" in my username because I found it silly and cute, but after some time I realized that it was more than that. A bedhead should be moderate their sleep for it to be a healthy way of life.
Sincerely,
Ed the bedhead
