Complexities of Effective Adjustments
Problem solving involves setting alternate goals, and good mentalhealth practice means that we know the probable costs of reaching our primary goals-costs in terms of personal and social insecurity from time to time, the struggle against indifference, and the threat of failure that goes with the promise of success. Information, relevant and available, is essential to effective adjustment. Yet, we know that at times we may suffer from too much information. Further, very imaginative people may multiply their problems into a vast array of possibilities. To solve problems effectively, each of us must consider his or her own personality and motivational characteristics, level of need achievement, and tolerance of ambiguity, uncertainty, and hostility. We should try to search for alternatives in decision making and to anticipate the consequences; this is important for a healthy personality. Basically, we must learn to weave our way through an understanding of even such a "simple" problem as waking up tired.
There are many reasons for waking up tired, ranging from the purely physical to the purely psychological, to any mix in between. Here are some general things to consider. Some people just need more sleep than others. One person may get up early and feel fresh and vibrant while another reaches a peak of efficiency later in the day. Our "biological clocks" differ; some of us are "morning types" and others "evening types," and there are physiological reasons for the differences. Habit has a lot to do with it.
A restless night (and we all have them}-with aches, bathroom trotting, disturbing noises, or a roommate who snores--can leave one feeling tired. Sleeping pills or too much alcohol can have a "hangover" effect. Poor physical condition, stemming from faulty nutrition, is a factor. Low thyroid activity can cause morning fatigue. Poor ventilation or too warm a room can be bothersome.
Psychological factors in tiredness are frequent. One is just the matter of one's sleep patterns. If you have become a habitual late sleeper, it takes some time to get into the habit of earlier rising:
Although we may think of sleep as part of a twenty-four-hour ciock, its patterns can be changed. Studies show that army recruits who need eight hours of sleep at home can manage with six or less under certain military conditions. But a person who cuts his sleep to four hours or less for several nights may get his system .out of control. The college student studying for exams may break bis sleep pattern enough to change certain kinds of behavior. He may go without sleep one night. The next day his attention may wander a little, or he may feel like lying down, but nonetheless he may function normally in taking exams. Staying up night after night, however, causes irritability, and judgment and reflexes become impaired. A1though we can to a degree "catch up" on sleep, researchers say that we cannot "store" it up.
Other psychological factors that relate to fatigue are boredom, anxiety, and worry. If you go to bed worrying, it can be reflected in ruorning fatigue. If you dread the problems of the day, you may well wake up tired. Or even if there is nothing In., the day ahead that disturbs you, just having no incentive to get up can make you feel tired from the moment of waking.
Finally, we can say that the experience of fatigue .involves perception. When a task does not involve the expenditure of a great deal of physical energy (which can bring on tiredness), and yet the individual feels tired, we must look elsewhere for the cause. One's interests, activities, and emotional states affect his perceptions. The student who cannot continue with his lessons because he is "so tired" often fJ:nds that the weariness vanishes when he turns to an activity that interests him.
The complexities of adjustment, whether they invc!ve effective problem solving, substitute defensive adjustment, or nonadjustive activities are important to anyone interested in knowing why he acts and reacts as he does. By learning something about his own behavior patterns, he can shape his life, direct it, and not feel himself merely tossed from one situation to another ..
