Personal Fitness Questionnaire and Sleep Essay

1.  Are you getting 8 hours of sleep each night?
          Most nights I am getting about 11 hours of sleep, but I usually get at least 8.

2.  Do you get to sleep a couple of hours before midnight?
          I am getting ready for bed at 9:30, and in bed at 10:00. So I usually go to sleep at 10:30. Yes, I get a few hours of sleep before midnight.

3.  Are you going to bed and waking up at the same time?
          I do go to bed and wake up at the same time almost every day, but I probably should shift my sleep schedule.

4.  Are you drinking enough water? Or do you wait until you are thirsty?
          Lately, I have probably not been drinking enough water, but I am getting better, and not only drinking when I am thirsty.

5.  Do you eat fruit, vegetables, and nuts every day?
          I eat fruit every day. I am allergic to some of the most popular nuts (peanuts, and pistachios), but I eat cashews when we have them. I do not eat vegetables every day, but occasionally, I will eat them.

6.  Do you eat processed foods and lots of sugar?
          Every now and then I eat sugar and processed food, usually when I go to my grandparents, but I have been getting a lot better at eating fruit and healthier foods for snacks.

7.  Do you have a healthy body weight?
          I have never really been able to gain much weight. Also, I swim competitively every night, and I probably do not eat as much as I should for this exercise. Everything that I eat though, goes to energy, which I burn off. Altogether, I most likely do not weigh as much as most girls my age.

8.  Are you out of breath when you walk up a hill or upstairs?
          Unless I sprint (which I sometimes do, and I am not always out of breath) I am not out of breath when I walk up stairs or a hill.

9.  Do you frequently feel out of energy?
          No, not unless I have not eaten in a while and I just physically worked really hard.

10.  Do you walk outside regularly?
          I spend a lot of my time outside, doing many things.

11.  Do you eat dinner with your family?
          I eat dinner with my family almost every night, but some nights my dad is still at work, probably making a sale.

12.  Do you read high-quality books? (e.g., the Bible, Treasure Island, The Chronicles of Narnia, Robinson Crusoe, etc.)
          I love these kinds of books and I read them every day.

13.  Do you have friends who build you up and encourage you to do the right thing? Are you a friend like this?
          I do have friends that encourage and want the best for me. I believe that I am a very encouraging person and I try to help everybody, not just my friends, get better in every way.

14.  Do you listen to high-quality music (e.g., Handle, Beethoven, etc.)
          I do not listen to this kind of music.






          Sleep is one of the main priorities to your health and fitness. There are many benefits of sleep that can save you from diseases and even death! However, too much sleep can also cause these problems. You can think of many ways to help you sleep better and get the right amount of sleep every night. 

          Sleep helps you to concentrate, remember things, and to stay awake. People who do not get as much sleep as they need, which is about 7-8 hours/night, usually suffer from heart, bone, muscle, skin, and brain problems. It affects your lifespan, too. It can also cause many diseases, for example, cancer and diabetes because lack of sleep makes you hungry. People who have not gained sleep in a long time can become confused with simple answers, like what is real or fake, and right or wrong, which can be very dangerous.

          As well as too little sleep, too much sleep can also be dangerous. It can cause your thinking to be very boggled, but this is the same as too little sleep. Too much sleep can not allow you to sleep properly through the next night, and your sleep pattern will be very messed up. You can also become very lazy and miss part of your day. It can cause many diseases too, like diabetes. This is caused because people sleep so long, and they don’t eat all that time, so they get up and eat a lot of food, so that they feel like they aren’t hungry anymore. Brain and heart problems can also be caused by too much sleep.

          Ways to control your body and get the right amount of sleep each night are endless. These are some that I am going to try, according to how much sleep I need for my age (9-11 hours):

-I can set an alarm for 9:00 pm each night, which would mean that I should start getting ready for bed.

-I could get to bed at 9:30, get nine hours of sleep, and wake up at 6:30.

-Then I could get done with my school early and have plenty of time to do whatever I want for the rest of the day.

-I could read a good book before bed to calm me down.

-I could listen to soft, calming music, or a sound machine, or an audio book, or even a relaxation video. 

(The last two ways will help me sleep better.)


          Altogether, sleep is very important. It helps your body function properly and it saves you from deadly diseases. It is also necessary to get the right amount of sleep, not too little and not too much, for it can cause problems. There are many, many different ways to help people to sleep more efficiently and get the perfect amount of sleep each night. As you can see, sleep is crucial to your life.