The A.M. Shuffle

Woke up, shuffled out of bed. Made a beeline for the head. Sound familiar? If you’re a Beatles fan, then it should (it’s sung to the tune of “A Day in the Life”:) Or does it sound familiar because you FEEL the same way?   Me too. And I call it the A.M. Shuffle.

Every morning, standing up after sleeping in bed all night, my feet feel like two giant weights, holding me down. Then, when I finally stand up out of bed, I literally shuffle across the floor because my feet aren’t warmed up and I can’t lift them fully yet. They are sore!

Prefer to listen? Click the play button below.

Therefore, I drag my feet along to the bathroom just 10 feet away, which feels much further. My bladder is ready to burst. But once I get moving and make it to the bathroom, my bladder is gladder, my muscles and joints have warmed up and I’m ready to have an awesome morning.

Have I always felt this way?  Heck no!  I’m a pretty energetic person, but as I am aging, things are a-changing.  Why is this?  Why do I have to do the A.M. Shuffle each morning?

Does it have to do with the fact that I’m heavier than I was when I was younger?  Probably! 

Does it have to do with the fact that I’m older (and wiser)?  You bet it does. 

Does it have to do with the fact that my feet HAVE turned into 20 pound weights? Uh, no!  

Why Do My Feet Hurt

Well, I researched on Google, “Why do my feet hurt when I get out of bed” and this is what I found.  I found there’s a lot of scary information out there!  My goodness, if I had every foot ailment out there, I’d be walking on my hands instead! 

But I found one answer that resonates with me. Are you ready for this?

We actually lose fat padding in our feet as we age (say what?!?) which causes us to feel the daily pounding of our everyday movement, therefore causing pain in our feet, which causes the dreaded A.M. Shuffle.  Aha! And Yikes!

Again, there are several other foot problems – many much more serious, but this one rang my bell – ding, ding, ding.  No wonder my feet are sore!

Here’s a crazy thought. Maybe I should attach boob enhancers to the bottom of my feet. After all, they have nice padding.  Ahhh, I can feel the relief already!

What is My Plan to Overcome the A.M. Shuffle

Seriously folks, What IS my plan to overcome this issue?  I know one thing for certain – I damn well do NOT want to continue with this problem and watch it get worse as I age.  Then my A.M. Shuffle might turn into the “roll me out of bed onto a gurney and wheel me to the toilet” fiasco. Not happening.  

Back to my plan.

First – Massage! Yes, lay those hands on me! I’ll be massaging my feet for a few minutes before falling asleep each night and before getting out of bed each morning. Or, even better, I’ll have my hubby do this.  Nah! He won’t do that! 

Regardless of who’s massaging my feet, the health benefits of massage include improvement of circulation; an increase in joint flexibility and mobility; and it helps improve the healing process of soft tissue injury.

I’m a fan of stretching, too. Stretching can help loosen the tightness in your feet after sleeping all night long and get that blood flowing.

Both sound like a winner to me and will be helpful in regaining my morning dismount out of bed. 

Wear Comfortable Shoes

Second, it’s important to wear comfortable, supportive shoes.  No more 3” stilettos!  Who am I kidding??? I never wore those things because I’d flip my ankle and fall flat on my face!

Make sure you’re wearing shoes that support your arches and fit well.  Shoes that are worn regularly, this includes workout shoes and or your everyday shoes, even work shoes, it’s recommended they be changed every 400 miles or approximately every 3-4 months – especially if you’re a 10,000 steps a day person. 

Oh darn!  I guess I need new shoes!  Ohhhh honey….I need the credit card!

Lastly, it won’t hurt to lose some weight and help ease the burden that I carry around every day, all day on my feet. I’m probably carrying an additional 20+ pounds from when I was younger.

That’s got to put a strain on my feet. (not to mention my back, my hips, yada, yada, yada). So, I’ll be keeping a closer eye on what food enters my mouth and continue to get up each morning to work out and keep moving!  

The Step and Slide

After I implement massage, wear good shoes and lose a few pounds, then maybe, just maybe, I’ll be doing the Step and Slide when I get out of bed each morning instead of the A.M. Shuffle.  My feet will thank me and I’ll feel much better! 

That, my friends, sounds much more appealing.  

Cheers!

Kathleen

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Blooper photos….