If You Snooze, You Don’t Lose!

I’ve noticed that our society has a weird attitude toward sleep – especially professional people. It’s almost as if they’re embarrassed to admit that they need to doze on a regular basis. I know lots of people who seem to take it as a point of pride to tell you that they never sleep more than 4-5 hours a night. If you’re one of those people let me just say – that is NOT a good thing!

Research shows that most of us need 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If we don’t get that amount on a regular basis the following problems can arise:

Feeling tired during the day
More accidents
Difficulty thinking clearly, concentrating and making decisions
Lower sex drive
More health problems
More anxiety & depression

Sleep is something we are all designed to need so stop trying to go around it and just go to bed! Here are some pointers to make a good night’s sleep easier to attain:

Turn off all electronics about an hour before bedtime
Dim the lights around the same time
Take a warm bath
Make sure the room you sleep in is dark
Sip some herbal tea to help you relax
Use a white noise maker (you can get them online) to provide a soothing background sound
Use a diffuser with lavender essential oil
Go to bed at roughly the same time – even on weekends
Develop a bedtime ritual

Waking up with a solid 7-8 hours of sleep under your belt will make the world seem a different place. You’ll be more energetic, alert, happy, confident and well rested. Give it a shot!