The Power of Sleep

I’m often surprised by how much people overlook the power of sleep. We all know that sleep is very important. But prioritizing it in our lives is another thing. Is this you?

“I can’t get enough work done,”
“I’m super tired,”
“I just don’t have enough time.”

You’re a busy person and there’s a lot you need to do. When there aren’t enough hours in the day, sleep is often the first thing that needs to go. You’ll just get more later. However, time and time again, when I help others recognize the importance of sleep, problems of productivity, energy, time management magically go away. How do I explain this paradox?

When you don’t sleep, your mind and your body aren’t working at full capacity. Everything you need to get done is slower, the quality is worse, and you don’t feel great about yourself by the end of the day. You feel guilty and perhaps “not sleeping” is a punishment for your lack of productivity.

When you get consistent sleep, your mind and your body are performing at their best. You’re able to get more work done with higher quality. Don’t believe me? Try it out! When I ask others to do it, they’re astounded by the results!

Some caveats:

1. It’ll take a while before you can get a regular sleep schedule. Give yourself a month of having a regular sleep cycle before making a judgment on the benefits of sleep.
2. Having a regular sleep schedule is about discipline. And the reality is that a lot of us need help in that department.
3. Sometimes we can’t sleep due to emotional reasons about our life. It’s often anxiety. That’s something that will need to be processed on a personal level before you can begin to enjoy the benefits of good sleep
4. Try and avoid sleep medications if you can. Sleep comes in 4 stages and there is one particular stage where your body boosts its immune system, resets the brain, and other major regenerative activities go on. Some medications only give you the illusion of sleep as they don’t help with getting you to that special regenerative stage. Please talk to your doctor for more information about your specific situation.

Finally, here’s a PDF on something called “sleep hygiene”. If you’re having trouble with sleep, this is a great place to start:
Sleep Hygiene