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Sleep is one of the most basic and necessary parts of our life. We cannot operate forever and must sleep at some point. Think of your body as any other mechanical object with an energy source. Eventually, the energy runs out and must be recharged to continue. Like a cellphone, your car, or your computer, you will be forced to recharge. In order to optimize your life, you need to master the basics. Sleep is one of those basics. If you aren’t maximizing your sleep, everything else will suffer. That doesn’t mean you have to get the max recommended 7-8 hours of sleep each night. However, you need to maximize as much as possible.
Lack of sleep will adversely impact your life in multiple ways. It will affect your health, your diet, your heart, your hormones, your attention, your emotions, and more. Lack of sleep will slow you down. You will lose concentration, be unable to absorb new information, and have a hard time in social situations.
There is even a concept with micro sleep that comes with lack of sleep. Think of micro sleep like short blackout periods during the day that you don’t process what is happening. This could be during a car ride, in an important meeting, or some other time that you cannot control.
There are multiple strategies that can help you maximize your sleep at night. It is recommended that a health adult receives 7-8 hours of sleep each night. However, sometimes, it is more important to get a restful night of sleep, even if that means less than 7-8 hours. A night time routine that helps you wind down can be a good start. Controlling your food intake, alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine intake within an hour or two before bed can help. Make sure your bedroom is dark and cool. Finally, remove electronic devices like TVs, phones, computers, and tablets from the bedroom.
For more information about the importance of sleep, and how to get a good night of sleep, check out the Podcast:
