Lack of sleep is holding us back and shortening our lives! Sleep is a biological necessity – experts say we need 7 to 9 hours a night to maintain our health, feel good and perform our best. Although some of us have trouble getting enough sleep, many choose to stay awake longer, trying to fit in more activities – and accomplish more – each day. But this may not be a good decision…
Studies suggest that those who sleep less than 6 hours a night run a risk of 13% greater chance of dying. Decreased productivity is estimated to cost the economy $411 billion in US, $50 billion in UK and $21.4 billion in Canada. And researchers say the number of people who don’t get enough sleep is rising.
Lack of sleep doesn’t only leave you feeling more tired and less energetic. Memories are processed and stored while we sleep. We need enough time in the deeper stages of sleep to process the day’s events in order to remember them long-term.
So, cutting sleep short to create more waking hours with the goal of achieving more can backfire, reducing achievement both at school and work. As Arianna Huffington, co-creator of Huffington Post says, you need to “sleep your way to the top!” (see link to her TED talk below). Of course, she’s talking about getting enough sleep so you can achieve more at work. She came to this realization when she injured herself, hitting her head on her desk when she passed out from lack of sleep.
The other way to make more time in your day, of course, is to look at your daily activities and decide what’s most important to you. Evening TV? Facebook articles? Emails? Or that project you’ve been wanting to finish? Simplify your life (and email!), and limit time wasting activities to create more free hours to accomplish your passions instead of cutting short your refreshing, health-protecting sleep.
And if you can’t sleep but want to? Here’s a blog I wrote about what you can try for insomnia: Can’t Sleep?
But, if hormone related symptoms are keeping you awake at night, my new book Can I Speak to the Hormone Lady? Managing Menopause and Hormone Imbalances has information you can use. It’s available here.
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