Sleepytime

Sleep...so under rated and yet so coveted. We run around crazy day after day, night after night trying to squeeze an extra hour out of every day. Winston Churchill, Martha Stewart, Thomas Edison and Jay Leno are a few of our famous slim to nil sleepers. Successful, yes. However, I would be willing to bet, Martha Stewart may not have made her all too prolific "mistake" had she been sleeping more. Thomas Edison may have invented the iPhone and not just the telegraph had he decided sleep was not a "waste of time." And Jay Leno...well the guy hosted late night TV; he didn't stand a chance of getting normal sleep.

I for one will be the first to tell you, I would rather be doing anything other than sleeping. I have a list of why-can't-I-get-it-all-done things and would pay good money to get an extra day of "extra time" each week. So why oh why do I take the time to shut my eyes for 7-9 hours each night? Sleep is important in so many aspects of ones physical, mental and emotional systems. Sleep increases ones immune system, decreases the chance of obesity, repairs your heart and blood vessels, balances hormone levels, promotes growth (the good kind) and repairs and builds muscle. Lack of sleep causes one to react slower, eat more, live life on the emotional edge (not so fun to be around angry pants), decreases your reaction time and causes you to drive like a lunatic as well as make poor decisions. I for one do not have the time to react slower, or make poor decisions or really any of those other things.

It will, at first, be difficult to sleep more hours each night. You will pace around like a wild cat thinking all of the things you could be getting done. But after a few nights of good sleep; 7-9 hours of no wake to pee, snack free, TV off before you fall asleep nights you will notice you will be more alert and more productive with each and every hour.

A few tips to fall asleep and stay asleep:
1. NO CAFFEINE AFTER 1PM! (Have I gotten my point across to you?)
2. No liquids an hour prior to bed.
3. No sleeping on a full stomach.
4. Be sure to turn your TV off prior to dozing. The light from the TV will wake you and prevent you from hitting true REM sleep.
5. Shoot to go to bed at the same time every night or with in one hour of the projected bedtime. In other words don't stay up 'til midnight on the weekends and try to go to bed at 9 on week days.