What’s up guys, I want to talk about something that is extremely important and is often overlooked and that is a lack of sleep. On the morning of April 6, 2007, Arianna Huffington received a wake-up call. That wake-up call was in the form of a broken cheek bone and a gash over her eye. She fell due to exhaustion and a lack of sleep. That’s wild.
Here’s a few facts for you to chew on from John Hopkins Medical Center.
• Up to 25% of Americans experience excessive daytime sleepiness due to sleep deprivation.
• 1 in 25 adults report having fallen asleep at the wheel in the past month. Scary stuff especially if you have your kids in the car.
• And here’s a big one, insufficient sleep is associated with increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure AND a 50% higher risk for obesity if sleeping less than 5 hours nightly.
Who knew, right?! I have to admit, sleep was not something I took seriously back in the day. You ever listen to some of those motivational speakers that tell you that sleep is for the weak and if you really want to be successful, then you work overnight while everyone else is sleeping their life away? Yeah, I was on that. Kobe Bryant once said, “while they sleep, you work. That’s how champions are made.” Rest in peace to the late grate Kobe Bryant.
Now he was a magician on the court and no doubt it was attributed to dedication and hard work, but I’m going to have to disagree on that. At least to some degree. Sometimes due to a lack of time during the day or if it’s crunch time and you have a deadline, you have no choice but to “burn the midnight oil.” Some of us have to work an overnight shift, I did that for awhile. But at some point during the day it’s extremely important to get a decent amount of sleep.
You know, we are taught that in order to be considered successful, in order to be considered productive, we have to always be doing something. The one that’s doing the most is doing big things right? Is that supposed to be some kind of flex? Look at me, I’m doing this, this, and this. Well that’s great and all, but at what cost? Complete mental burnout.
And you’re wondering why you’re always in a bad mood and you don’t have the patience you normally have. You’re snapping at your kids. Ready to kill your boss and they’re times when you really don’t feel like being bothered. Well, that’s due to a lack of sleep! How can you be at your very best if your tank is empty and running on fumes? You can’t.
If you’re ambitious, great. Nothing is wrong with that. Go get what’s yours. But there’s a difference between ambition and unhealthy ambition. I have a routine. And no matter what I make sure I get to bed at a certain time and get at least six hours of sleep in because I know the type of person I am when I don’t get decent sleep. I look at sleep as just as important as exercise and eating healthy because it really is.
So, if you feel you’re not getting enough rest I have a few suggestions for you.
1. Try to set a designated time to go to bed and stick with it. Create a routine that allows you to get everything you need to get done in the evening and to bed at a decent time. For me, I try to get to bed by 11pm. I get up around 5 so it gives me 6hrs of rest which is plenty.
2. Put down your phone at least an hour before bed. Viewing your phone stimulates your brain and suppresses melatonin which is needed to help you rest. PubMed Central states that engaging with screens before bed for even an hour is associated with a 59% increase of insomnia and about an average 24-minute loss of sleep per night. Now some of you I know are addicted to your phones and are probably like, yeah that’s not happening. To that I say, get some help! Put your phone down!
3. If you’re like me, sometimes it’s difficult to fall asleep. It’s the worst when you’re tossing and turning trying to fall asleep and all of a sudden, you see the sun beginning to rise and your alarm goes off. My suggestion is to either try melatonin gummies or tea to help you fall asleep. Both work well for me. I like Natrol melatonin gummies. They taste pretty good and you fall asleep about 20 or 30 minutes after taking one. And they’re not habit forming.
Or, I’ll do SleepyTime tea which is basically Chamomile with spearmint and lemongrass. Tastes good with a little honey. I usually throw in a few fig newtons with my tea. Oh, another thing about the melatonin gummies, they tend to make you a bit loopy the next day so I suggest taking them about a hour or two before bed so it has a chance to work through your system and not carry over.
4. If that doesn’t work, deep breathing actually works believe it or not. Lay down in a comfortable position. Then take a deep breath in for 5 seconds, hold for about 3 seconds, and release with mouth closed for about 5 seconds. Do this until you fall asleep.
Want to run on all cylinders and be at your best? Then you have to take care of yourself fully. Healthy mind, healthy body, healthy spirit
