Sleep is one of the most important things we do every day, yet it is often the first thing we sacrifice. This is partially because society often conditions us to view the “grind” as a badge of honor and sleep as something that can be negotiated. We push through fatigue instead of listening to what our bodies are telling us. We reach for another cup of coffee, stay up a little longer, and convince ourselves we can catch up on sleep later.
The challenge is that this cycle can become so familiar that we stop noticing the impact it’s having on our lives. Scientists have observed, over longer periods of time, that a chronic lack of sleep can lead to weight gain, increase inflammation and contribute to mental and emotional health issues (learn more starting on page 398 of Dr. A’s Habits of Health). In an extreme example, sleep deprivation, a form of psychological torture, is often considered worse than going without food or water. It can rapidly erode emotions and self-confidence, resulting in erratic behavior.
Attention, focus, and energy are dependent on building the Habits of Healthy Sleep.
Think about a typical evening. You finish work and tell yourself you’ll go to bed early, but there are still emails to answer, a few things to clean up, and a show you want to watch. Before you know it, you’re scrolling in bed and realize it’s much later than you thought. The next morning, you wake up feeling tired and promise yourself you’ll get to bed earlier that night. And then you keep hitting repeat.
To help break that cycle, we need to stop treating sleep as something that happens after everything else is finished; we can make it part of our routine. The moments leading up to sleep can influence how easily we transition from the pace of the day into recovery — dimming the lights and stepping away from screens, avoiding exercise too close to bedtime and keeping a journal beside the bed are some ways we can prioritize our sleep.
Support your healthy habits.
To help discover if you are getting enough sleep, or to identify any behaviors that are affecting your sleep, fill out the sleep log and sleep assessment located in Your LifeBook and online here.
The right amount of high-quality sleep has been recognized as playing an essential role in our health and wellbeing. Sleep is your body’s way of restoring organ function, refreshing areas of the brain that control mood and behavior, and improving performance. Without it, the rest of the picture of health cracks and fades, but with it, the energy of life is yours to spend as you wish!