A recent L.A. Times article pointed out that March 14th has been declared World Sleep Day, when we acknowledge the healthy benefits of getting a sufficient amount of sleep. In a 2013 poll by the National Sleep Foundation, about 4 out of 5 Americans don’t get enough sleep during the workweek, which is though to be at least 8 hours per night. The poll found only 21% of Americans get at least 8 hours of sleep per night and of that group only another 21% get at least 6 hours of sleep per night.
Unfortunately, cultural stigma has led us to believe that getting more than just a few hours of sleep every night is a sign of laziness while those who burn the midnight oil are looked as dedicated and hard-working. It turns out that getting 8 hours of shut-eye on a consistent basis not only improves your cognitive skills, helps you lose and keep weight off, and makes you happier, it also gives you better skin, helps you make better decisions, improves your libido, and helps you live longer. Even losing just 1 hour of sleep can negatively impact performance from which it can take 24 hours to recover. Here are some tips to ensure you get enough sleep:
- Avoid consuming caffeine after noon.
- Avoid drinking alcohol, watching TV, and/or playing around with your smartphone too close to your bedtime.
- Upon waking up in the morning expose yourself to as much light as possible to encourage your biological clock to reset itself.
- If you can take a nap during the day go ahead and do so, but only for 15-20 minutes around 2:00 or 3:00 PM.
Now, go catch some ZZZ’s!