Sleep: A Necessity, Not a Luxury
As we get older, life seems to go faster and faster. It seems there are not enough hours in a day to get everything done. So we tend to utilize sleeping hours to catch up. People tend to stay up a couple hours later or wake up a couple hours earlier, thinking that is the only way to be productive. In fact, less sleep actually reduces productivity and exposes us to risks. Aside from healthy people voluntarily restricting sleep, there are over 40 million people who struggle with some sort of sleeping disorder each year. On average, Americans sleep about 6.9 hours on weekdays and 7.5 hours on weekends, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Experts recommend seven to eight hours of sleep each night. In the short term, lack of sleep can affect our day-to-day performance of tasks. It can be as simple as a bad decision, miss something or even at a moment’s inattention, we don’t break in time and rear end another driver. But long term affects, can involve your health. Doctors have linked lack of sleep to weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, depression and substance abuse.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health offers these tips for getting a good night’s sleep:
- Stick to a regular sleep schedule.
- Avoid exercising closer than five or six hours before bedtime.
- Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol before bed.
- Avoid large meals and beverages late at night.
- Don’t take naps after 3 p.m.
- Relax before bed, taking time to unwind with a hot bath, a good book or soothing music.
- If you’re still awake after more than 20 minutes in bed, get up and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy. Anxiety over not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
I am one that enjoys my sleep and prides myself on sleeping 8-hours a night. Although it cannot be done every night, due to many reasons, I still try. But I do notice when I do not get the 8 hours of sleep a night for an extended period of time, I do have difficulty getting back into my sleeping routine. I know for a fact that my sleep is a necessity and not a luxury.
