Advocating for Sleep

I often need 9 hours of sleep (plus a morning cup of coffee) to feel fully awake and energized all day. I know that’s a lot more than some (most) people get, but I feel fairly useless the next day unless I get enough sleep and practice good sleeping habits. Either insomnia or poor sleeping habits run in my family, so I’ll continue trying to prevent both.

A lot of people in different stages of life don’t get enough sleep and sometimes they don’t know that some of their problems stem from getting a poor night’s…. week’s or month’s…sleep. It takes a toll on your body and you’ll definitely be able to feel the difference when you’re finally well rested. The infographic to the right shows all of the benefits of getting enough sleep (and that means catching up on “sleep debt” from that all nighter you pulled).

I was having a rough patch for sleeping well and feeling rested, so I started using the app Sleep Time. It’s free and tracks your sleep- duration, depth, and timing. It also allows you to set an alarm to wake you up when you’re in the lightest stage of sleep – ever been jolted awake in the middle of a dream by your alarm and didn’t feel like you were actually awake until 30 mins later? It can help prevent that. It can also help you track your sleep schedule so you go to sleep around the same time every night, get enough sleep, and identify reasons you aren’t sleeping well. To the left is a screenshot of one night’s sleep (it also shows a weekly version so you can compare each night side by side).

Try out these tips for better sleep from the National Sleep Foundation if you’re having trouble sleeping or aren’t feeling rested:

• Establish consistent sleep and wake schedules, even on weekends
• Create a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath or listening to soothing music – begin an hour or more before the time you expect to fall asleep
• Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool
• Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows
• Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex (keep “sleep stealers” out of the bedroom – avoid watching TV, using a computer or reading in bed)
• Finish eating at least 2-3 hours before your regular bedtime
• Exercise regularly.
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol products close to bedtime and give up smoking