I AM A FAILURE. Yes, I failed. I did not reach my goal of 56 hours of quality sleep this week. I got 55 instead. I may have failed but I still won. The benefits of getting the proper amount of sleep are well known: more energy, better mood, decreased risk of many diseases and conditions, yadda, yadda, yadda. If you read “Some Sleep Tips from a Professional” (click here) you know that getting quality sleep is more important than just getting a lot of sleep. This means not getting up in the middle of the night. This is best done by avoiding drinking a lot prior to sleeping, and also by taking part in a stress reducing activity like reading prior to going to bed.
Today, more and more people are trying to get ahead, and they think they can get more done by cutting sleep out of their day. After just a week of getting an average of 7.8 hours of sleep I feel much more alert and I feel that I was more efficient while I was awake, therefore; I got more done than I thought possible. I feel more energetic, am able to work out better, am in a MUCH better mood (ask my wife), and just generally feel better overall. It has only been a week so far, but I can definately recommend that if you want to get more done, get more sleep.
My sleep breakdown:
Sunday – 8
Monday – 8
Tuesday – 7.5
Wednesday – 6.5
Thursday – 7
Friday -8
Saturday – 10
Mike Scott, DPT 