How to Sleep Better and Get the Rest You Need Now

This week is National Sleep Awareness Week! In observance, we’re going to cover everything you need to know to sleep better, longer, and more peacefully over the course of the next 5 days. Today, we’re starting out with an overview of how to sleep better including a number of strategies you can implement immediately to get the rest you need.

How to Sleep Better

Contrary to popular belief, and the behavior of most, sleep is not a luxury. Sleep is as necessary to our well-being as water and is actually much more critical to our health than food. We need to commit to meeting our sleep needs, today, and every day moving forward.

Why We Should Prioritize Sleep

When we’re tired, our bodies are telling us something important.

And although a full night’s rest is a rare treat for most, getting enough zzzzzzs is actually one of the most important things we can do for our good health.

It is ironic that many of us set our alarms to awaken at a god-forsaken hour so that we can get in a workout before we head to work.

Getting enough sleep may actually be much more important. And having strategies to sleep better may be more important than that fitness routine, too.

For starters, sleep helps modulate our moods, energy level, and improve our happiness and well-being.

And sleep enables our bodies and brains to do super important things that can only happen when we’re resting.

More on this in a minute.

First, let’s agree that we’re all convinced.

We need to prioritize our basic physical need for sleep, especially when our bodies tell us that sleep should trump other stuff.

We are rarely steered wrong when we listen to the signals our bodies are giving us, and this is just another case in point.

So, let’s do a better job of paying attention to what our bodies are telling us.

Let’s figure out how much sleep we need, and then we’ll dive into strategies to sleep better.

How Much Sleep Is Right for Me?

The amount of rest we need depends on how old we are and is influenced by our genes.

But there is a way to figure out how much sleep you truly require.

If you’re able to take a short break from a set waking schedule, try this.

This next sentence may sound shocking, but it is possible.

Go to bed when you’re tired and set no alarm to wake-up.

Do this for 3-4 days and see how long you sleep on average.

This is one way (and quite a healthy way) to discover how much sleep you, personally, require to be well rested.

You can do it. Stop overachieving for one day. Maybe turn off Netflix an hour earlier.

If you find this approach truly impossible – there is still hope.

You can move onto the next phase by just listening to the science. 

That is, if the “short vacation approach” doesn’t work for you, just assume that you’re an average human, who needs about 7.5 to 8.5 hours per night.

Why We Need Strategies to Sleep Better

So, have you been getting enough sleep? Probably not, because the majority of us don’t.

But there are so many reasons why sleep should be a priority, and why we should do all we can to sleep better.

For one thing, our bodies have a lot of business to take care of when we’re resting.

Here are a few examples:

• During sleep, the brain is “cleaned”; literally, all the toxins that build up during the day get flushed out while we rest.
• Our bodies heal themselves as we sleep, including muscle and tissue repair.
• Sleeping is an opportunity to dream!
• When we sleep, our brains have the opportunity to “connect the dots”. Have you ever woken during the night with an idea of how to solve a problem you’ve wrestled with for days? This is because the brain uses our “down-time” to revisit experiences and do some problem solving.
• When we sleep, we get to dream! And what could be better than that?

Good Things Happen When We Sleep Better

Good things happen while we sleep.

And bad things can happen if we don’t.

Ever wonder why there are laws that require pilots to get enough sleep before they fly?

To name just a few:

• When we don’t get enough sleep, we have a shorter attention span and find it difficult to concentrate.
• Insufficient sleep makes it more difficult to manage emotions such as anxiety and irritability.
• It’s harder to learn when we don’t get enough sleep.
• We’re more likely to make mistakes when we’re tired.  Those mistakes can range from making bad decisions due to poor judgment to causing an accident that threatens our own safety and the safety of others.

Getting Enough Sleep is Essential to Our Health

• Adequate sleep is necessary for our immune systems to function best, so we can fight off infections and illnesses, and recover quickly when we do get sick.
• Getting sufficient sleep is also imperative for weight management and to maintain energy levels.
• Those who do not sleep enough are more likely to develop diabetes and suffer from heart disease or have a stroke.
• Getting enough sleep also helps improve our ability to make sound decisions, about everything, including what we eat and how much we exercise.
• Not surprisingly, those who get enough rest, in addition to all of the above, are more likely to be happy and positive.

If this long list is not enough to get you to bed early, scientists have now shown a link between inadequate sleep and a shortened life span.

That’s right. People who don’t get enough sleep die sooner than those who do, all other things being equal.

Strategies to Sleep Better