A Good Nights' Sleep

3.14

For years I've set modest goals in a number of areas in life, and one of those involves sleep. I'm sort of a night-owl and early-bird combined, so I stay up kind of late and get up kind of early, consistently. I've learned that 6 hours a night isn't enough shut-eye for me, and 7 hours in bed finds me staring at the ceiling. The result is that about 6 1/2 hours a night has been my goal.

Problem is, I rarely achieve it. Regardless of setting and genuinely pursuing the goal of 6 1/2 hours of sleep a night, I would regularly stay up too late, knowing I had to get up at 5am or so. And about 3pm the next day I would crater.

So, when I recently got a new Fitbit device which tracks sleep, I thought this is my chance to take my humble sleep goal more seriously. Long story short is that it's working! I think it's kind of goofy that I couldn't control my late-night behavior enough to get a good nights' sleep before the tracker, but since I have a goal set with little reminders and dashboard popups, I'm getting more sleep.

Now, instead putting a documentary on Netflix (which I fall asleep in the middle of anyway) or grinding through my gmail account to keep things cleaned up, I just go to bed. By 10pm, the kids are mostly in bed (our oldest teens have a tendency to do homework late into the night), I'm not into Facebook, so that's not keeping me up, and anything else can wait.

The result? I log about 6 hours and 20 minutes to 6 hours and 40 minutes of sleep a night, I wake more rested, and I do significantly better the next afternoon - no thick, sleepy feeling after lunch or in the middle of afternoon meetings. I'm also certain I'm thinking more clearly and more creatively with a better nights' sleep. Go figure.

We all know the value of a good nights' sleep. All we have to do is do it. If you tend to short your nightly slumber, maybe it's time to be more proactive about it so your wellness can benefit too.

By the Way

Studies consistently show that young adults through the elderly need about 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Of course, individual needs vary, but to function ideally day after day, that's the right amount. Check out this great article and video from the National Sleep Foundation on their recommendations for a good nights' sleep at any age.