How to Get More Sleep?

Get more sleep this week, especially high-quality sleep.

Most people are tired all the time — mostly because we do not rest enough. Yeah, it it sounds obvious. But, if it is so obvious, why do we ignore it? Because it is not seen as important as other things: waking up early for hurry-free mornings, getting stuff done, attending to a thousand meetings, being sucked into the world of online connections, the God-forsaken television, etc.

So, we cut sleep in favor of these other things that are much more important, and then wonder why our energy levels are low. Low energy can have really wide-reaching consequences: our work suffers, we are crankier and so our relationships suffer, and when we are tired we do not have the discipline to exercise, walk for fun, eat healthy, or do the other things we think are important, but we never have the energy to do.

Sleep can change all that — when we are well rested, we are happier people, better friends, and have more discipline and motivation to pursue health and passion.

With better sleep, we can also live longer.

Assess how much sleep you are getting. If you sleep fewer than seven hours a night, consider getting more sleep. If you feel tired throughout the day, consider sleeping more at night, or taking an afternoon nap, if that is possible.
The first suggestion is to take a nap. If you are too tired to take other steps, taking a nap is easy. Even a 20-minute power nap can make a big difference. If you cannot take a nap, at the very least disconnect from digital devices. Computers and smartphones are powerful tools, but being on them for too long tires us out.
Disconnect, get outside, take a walk. Cancel an appointment or two, if you can. Stretch. Massage your shoulders. Close your eyes for a few minutes. Breathe.
Exercise. A good hard workout or run, bike or swim will get you nice and tired. A good yoga workout is a wonderful way to do that, as you learn mindfulness at the same time. Even if the workout is early in the day, I often go to bed with a tired body, and look forward to the rest. Do not workout right before bed though because you will not be able to fall asleep.
Get up early. You can get your body to shift its sleeping schedule by slowly getting up earlier. Try 15 minutes earlier than normal for a week, then another 15 minutes. If you get up earlier, you will be a bit tired during the day, but when it comes time to go to sleep, you will enjoy the rest.
Go to bed earlier — the Internet will be fine without you. Sometimes, I like to read before bed as a ritual that helps me sleep. It takes awhile before your sleeping patterns change.
Establish bedtime rituals. It takes time to unwind the body and mind. At least an hour before bedtime, start slowing down. Turn off the computer. Brush your teeth. Put away things you were using in the evening. Lay down and read a book. This kind of ritual helps establish in your mind that it is time to sleep, and your body takes this cue and begins to prepare itself.
Focus your attention. Once you have done your bedtime ritual, and your body is nice and tired, you need to quiet the mind. The trick for doing that is to close your eyes and visualize what you did first thing today. That might be opening your eyes and getting out of bed. Then visualize the second thing you did — let’s say you went to the bathroom and washed your face, or drank a glass of lemon water. Then you started the coffee but first had to grind the beans. Visualize these tiny steps in detail. I never get past the first hour before I am asleep.

Sleep is a blessing that I wish on all my readers. It is a much-needed rest that helps us to be truly awake once the glorious new day has come.