The Importance of a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep is an often overlooked, yet very important part of your health. Many people believe that the best way to be successful is to stay up late and get up early. Surprisingly, those icons we typically deem the most successful tend to make a good night of sleep their number one priority. Do a google search for “successful people and sleep,” and you’ll find that much has been written on the importance of sleep to function your best. In a recent interview, Elon Musk was quoted as saying, “I sleep about 6 hours a night – I tried less, but total productivity decreases.” Without sufficient rest, your brain and overall energy suffer.

what can you do to get a better night of sleep?

• Avoid caffeine

  • Avoid caffeine for several hours before bed. While some people metabolize caffeine more quickly than others, most people will find that by eliminating caffeine within 6 hours of bedtime, they will find it easier to fall asleep and get a more restful night of sleep.

• Pick a bedtime

  • Pick a bed time and stick with it. A consistent sleep schedule makes for a consistent wake schedule.

• Avoid alcohol close to bedtime

  • Many people will argue that a glass of wine or a drink before bed helps them sleep. And while it may help them get to sleep, it can interrupt sleep and cause them to wake up in the middle of the night and/or not get the deep restorative night of sleep the body truly needs.

• Avoid electronics for an hour before bedtime.

  • This is the hard one these days but-- Your TV, phone, tablet, computer, and the LED bulbs we use all produce blue light. This blue light signals to the brain that it is still daylight. For most of human history our bodies evolved to either go to sleep with the sun or stay awake only by candlelight. It is only in the last 100 years or so that we have been able to stay up as late as we want and it is affecting our health. Many people these days are going so far as to lighting their homes with red light bulbs at night. You may also consider blue light blocking glasses in the evening as well. Try using this time to read from a hard copy book. How much sleep do you need? Most adults need between 6 and 9 hours of quality sleep to feel fully rested.

All of the things listed are a great start, but there are often contributing factors which may make some of these changes difficult. If you’ve been using alcohol to help get to sleep and/or caffeine to help stay awake, there could be an underlying hormone imbalance that may make it feel as though they are both necessary to function.

Stop in today for a consult. We can speak about your symptoms and if needed, check your labs.

If you make sleep your priority, who knows? Perhaps you could be the next Elon. Or at least the Elon of Verrado!