By Darren Gurr, Managing Partner, rnr Wellness
Our sleep is the most important foundational piece of our health and wellness, period. Prioritizing the quality and amount of the sleep we get needs to be just as important to us as eating, exercise, or personal finances. If it is compromised then we aren’t equipped to make healthy decisions in regards to how we manage our life.
Healthy sleep habits create vitality and the ability to thrive. Sleep deprivation leaves us anxious, grumpy, foggy and most importantly we don’t manage life properly.
“By helping us keep the world in perspective, sleep gives us a chance to refocus on the essence of who we are. And in that place of connection, it is easier for the fears and concerns of the world to drop away.”
Arianna Huffington
Need some more convincing?
If you still belong to the old school mindset that subscribes to grinding it out at any cost in order to be successful in your career, finances, or creating the life of your dreams, then hopefully what follows can create a shift in how you think about your own lifestyle and perspective on life.
I used to be the driven A-type that thought my identity was tied to what I did rather than who I was.
I wore my ability to go without sleep as a badge. I came from a hard working farming family and worked full time while going to university. I was proud of how much I could knock off a list in a day. But I started to get accused of hiding behind my hard driving way of life. I was linking my identity to what I did, rather than who I was. I was also ignoring the effects it was having on my health by thinking I was strong enough to muscle my way through anything. Yes I had my perspective upside down, but I am not alone.
Then I started to see the light. As time went by I began to observe those around me who were the most successful in their business, were also highly engaged in their families, their leisure activities and their communities. These men and women were not burning the candle at both ends, they were not continually driving or “on”. They had a rhythm and a cadence to their healthy lifestyle that included the proper amount of down time and self care.
Sleep evangelist, Arianna Huffington, author of The Sleep Revolution, learned the hard way what happens when you become so tired that your body just calls it quits and shuts down. After shattering her cheek while working herself to exhaustion, she offers a helping hand to those that still subscribe to the grim western culture of wearing busy-ness and sleep deprivation as a badge of honor.
What happens when we don’t get the sleep we need? It fuels bad health habits and life management decisions. We get sick mentally, emotionally or physically. We may not even know it because we think that is how we were meant to live. Our mindset may be that we are meant to survive instead of thrive. Lack of self honesty tells us that if we are still functioning then we must be doing OK. It is like the tsunami heading for the shore and we don’t even see it coming.
It is more difficult to maintain healthy sleep now that we have these attention sucking electronic devices in our hands. We live with a scarcity mentality that we are either not getting enough done or we need more hours in our day.
This isn’t intended to be a comprehensive solution to your sleep habits but rather maybe a bit of a wake up call. A google search will give you more information than you can put into practice. In fact type in the words “why am I so” and see what google comes up with for suggested search terms. Yes it is one of the most searched inquiries on google.
As with most things in life the answers are simple. It might be challenging to stick with some of them because we have had a lifetime of bad sleep habits that need to be changed, but they are simple and you already know most of them. To help make a shift in your habits I put together seven quick changes you can make right now:
- Set yourself up with a really good pillow like the Hush pillow. Yes, buck up and spend the money, remember sleep is at the top of your priority list.
- Same with your mattress, don’t compromise, spend the money to make sure it leaves you refreshed in the morning and lets you sleep through the night.
- Do I need to mention your phone or tablet, really? In fact, do you need to use your smartphone to do a google search that tells you to shut it off and leave it in another room before going to bed? Replace it with breathing and meditation practices. These are life changing.
- Get your daily doses of dopamine (stay tuned for an upcoming blog on this).
- Become a sleep evangelist. If you encourage and inspire those around you to set themselves up for success and create a better lifestyle through their sleep hygiene, you will find your own habits changing as well. It might be called good sleep Karma and will be the best gift you can give a friend or family member.
- Lastly and most importantly, prioritize it. If we value a life of vitality then why would our sleep not be at the top of the list.
- Ditch the caffeine, energy drinks, sugar, melatonin, and fatty foods. You know the list. Instead commit to better lifestyle choices in order to set yourself up for success. Take on the mindset of treating yourself as you would your most precious possession.
The Benefits Are Very, Very Appealing
If you need a little motivation, or a “wake-up” call to prioritize your sleep habits, just remember what the output is. Put simply, you will feel great! I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love feeling good. Sleep is the ultimate performance enhancer.
An extra perk is that our dreams become more vivid. Once we have some proper sleep hygiene we start having better dreams and we remember them better when we wake up and can put meaning to them. Our dreams can guide us and it’s actually interesting and fun when this starts happening. They begin to show us how there might be some forces at play in our lives. We become open to being guided by something that creates a more conscious life than the typical societal influences. .
Sleep is like anything else in life. We should want to do our best and be good at it. Why make sleeping our achilles heel and then try to live a more enhanced and impactful life during the day with a tank that is half full? When we take the time to get quiet and think about it the contradiction becomes powerfully obvious, and motivating. Sleep is the most effective ingredient in your feel-good recipe.
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