To this day, I hear friends and family members bragging about how little sleep they need to get through the day and week. No doubt some people need less than others, but as a whole many of us go through the day sleep deprived. I’m not quite sure where this comes from, but I speculate it’s from the prior generation’s philosophy which goes something like this, “No rest for the wicked.”
I played three sports in high school, so I didn’t have a whole lot of down time. On weekends I did my best to catch up on much needed sleep as a teenager. My father didn’t see it that way. He saw it as “I was sleeping my day away.” I’ve recently discovered studies that say some teenagers require up to 10-12 hours of sleep a night as their body’s are growing and changing at an incredible pace during those years.
Today’s pace of life is faster than ever and the gaps for down time to lay under trees and look up at the sky or sit on a park bench to take in the fresh air seem fewer and far between. Stimulus of all kinds is barraging us at every waking moment and the expectancy of work production is higher than ever while many of us work remotely in our homes.
Getting ample sleep is just as important in taking care of yourself as exercise, diet and your mental well-being.
You’re not a hero because your going on 5 hours of sleep. You’re probably underperforming. Let’s see what we can all do about that.
Now, get to bed!