Mike Carruthers:
Getting enough sleep, it means not only how many hours you sleep
but also when you sleep.
Dr.
James Maas:
To be regular - to go to bed at the same time every night, Monday
through Monday, and wake up at the same time every morning,
Monday through Monday, including the weekends.
Dr. James
Maas, author of the book, Power
Sleep…
You only
have one biological clock - not two, one for the workweek, and
one for the weekend. So, being regular will not only make you
more alert during the day, but it will even reduce the total
amount of time you need to sleep.
And your
sleep environment is very important.
We want
to make sure the bedroom is quiet, dark, and cool - about sixty-five
degrees Fahrenheit.
It’s
a good idea to take a warm bath or a hot shower right before
bed.
Read
for pleasure in bed before you turn off the lights.
And if
you’re a worrier and your mind is buzzing, try just saying all
your worries into a pocket tape recorder or writing them down
on an index card, and put them on the nightstand, and get them
out of your head.
If you
stay up late and miss out on sleep, Dr. Maas says you need to
make it up.
For the
next several days, try to get to bed earlier - maybe fifteen
to twenty minutes earlier than you usually do - until you’ve
caught up on that sleep.
Sleep
loss does not dissipate into thin air over time anymore than
a debt in your Visa card will. If you haven’t started to pay
back a past debt, it’s going to accumulate. And, that’s exactly
what happens with sleep debt.
At somethingyoushouldknow.net,
I’m Mike Carruthers, and that’s Something You Should Know.
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