Did you ever hear someone say: “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”, “I pulled an all-nighter again” or “Gimme my damn coffee or I’ll curse your family line for 7 generations”? Was that person you?
It baffles me that despite all the science, still people pride themselves in getting as little sleep as possible. And even more common: many people neglect their sleep because they are prioritizing work, other people’s expectations and keeping up with every Kardashian out there on every platform.
I’m not talking about the occasional short night; I mean a general attitude of seeing sufficient sleep as a nice-to-have or not giving it any attention at all. There are some people who always sleep like a log and wake up with enough energy to manually haul a truck full of logs.
If that’s not you: start prioritizing your sleep NOW. Especially if you are reading this at 3:11 AM.
But…the world needs me awake!
I get it, it’s tempting to be awake. Why should make sleep a priority? Why should you care? That depends. There are dozens of fascinating, valid reasons science will tell you. But usually it doesn’t address this very important one.
Who do you care about? Yourself? Family and friends? A pitiful celebrity family that desperately needs your clicks on their Instagram posts? Random strangers you meet? People who are suffering on the other side of the planet?
Yes, sleeping well and long enough every night will benefit you in so many ways. I could write a long article about that. (And I probably will. One day. When I’ve slept better.)
Also, by consistently getting the best possible sleep, you will save the world. Well, at least, you’ll be able to make the best possible contribution to it in your own unique way.
Optimal sleep leads to the best version of you, while crappy sleep leads to a cheap knock-off of you that kinda looks like you, but breaks at the seams after a few days of use. The Best You is able to do things for other people more often and better than the You That Went On A Bender Yesterday And Now Needs A Nap. The Best You will contribute to other people’s lives in unexpected ways.
If that doesn’t appeal to you, then you shouldn’t have made it this far into this article. Seriously, you could have bailed right after the title. If you do care about what you can do for this world and the people in it, here are some pointers on how to change your thinking with regard to sleep.
These things shouldn’t stop you
Forget about being there all the time. You’re not helping anyone by cutting out sleep hours and spending extra half-waking hours on solving things inefficiently. You’re not saving the world in the remaining hours either, because now your body runs on stimulants and yore brain are two dum.
Forget about the word ‘lazy’. At some point, someone may have told you to get your lazy ass out of bed. But if your body needs sleep and you are allowing it to get that need fulfilled, that’s often hard work. There are so many requests, duties and streaming television shows are trying to take that sleep away from you, that you can consider it an epic win if you manage to grab the sleep you actually need.
Forget about prestige. Receiving approval for running on caffeine and showing up to long work days on just four hours of sleep, is like receiving the Foundation Builder of the Year Award for the Leaning Tower of Pisa. How much sense does it really make for people to encourage you to show up to work with the brain of a dizzy llama and the cheerful attitude of a black mamba on meth?
Forget about the mathematics. Your sleep does not consist of wasted hours that steal a third of your life. On the contrary: it’s the investment you keep making to turn two thirds of your life into the best conscious experience for you and the people whose lives you impact.
Forget about excuses. Sure, there are some emergencies that need to be adressed at the cost of some sleep, like your darling toddler going all Exorcist on you to get fed, or that one Grand Prix that takes place at an ungodly hour. But most things you do while you should be getting the sleep you need, can be sacrificed without severe consequences. The internet will still be here in the morning.
Listen to your body. Give it what is asks for. If that means going to bed two hours earlier tonight, then do it. You’ll do yourself a favor. You’ll do me a favor. You’ll do a favor to all the people you might interact with tomorrow. When you’re well-rested by default, who knows how many more positive ripples you can create!