The Importance of Sleep

Why do we sleep? www.ted.com Russell Foster is a circadian neuroscientist: He studies the sleep cycles of the brain. And he asks:...

Only in the last few years have science and medicine begun to understand that without enough high-quality sleep, our health and our lives unravel.  The lack of restorative sleep is leading many of us into a non-sick state prematurely and, likely unhealthy eating and lack of movement, degrading our health.  The TED talk above gives an overview of why we sleep and need sleep.

For additional reading:  Dr. A's Habits of Health; Chapter 17 Sleep: Nature's Nurse

Are You a Lark or an Owl

Are you a morning person? Then you are a lark! Are you better at night time? Then you are an owl. (night owl!) In a perfect world, we can adjust our schedules to accommodate our natural cycle that is best for us. Sometimes we make the mistake, however, by trying to make it up on the weekends, or napping when we can..etc.This is not good because it changes our patterns radically and messes our systems up.

You should get 6 to 8 hours of sleep. Count back from when you go to bed (that means when you are asleep, not just in bed…)  Schedule your sleep. If you can accommodate for your lark or owl status, do that and prepare for a great night's sleep! We will talk more about this in other posts, but this is a good starting point.

Comment whether you are an owl or lark below for a bonus extra point.

PS Im an owl all the way!!!