Challenge #4 - Sleep it Out!!

I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know? - Ernest Hemingway



Challenge Summary: To go to bed by 10:00 pm 5 nights this week. Furthermore, you should get at least 8 hours of rest.


     Don't get mad and quit reading yet!! Give me just a moment to qualify this challenge. Most Americans are sleep deprived - I don't care if you think your body only requires 5 hours, the fact is - IT REQUIRES 8 hours!!. 
      As you begin this challenge, know that if this is a big change for you, you will probably be spending some significant time awake in your bed. Changing your sleep patterns is a process. Drinking water immediately begins to hydrate your body. Going to bed at an earlier hour just confuses your body for a while.  I will go through more details about sleep and health this week, but to get started, I want you to understand that your body has its own clock. You are designed to go to bed with the sun and rise with the sun. Electricity has not always been around and we all know that candlelight does not come close to providing as much light as an electric lamp. Though our bodies adapt well to change, can we honestly say that we enjoy a healthier lifestyle (health-wise) than our ancestors? Night time is when your body does its repair work on the body. 
      How will this benefit you? If you have a stressful job/life, you will give your hormones a break by allowing your adrenals to "rest". I will talk about this more tomorrow.  But for tonight, just go to bed and turn off all lights, the TV, radio, computer, etc. and sleep! If you don't fall asleep  in the first 20 minutes, don't give up! Just visualize a relaxing location and position for yourself and let your body start the change. 

Please let me know how this works for you!

Notes about Sleep: 

• The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, the Challenger space shuttle disaster and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have all been attributed to human errors in which sleep-deprivation played a role.
•  Feeling tired can feel normal after a short time. Those deliberately deprived of sleep for research initially noticed greatly the effects on their alertness, mood and physical performance, but the awareness dropped off after the first few days.
• Experts say one of the most alluring sleep distractions is the 24-hour accessibility of the internet.
• The extra-hour of sleep received when clocks are put back at the start of daylight in Canada has been found to coincide with a fall in the number of road accidents.