Prioritizing Sleep

"Now, blessings light on him that first invented sleep!It covers a man all over, thoughts and all, like a cloak; it is meat for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, heat for the cold, and cold for the hot. It is the current coin that purchases all the pleasures of the world cheap, and the balance that sets the king and the shepherd, the fool and the wise man, even. "

Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote

Chances are you aren't getting enough sleep.

Most of us aren't, and, aside from being grumpy, this leads to serious physical problems. The CDC says insufficient sleep leads to "chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, as well as cancer, increased mortality, and reduced quality of life and productivity."

Yikes.

One the positive side, adequate sleep and a well placed nap actually increases memory and creativity.

Arianna Huffington is personally staging a sleep revolution after she collapsed from exhaustion. Check out her short TED talk...

In this short talk, Arianna Huffington shares a small idea that can awaken much bigger ones: the power of a good night's sleep. Instead of bragging about our sleep deficits, she urges us to shut our eyes and see the big picture: We can sleep our way to increased productivity and happiness -- and smarter decision-making.

There are plenty of tips for getting better sleep, but the one I like the best is both tangible and practical, which is to start by going to bed 30 minutes earlier.

30 minutes sounds reasonable to me.  What about you?

Try it tonight and see!