The highest earners, worldwide, get consistent sleep. Marie Kondo reports getting 8 hours, Serena Williams requires 7 hours, and Michelle Obama gets approximately 6 hours of sleep to be their best selves and seize each new day.
Ryan Hurd, an independent researcher at DreamStudies.org, says, “Sleep deprivation is an illegal torture method outlawed by the Geneva Convention and international courts, but most of us do it to ourselves”. With promises of better energy, productivity, health, creativity, and memory, escape from the cells of insufficient sleep offers freedom on many levels.
People claim a number of tips and tricks to improve sleep, but three are universal. First, reduce your alcohol intake. More than two servings of alcohol daily decreases the quality of sleep by 39.3%. Second, sleep with a weighted blanket if you can. People with insomnia reported sleeping better after using weighted blankets for two weeks. Lastly, keep your blue-light exposure to a minimum. Televisions, computers, and phone screens emit blue light, which reduces melatonin levels by as much as 200%.
The definition of sleep hygiene is, “optimizing habits, environments, and behaviors to maximize sleep efficiency”. After committing to a good sleep schedule, commiting to a wind-down routine, maintaining a clean quiet room, and augmenting other healthy habits, better sleep is destined to follow, and with it, a better you.
