Try Sleeping

Sometimes, when I feel especially tired or just generally out of sorts, I will get some extra sleep.

Weird, I know.

Reducing sleep to the bare minimum is glorified. How many times have you heard that so-and-so famous person gets by on 2 or 3 hours of sleep each night? What about the romantic notion of a writer fleshing out a manuscript by candlelight (or the glow of a screen) in the wee hours while everyone else is asleep?

There are certainly times for “getting by” on little sleep and for embracing creativity when it flows, even if that’s in the middle of the night. But I’ve learned that, for me at least, it can’t be a lifestyle.

If pushing yourself to sleep as little as possible in the name of getting more done works for you, then by all means keep it up. This post isn’t for you.

This post is for those among us who bemoan ill health, ill temper or any other malady while routinely sleeping 7 hours or less a night.

Here are a couple of truths:

• there will always be more things to do than can be done in a day
• proper sleep is necessary for human health

I’m fully aware that keeping both of those facts in mind can be challenging in a world full of demands on our time.

I’ve tried seeing how little I could sleep and still function as a reasonable facsimile of myself. I had a job for while where I left my house at 4am everyday, and regularly got about 4-5 hours of sleep. It was a disaster for my health and many other aspects of life. I found a new job.

I’ve tried substituting things for sleep. Coffee (all the coffee). Food. Neither works long term, though I still quite enjoy my coffee.

None of this is novel. There’s a chorus of people in the world extolling the virtues of proper sleep. I guess I just wanted to add my voice:

If you’re tired, go to sleep. The rest will work itself out.