Too busy to be tired

If you had an extremely important project to do for work and your boss walked in to ask when they could expect it, chances are you would get fired if you replied, “I’ll get to it, when I get to it.” However, as Americans, we utter this statement to ourselves virtually every day of the week when it comes to sleep. We would all like to be able to unplug the alarm clock and just sleep until we get up, but we can’t. Longer hours at work, children, television, stress, more stress and a constantly racing mind are just a few of the reasons we opt for activity rather than down time.

Nearly 7 out of 10 people say they experience a frequent sleep problem, and ironically, or not, the same percentage also says they don’t have time to sleep the recomended number of hours a night. I understand that some have a medical condition that does not afford them the opportunity to get the quality of sleep they need, but there is a larger issue for the majority of us – time management.

We all know that person who walks around the office telling everyone that he needs less sleep than the rest of us – 3 or 4 hours tops. That same person is usually holding a coffee cup everytime you see them, and is the last one to leave the office every night, but has no more work than the next person. The reason why – poor time management.

I have a friend who is an occupational therapist and he often starts off his seminars and lectures in the following way. He asks everyone to write down their “to-do” list – work, home, projects – you name it, write it down. Many of us have this nagging little list that looms on our desk, in our briefcase or on our BlackBerry. This list seldom contains the words “sleep more”. He then asks everyone for the next few weeks to write down only three things on the revised list, when one is completed add one more. By not feeling like we are drowning in a sea tasks, we are better able to focus and accomplish our goals.

If you think about it, the list of three will only have two things to do on it each as, “sleep more” should always be at the top, and if we continue at this pace, we will never accomplish this goal. Habits take time to break, and sacrificing sleep in no different. If we put our minds to it, turn off the television a bit earlier and worry about work when we are at work, a more restful future is within reach...and an adustable bed, just makes it that more comfortable.