Time to Improve Your Sleep

Sleepless in... Seattle? And Spain. And Serbia. And Salt Lake City. And even San Diego. An international sleep study is in and shows we're struggling to shut our eyes and keep them shut. Americans are the most productive, successful and honored for their success people in the world. But among the rewards, sleep is missing from the list. In the first ever international sleep study by the National Sleep Foundation, researchers asked a variety of questions about different sleep patterns. They found the Japanese survive on the smallest amount of sleep per night: just six hours and 22 minutes. Here in the U.S., we weren't far behind. We sleep an average of six hours and 31 minutes per night. According to the NSF, we need seven to eight hours of nightly sleep, in order to avoid the damaging effects of sleep deprivation, such as increased risk of stroke, diabetes, and well, exhaustion.

Isn't it time we started to sleep better?  Recovering from insomnia is a process and may take some time, but it can be done.  

So try this sleep tip: make sure your room is very dark.  Blackout curtains are inexpensive and bonus: they are energy efficient, blocking the summer's hot rays of the sun and keeping in the heat in the winter.  Also turn off the "vampire" electricity devices.  Anything that is shining an LED light (like the clock shown above) or putting off heat to the touch is using energy.  And the bright ones may be keeping you awake.