The songs played on the radio today often glorify passing up sleep to participate in other activities, questioning sleep importance. You’ve probably even read stories about your favorite entrepreneurs pulling all-nighters in their quest to rise to the top of the business world. With all this emphasis on sacrificing sleep for other things, it may seem like sleep importance isn’t necessary—or that sleep could even be an obstacle—to achieve long-lived success. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best with the now famous phrase “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute published an article in June of 2017 that emphasises the sleep importance and explains the benefits that the correct amount of sleep provides to all different parts of the body, as well as performance, brain function, and emotional well-being.
The American Psychological Association, National Sleep Foundation, and Health.com all plead with their audiences not to dismiss the importance of sleep, and caution them against sleep deprivation and the negative effect it has on physical health, cognitive performance, and general mood. The American Psychological Association’s website states that more than 40% of adults routinely battle with daytime drowsiness that significantly impacts their performance and that the drowsiness is caused by improper sleep patterns.
In the book How to Live Until You Die Dr. Phil Carson identifies sleep deficit as a performance killer, and explains how to avoid the consequences of sleep deprivation by getting good, quality sleep. Using his three guidelines for getting ideal sleep, he shows readers how to create their own sleep plan and overcome common obstacles that prohibit millions of people from getting proper sleep each night.
Dr. Phil uses several examples of well-researched studies to explain the importance of quality sleep, with sources including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Harvard Business Review, European Society of Cardiology, the Mayo Clinic, and the National Sleep Foundation. He also points out that the Bible references sleep several times, and that it even tells a story that begins with Jesus sleeping. (Mark 4:35-41)
How to Live Until You Die covers the many aspects of sleep, answering many frequently-asked questions and
explaining the intricacies of REM and NREM sleep cycles. In addition to helping you build your own sleep plan, Dr. Phil offers insight on the body’s natural melatonin production, why it’s important to us, and how the blue light from the devices we constantly use is causing us to sleep poorly. He tells readers that “By structuring your evenings to take advantage of your body’s natural melatonin production and the circadian rhythms, you will put yourself in a position to fall asleep more easily and stay asleep for the right amount of time.”
Unless you’re Jack Bauer from the hit TV show 24, you need proper sleep in order to function to the best of your ability. To learn more about how to get the right amount of restful sleep, and to discover the seven keys to living happy, healthy, and whole, order your copy of How to Live Until You Die today.
Check out Dr. Phil’s free resources to download his Simple Sleep Plan and more FREE resources! You can also check out more blogs about sleep!