For those of us who want to live our best life, do our best work, and enjoy life to the max, I recommend more sleep. Not what you were expecting to hear, I know. It’s not culturally popular…..YET, but it’s gaining popularity.

I used to sleep 7-7.5 hours each night, well, most nights and without an alarm clock. Then, about 5 years ago, something shifted physiologically and I just started waking up, unable to sleep more than 5-6.5 hours. Once in a blue moon, I’m able to sleep 7, 8, or even 9 hours. When this happens, I feel amazing: happy, energetic, even more openhearted and loving, powerful, resourceful, etc. I have to look in the mirror to see if I’m wearing a cape- I feel that great! If only I could do this daily; heck, I’d be thrilled if I could do it weekly!

Recently, I’ve begun an experiment where I stay in bed with my eyes closed for 7-8 hours regardless of whether I’m asleep. Interestingly, I think I’m actually sleeping more. I’m hoping to retrain my body to sleep longer. At the very least, I’m getting more rest. That’s a good thing too.

The recommendations from sleep experts have always worked well for me: go to bed at about the same time (as early as possible because every hour of sleep before midnight is actually equal to 2 hours of sleep after midnight) and wake up at about the same time each day- including weekends, curtail your computer and tv watching at least 2 hours before bed, allow your activities to wind down to slower and quieter activities during this time.

Want to read more on this topic? Here’s an article from Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/sleep-challenge-2010-wome_b_409973.html