Sleep is essential. Yes, you’re probably reading that short sentence and thinking to yourself, you’re a smart one there John. But I wonder if you (and/or others of the human race) understand just how essential it truly is.

Fear not young padawan (that’s you), for I will take a moment to instruct you on a few reasons for why you should give more thought each day to the amount of sleep you get (instead of just making sure you fall asleep at least once every 24 hours).

1. Sleep is vitally important, and requires awareness.

Sleep is that thing that makes you get up and go the next day, and no, that’s not coffee. But I bring this up since many people don’t seem to realize the importance of energy, and thus sleep, in their lives (or perhaps can’t seem to find the time for it, which is understandable to a degree).

While you may not be able to increase the amount of sleep you get overnight, one thing that you can do right now is increase the awareness you have for the amount of sleep you need. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that teenagers get between 8.5 and 9.25 hours of sleep, with adults anywhere between 7 and 9 hours of sleep. The average sleep the adult gets in the United States: 6.7 hours. I’ll let you drawn your own conclusions from that, but suffice it to say we are a country of chronic under-sleepers, and that can’t be good for anyone.

2. Sleeping actually increases productivity.

Like I alluded to above, many of us just can’t seem to pencil in the time for a healthy does of sleep, and I suppose that taking care of the kids or working two full time jobs are as good of an excuse as any. But if you’re finding that you’re constantly worried about getting too much sleep since that will take time away from the next day that is better spent, take a moment to realize what you’re saying to yourself. Essentially, your argument is going something like this:

Less sleep tonight = more productivity tomorrow.

And while that may be true for some people, depending on how much sleep we’re talking about, you also have to ask yourself how “productive” you actually will be the next day. Sure, you might be able to show up to work and take care of business, but when you come home will you be the parent or spouse that you need to be? Or will you be so grumpy that no one wants to be around you (you know who you are!)?

Realize that as citizens of the United States, we often tie productivity to our overall sense of self-worth and identity, but we often forget about what we are giving up for that productivity. By differentiating between the different types of productivity (career, relationships, personal development, etc.), we get to the true consequences of what less sleep can mean for our lives. Plus, how productive will you really be at work when you can’t keep your eyes open?

3. Sleeping increases the creative side of your brain.

Studies show that there is a direct correlation between getting more sleep and being more creative the next day. Since I’m a life coach, I’m always looking for the practical benefit of things, and the practical side of this insight is that you can truly come across a seemingly unsolvable problem during the day, get frustrated that you can’t solve it, go to sleep, and voila, come up with a solution that never presented itself the day before. It’s not guaranteed of course, but if this isn’t a great excuse to be lazy and go to sleep, I don’t know what is (kind of like those weight loss pills that say you can burn calories while you sleep, but only true).

Bottom line: we all come across problems and difficult situations in our lives, and sleeping can help provide solutions to those problems. Next time you come across one such problem, sleep on it!

4. Sleeping provides you with a healthy mental state.

One of the things that I also address on a daily basis is NST, or negative self-talk. We’re not talking about “how you’re feeling” at the moment, rather NST is all about self-worth, about people routinely putting themselves down daily via their own thoughts, and holding themselves more accountable and to higher standards than they hold others. And guess what, NST abounds the more tired we are, and it isn’t the only thing.

The next time you’re sleepy, try assessing your general mood. Are you optimistic about the future? Do you feel like having fun at the moment? Are you capable of making rational decisions around difficult circumstances? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you’ve discovered that you have a mental state that is not conducive to healthy living when you’re tired. That means negative self-talk is going to start in big time. That means that you probably aren’t going to be the most fun person to be around in the world. And that means you won’t be able to accurately assess and solve the problems in your life. Conclusion: don’t try. When you’re tired, realize it, be aware of it, and put off the important thoughts for another day.

5. Sleeping is the best form of energy, but…

If you do find yourself needing a “pick me up” of energy during the day, do yourself a favor and throw away the soda, candy bar, or Five Hour Energy (you’d also do well to not subject yourself to those corny commercials). Instead, pick yourself up some natural caffeine. That’s right, coffee would be one of those, so if you’re a coffee drinker, go ahead and keep it up (though you may want to visit the Starbucks website and take a look to see how many grams of caffeine are in one cup of coffee, you’d be surprised).

Not a coffee drinker? No problem, try some guarana or yerba mate, natural herbs which will give you a much more leveled (and healthier) dose of caffeine throughout the day.

6. Sleep provides happiness.

Sure, a lack of sleep has been proven to make one forget things more quickly, disrupt concentration, and make one more prone to automobile and other serious accidents, but beyond all the BORING things, what does sleep actually do for us? It makes us happy, of course, and who doesn’t want that?!

One notable result of chronic lack of sleep is the continuous blocking of hypocretin, a neurotransmitter linked to the positive reinforcement and reward centers of our brain. Essentially, there is a system in your brain that rewards you for staying awake, and for lack of a better word, provides a level of arousal that stimulates your neurons and provides pleasure throughout the day. Ever felt grumpy one day? Maybe it’s because you’re not getting enough hypocretin. Or fiber. Everyone needs that ☺

Do you make sleep a priority throughout the week? What circumstances in your life brings about a lack of sleep? Do you think that some excuses are better than others when pointing to the reason for not sleeping? Let me know your thoughts!