Pillow Talk

Are you getting… sleeeeeeeepy? No, ok. Well we’ll have to work on that. Right now in fact, because today’s goal is all about getting more of those precious z’s. Somewhere along the line, needing fewer hours of rest turned into some kind of bragging right. Well, we’re not here for it. Every single one of us NEEDS 7-9 hours of quality sleep to allow the brain to enter maintenance mode and remove plaque (yes the brain gets plaque). So, if you’re trying to lessen the impact of stress, and you’re not into a plaquey brain, get some sleep already.

It's science

• We now understand that sleep is when the brain conducts its housekeeping, cleansing waste products like plaque.

• People believe that stress and sleep are confounding and inextricable.  Stress can impact sleep quality, and poor sleep quality can increase stress “the Stress/Sleep Vicious Cycle”...although this is not fully documented...

• Actually stress levels are not correlated with poor sleep, but “perceived lack of control” is correlated with poor sleep.

• But we now know that people that are well rested are able to adapt better to minor stressors.  So fix sleep and you fix ability to cope with stress.

Where should you start?

Tonight, stop using your phone two hours before you go to sleep. And if you’re one of those people who plug it in right next to your pillow, try this: don’t. Instead, plug it in across the room so there’s no temptation to peak while you’re supposed to be sleeping.

Extra credit