SLEEP

Are you attacking your sleep like you attack your workouts? If you are getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night than the answer is no. There is no doubting that if you are looking to improve your performance, mental or physical, the first thing you need to take a look at is your sleep.

If you feel that you can really perform on 5 and a half hours per day, I hate to tell you, you are mistaken. All the current research is showing for an adult you need at least 7-8 hours per day. And for our high school and college aged kids a little more is even more important. This group should be getting between 8-9 hours to stay healthy and alert.

80% of adults do not get great sleep, and this lack of sleep leads to work days lost, decreased productivity for the individual and company, and is a contributing factor to health issues; like weight gain, increased risk of heart disease, higher risk for diabetes, depression, and depressed immune function.

4 nights of low sleep can have the same effect on an individual as being intoxicated to a .05 level, and there are 3 times more auto accidents due to a lack of sleep than drunk drivers in the 19-24 age group.

A quick test to tell how much sleep you need is if you are waking up and you are still tired you probably didn’t get enough rest.