Common sense would tell us that we sleep to recuperate our energy from a day’s work. But sleeping is a far more complex process than we think. Scientists have conducted numerous studies to answer that question.

NEED TO SLEEP

Sleeping has physiological and psychological purposes. Physiologically, sleeping helps us make brain connections, helps the immune system and helps us grow. This is whyawn.jpgy babies and children tend to sleep many hours, while adults tend to sleep less. Psychologically, sleep helps us make neurological connections and consolidate memories.

Without sleep we experience a number of physical and mental problems. We can develop depression, experience slow reaction times, slurred speech and become irritable. Sleeplessness can also affect our hormonal levels. Two hormones affected are leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is associated with the satiated feeling or fullness after eating. Ghrelin is associated with appetite stimulation. It’s no wonder people with sleeping disorders may experience weight changes.

NOT SLEEPING AROUND

The most famous record of sleep deprivation attempt was by Randy Gardner. In 1963, Randy Gardner, a high school student, self imposed this task for a science fair competition. He stayed awake 11 days. (That’s right – 264 hours without shut-eye). This feat became one of the most important sleep studies of our time. As of today, the Guinness world record is 449 hours.

What we know about sleep deprivation from these brave individuals is that there are numerous short and long-term complications. These individuals felt dizzy, had memory problems and experienced hallucinations. Studies of long term sleep deprivation in rats have resulted in death.

Our bodies can handle extreme conditions and it is built to survive. Sleep is one of those important processes that we are quick to sacrifice. Whether you are a “morning person” or a “night-owl” sleep is an important part of life (At least one third of it). So get enough sleep and enjoy it!

What about you? What are the effect that you experience when you do not sleep?

Join the conversation!

One shovelful at a time.

Easier said than done, right? Not if you can see things from the right perspective. Once you change how you think about it, then you can start your journey of a 1000 miles with that one step that will lead to the next and all the way to the finish line. Here’s how:

If you haven’t made progress on your Big Item, it’s likely that guilt is blocking you from getting started or moving forward. And on top of that, the habit of not working on your Big Item becomes more entrenched the longer you avoid it. So here’s what you need to do:

1. Forgive Yourself – beating yourself up over not making progress does not get your task or project done. In fact it makes it tougher to get it done. So just stop. Stop aiming for perfection. Be kind to yourself by giving yourself the same level of encouragement you might give to a young child trying to tackle something big.

2. Decide to Start – simply make a decision to start anew today. Decide that you’ll do your best, but that it won’t be perfect and that’s ok. You can work on quality later.

3. Take One Step – start small, but just start. Do one thing today. That’s all. Just do it. Make it the first thing you do today or if it’s the middle of the day, make it the very next thing you do.

4. Quick Plan – make your plan to do one more thing tomorrow. Just one. Don’t agonize over it. Just pick one and go on with you day.

5. Praise – give yourself massive amounts of praise for getting that one thing done! Whoo hoo! You just started a whole new habit! If you fall out of the habit, simply return to Step 1.

6. Continue – keep taking steps until your Big Item is done!