Here’s a quick, easy, free way to boost your happiness: get more SLEEP.

Last night, the Big Man and I went to sleep at 9:45 pm. This seemed preposterously early, but we were both so tired that we decided to turn off the light.

However, it occurred to me, 9:45 is not all that early. Usually we get up at 6:30 am. A bedtime of 10:00 pm means 8 ½ hours of sleep. The recommended amount for an adult is 8 hours – however, only 26% of adult Americans get that much sleep a night, down from 38% just six years ago.

Usually we go to sleep around 11:00 pm. That means we’re chronically underslept.

One common sleep problem is insomnia, but another common sleep problem is ignoring sleepiness to keep working, reading, cruising the internet, and TV channel surfing.

Studies show that people get accustomed to being sleep-deprived. At first, they notice the effect on their mood and alertness, but before long, they adjust to that state as normal. So even if you insist that you feel fine, if you got more sleep, you might feel a lot better.

I know, it’s hard to turn off the light. There’s so much to do, so much interesting information to absorb. But when I woke up this morning, feeling well-rested and energetic, before the alarm rang, I was very happy that I’d put down Prokosch's The Asiatics to go to sleep.

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Even more than getting more sleep, clearing clutter is one of my favorite ways to boost my happiness -- so I love the blog Unclutterer. Today's post, an interview with clutter expert Peter Walsh, was a fascinating discussion about the roots of clutter and how to tackle it.

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Comments

[adora]

Olympic women's figure skating gold medalist Sarah Hughes reportedly sleeps 9 hours a day to boost her performance. Her parents are good friends with Dr. James Maas, the author of "Power Sleep". Before the Salt Lake competition, he adviced her to get at least 9 hours of sleep per night even if that means missing her practice. To everyone's surprised, she out performed Michelle Kwan. She made me believe in sleep again.
I was continuously undersleep in my undergrad years in order to catch up with readings, projects and making new friends. Looking back, I would have enjoyed it more if I had been well rested.

[Busy Mom]

Oh, I so need to get better at both sleep and uncluttering.

Thanks for the links!

[Shanna]

This post is about something I have been thinking about for a while- my sleep habits. This week I came to the same conclusion; it has more to do with my inability to shut off the laptop than fall asleep. Thanks for the post reaffirming!

[Armand]

I have a question: what if you suffer from insomnia?
It's a good advice only if you can fall asleep after you go to bed. If not... well, then this is a waste of time. :)

[Lee]

Coincidently, I just published on sleep and creativity a couple of days ago!
http://leesvoice.blogspot.com/2007_06_20_archive.html

[Gretchen Rubin]

If you have troubles with insomnia, check out my tips for May 31, 2006, about tricks for getting better sleep.

Hit the link in the left-hand column of tips, or here's the permanlink:
http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2006/05/this_wednesday__4.html

Good luck--I get insomnia fairly often myself, these strategies have worked for me.

[Joe Drinker]

While I am able to basically switch off my brain and fall asleep at any time, any where, it takes my wife hours to fall asleep every night, some nights she never does.
In an ironic twist, I can get by with about 4 hours a night, while she requires much more. We'll go through your list and see if any of the suggestions help.
Thanks!

[N]

Wow! 7.5 hours of sleep a night isn't enough?!?!?!? While getting more sleep does have its benefits, sometimes, it can just make you lazier! If I sleep more than 7 hours, I just end up feeling sleepier and more sluggish (and crabbier!) during the day.