Why Getting Enough Sleep May Be The Key To Happiness (Day 13 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge)

Sleep is very important. I know we’ve touched on it before, but it deserves its very own dedicated post…

The Importance of Sleep

Sleep is important for your health, how you feel, well-being and how alert you are. One bad night’s sleep can affect your performance during the following day and a chronic lack of sleep can contribute to all sorts of health issues and also weight gain.

I have an inkling of how lack of sleep feels. I had interrupted sleep for about 6 years because of waking children and going to deal with them, without a night’s break.

Yes, perhaps I could have nipped that in the bud sooner, but I had faith it would sort itself out once they were both at school and it did.

But throughout those years, I did get depression, now I highly doubt it was completely due to just lack of sleep, but it definitely was a contributing factor.

These last two years I have been catching up and making up for lost sleep and I also tackled (and won) a lot of the depression issues too.

Bad Sleep Vs Good Sleep

If you don’t get the sleep you need, you feel bad.

When you do get enough sleep, you feel more energized, you get more done effortlessly and this boosts your self-confidence and your overall happiness.

It’s not just beauty sleep :)

I’m sure you have seen this in action in your own life, when we have a bad night we wake up grumpy, then we get up on the wrong side of the bed as well.

Our tolerance for even the smallest annoying thing is almighty low as we are already on the precipice of stress. This makes us feel worse. We don’t get everything done, so the list for tomorrow gets even longer and we lose sleep on that and it becomes a vicious cycle.

We need to break that cycle if we can and make sleep a priority as this can change things right around. We wake up in a good mood and ready to face the day. It becomes easier to get the to-do list done and chores and anything else life decides to throw at us and still have time to relax and rewind at the end of the day.

So how do we get a good night’s sleep?

How do you get a good amount of hours sleep each and every night to be well rested?

You treat sleep as a priority.

Of course, there are times, like in the case of babies and children, where getting a good nights sleep isn’t achievable for some amount of time, but for the majority of us working on a reasonable bedtime routine is entirely possible.

Routine is the important word here as good sleep is a learned behavior and can be formed into a habit. Of course, it doesn’t happen overnight and it will take some time and effort from you to set up and establish a good routine, but it is truly worth sticking with it.

You can start by setting a regular bedtime and doing everything you can to stick to it, even on weekends and holidays as our bodies get into a rhythm of waking and sleeping hours. You can really help that rhythm, by sticking to a set schedule.

Spend some time before bed - at least an hour relaxing and calming down.

Don’t exercise too late in the day and set a time to stop work, avoid caffeine a few hours before bed and turn off screens (computers and phones) an hour before bed.

Instead, some ideas might be to turn down the lights, play some relaxing music and read an old-fashioned paperback. These are some things that help our bodies and minds relax.

(Although if you are anything like me you might not want to pick a page-turning thriller, as once I start it I might have to finish the whole book in one sitting!)

Taking a warm bath or shower can also help relax you.

If even after this routine, you are finding it hard to actually get to sleep, consider taking a magnesium or melatonin supplement (they may not work for everyone), as a lack of these substances in your body can make it hard to fall asleep and stay fast a kip.

But once you are in the habit of getting plenty of sleep, it will significantly add to happiness as you experience more energetic and productive days.

(Pictures from pexels.com)

Previous Days

Day 1 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: How Happiness Is A Choice You Can Make Daily
Day 2 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Make Happiness Your Best Friend
Day 3 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Start Your Day With Gratefulness
Day 4 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Start Your Day With Gratefulness
Day 5 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Time to Get Busy...
Day 6 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Know Your Onions About Dealing With Stress
Day 7 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: The Connection Between Happiness and Exercise
Day 8a of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: The Human Connection
Day 8b of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: The Human Connection 2
Day 9 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff. Savour It Instead
Day 10 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Surfing the Sea of Sadness
Day 11 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: The Good Fight Against Our Brain’s Bias To Negativity
Day 12 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Form Happiness Support Groups](https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@hopehuggs/form-happiness-support-groups-day-12-of-30-of-the-happiness-challenge)