get more zzzz's

A good laugh and a long sleep

are the best cures in the doctor's book. 

Irish Proverb

I am a huge fan of Gretchen Rubin and her Happiness Project.  Gretchen spent a year looking at psychology, philosophy, literature and science and experimenting with different changes in her life to boost happiness then she wrote a book and she's continued to share her experience and tips.  One of the first resolutions she made was Get Enough Sleep.  Here she is:




Preach it, sister.  One of the best changes I made in recent years was accepting that I need more sleep than I thought (or cared to admit).  A lot of my stress, anxiety and inability to cope with ups and downs all came down to the fact that I was just plain tired.  It's not easy to make yourself go to bed earlier.  First of all, it can feel like a sign of weakness. Really brilliant and creative people don't need to sleep, right? (See, Leonardo da Vinci)  Successful people burn the midnight oil.  We live in a culture where a busy schedule and sleep deprivation is a status symbol.  If you have time to sleep (or breathe!) you can't be terribly important and in demand, right?

Even if you get past those misconceptions, heading to bed an hour or two earlier can feel like you're giving up valuable time when there already seem to be too few hours in the day.  But I've found getting enough sleep increases my productivity and energy so I get more out of a 16-hour day when I'm well rested than a longer day when I'm feeling dragged out.  The other benefit of getting enough sleep during the week is that I'm not playing catch-up on the weekends.  This gains me an extra hour or two on weekend mornings!

It's about quantity of sleep but also quality.  Put down the blackberry, turn out the lights, tune out the noise... even once we head to bed there can be lots of obstacles to getting a good rest.   Gretchen offers up some great tips.

And here's a little inspiration that will make you want to take to your bed...


Iris's cozy English bedroom from The Holiday

A serene pink bedroom from Martha Stewart's Skylands, her summer home in Maine

"Do not disturb" hanging pillow from sweetdovedesigns

 

Silk and velvet sleep mask from Hopelessly Devoted Accessories