Sleep is the Best Medicine and the Best Meditation

Do you get enough sleep on a regular basis? I certainly don’t.

Many people I know are sleep-deprived, including me.

It’s easy to skimp on sleep. There are so many other things to do in life, between work, home, personal goals, and fun. Sleep often goes on the back burner. Sometimes sleep even seems unimportant, compared to other activities.

But deep down most of us know that sleep is extremely important. It’s a key ingredient for optimal health, immune system function, and clarity of mind. When we sleep too little, we are shortchanging ourselves and our health.

When we prioritize sleep and get an abundance of rest, most of us feel remarkably better. I know I do.

Many doctors agree that sleep is the best medicine, and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama says “sleep is the best meditation” too.

I agree. When I get adequate sleep, I feel so much better physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

That’s why my 30-Day Personal Challenge is “The Sleep Cure: 8 Hours Per Weeknight and 9 Hours on Weekend Nights.”

The idea of “The Sleep Cure” is from the Jacqueline Susann’s 1966 best-selling novel Valley of the Dolls. The sleep cure was a fictional universal remedy for all life difficulties involving several weeks of uninterrupted sleep. Sounds intriguing, don’t you think?

Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of sleeping for three weeks straight. But with some effort, it seems possible for me to squeeze in eight to nine hours of sleep per night for the next month.

Research Shows Sleep is Vitally Important for Health, Performance, and Longevity

Adults, aged 22 years and over, need at least seven hours of sleep per day, according to www.healthypeople.gov, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website. But less than 70% of adults are getting sufficient sleep.

The www.healthypeople.gov website goes on to explain, “sleep, like nutrition and physical activity, is a critical determinant of health and well-being.” The benefits of sleep have been proven by research over and over again. Abundant sleep is good for the brain, and it’s good for the body.

The following information is quoted directly from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They provide a variety of sleep research citations on their website.

Adequate sleep is necessary to:

• Fight off infection
• Support the metabolism of sugar to prevent diabetes
• Perform well in school
• Work effectively and safely

Sleep timing and duration affect a number of endocrine, metabolic, and neurological functions that are critical to the maintenance of individual health. If left untreated, sleep disorders and chronic short sleep are associated with an increased risk of:

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• All-cause mortality

So the stakes are high. Sufficient sleep can help us live longer, safer, healthier lives. It’s not a panacea, but it’s certainly healing. Sign me up.

But I don’t need research to know that sleep leaves me feeling good. In fact, the more I sleep, the better I feel. I love to sleep, and I can sleep a lot. I used to sleep as much as 13 hours a night on some blissful nights. But not lately.

It’s Tough to Find the Time to Sleep These Days

These days, as a mother and full-time worker, 13-hour nights of sleep are no longer part of my reality.

I do pretty well with sleep, but I’d so like to do better. On typical weeknights, I get anywhere from five to eight hours of sleep. On weekends, I get six to nine hours. Overall, I feel like I’m living with a sleep deficit.

Ever since I became a mother to my tremendously lovable 20-month-old son, I’ve been more sleep-deprived than ever. The first few months following my son’s birth were the most exhausting for me, and for my husband too. Friends warned us. But it still took us by surprise how fatiguing it was to wake up every two or three hours to feed our sweet little guy.

These days, our sleep has certainly improved. We have a bedtime routine and no scheduled wake-ups for feeding.

But my sleep still isn’t great. My son’s nighttime needs still take priority. He seems to drive the sleep schedule. When he falls asleep, I can go to sleep. When he wakes up in the middle of the night wanting water or a diaper change, I get up and tend to him. We rarely have a night where we all sleep straight through the whole night. We’re working on it. With the present situation, quite a few of my sleep cycles get disrupted. I imagine other parents can relate.

I’ve found it’s more difficult to make up for lost sleep, especially since becoming a mother, and continuing to work full-time. This leaves me daydreaming about long nights of sleep and more vulnerable to getting sick. During workdays, it’s difficult to squeeze in a nap, and I almost never do. On weekends, sleeping in isn’t usually an option, because my son wakes up pretty early. But occasionally my husband and I take turns sleeping in. I suppose I could nap while my son naps, but I almost never do. Instead, when he naps, I usually write, shower, or clean the house. It would be possible for my husband and I to take turns napping, while the other person watches our son, but again, that doesn’t happen often.

Some of my own actions cause me to lose sleep. I have a tendency to stay up late or get up early to find some alone time to get things done. I’ll seize the free time to work on a project or just indulge in some entertainment. This can leave me with a sleep deficit that’s hard to make up.

Also, if use my computer or cell phone before bed, I have trouble settling down and falling asleep.

Occasionally, I’ll have trouble falling asleep because of some worry or concern. Or sometimes my mind will just get busy and wound up, and I’ll lay awake in the dark for hours.

Finally, my adorable cat also causes some sleep disturbance. She has a natural internal alarm clock that wakes her up at four or five in the morning. She usually starts scratching in our bedroom, until one of us puts her outside and feeds her.

I know sleep experts recommend maintaining the same bedtimes and wake up times every day of the week. I don’t do that. On weekends, I like to stay up a little later and sleep in a bit extra. I feel like this works for me, and I don’t plan on changing this.

I used to drink a lot of coffee, which would make it difficult to sleep at night. But these days I only drink a cup or two in the morning. But I allow myself to have green tea throughout the day. This has been working well, so I’ll continue these habits.

I also find I sleep best if I do some light exercise like yoga or pilates right before bed.

So that’s my current sleep situation. I’m excited to tackle this worthy challenge to get more sleep.

I try to optimize my health in a variety of ways: nutrition, exercise, and stress reduction. I think all of my efforts are valuable. But I think adequate sleep might be the most foundational health habit of all. I think it’s very unlikely I’ll get perfect sleep. But I hope to get creative about improving the quality, and I’ll make up for any remaining lack of quality with quantity. I think if I sleep long and relatively well, it’ll give my family a better chance to sleep better too.

I want to feel healthy and robust. I want to feel energetic and alive. I want peak performance in my daily life.

My Basic Goals During this Sleep Challenge

My goal with this challenge is to get consistent on sleep:

• 8 hours of sleep every weeknight
• 9 hours of sleep every weekend night

I think these sleep goals are realistic and perfect for me. I think getting this additional sleep will improve my life.

Rules I’ll Use to be Successful at Meeting My Sleep Goals

I already began this challenge of February 1st, and it’ll go through February 30th. I slept great the first three nights. But I slept kind of poorly the fourth night; I was on my computer too late and got wound up and ended up laying awake half the night. Hopefully that night of poor sleep was a one-off.  

Here’s how I plan to handle my 30-day “sleep cure” challenge. I’ll set a few basic rules to keep myself on track.

I’ll keep a simple sleep log in my cell phone. I’ll note the times I turn off the lights and wake up; that entire stretch of time will count toward sleep, unless I’m woken up for childcare for stretches of time more than 30 minutes. I’ll note the quality of my sleep, the approximate number of times I woke up, and my energy levels the following day.

I’ll set some rules in terms of timing, so I can set myself up for success.

Weekday Rules: Sleep 8 Hours Per Night

• 4:30-5:00 am – Wake up time.
• 7:30-8:00 pm – Turn off phone.
• 8:30-9:00 pm – Turn off light. Sleep.
• Sleep in if necessary to get to 8 hours total sleep.
• Or nap if necessary.

Weekend Rules: Sleep 9 Hours Per Night

• Wake up and go to sleep a little later. Get a little more sleep.
• 6:30-7:30 am – Wake up time. Or later.
• 8:30-9:30 pm – Turn off phone.
• 9:30-10:30 pm – Turn off light. Sleep.
• Sleep in if possible. Take turns with husband.
• Or nap if necessary.

Final Thoughts as I Begin this Luxurious Month of Sleep

I’m looking forward to getting a lot of quality sleep this month. I’ll be like a bear hibernating through the month of February. Sounds luxurious. I’m hoping my new sleep habits will lead to more quality sleep for my husband and son too. I’m envisioning a well-rested, energetic, healthy household.

I plan to take my “sleep cure” challenge seriously. I’ll prioritize sleep this month. I’ll report back to you toward the end of the month to let you know how it goes. I know sleep isn’t a panacea, but I expect good things. I encourage you to get a lot of sleep too. Might as well! Treat yourself. After all, sleep is the best medicine and the best meditation. Sweet dreams my friends.

Cited source:

Healthy People 2020 [Internet]. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [cited [Date URL was accessed]]. Available from: [Specific URL].

NEXT WEEK: “PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT BOOK REVIEW – THE TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER BY DAVE RAMSEY”