So I turn to talking about sleep tonight because last night I hardly got any. Apartment complexes with thin walls sometimes make it really tough to sleep, particularly when your neighbor doesn’t understand the simple physics of how bass notes penetrate walls. Of course he may have figured it out a bit when the bass vibrations of my fists pounding on the wall at 2:30AM penetrated his space.

It’s pretty amazing the range of health benefits that the medical world attribute to sleep, including helping regulate your weight and blood sugar. I think we’re all well aware of the mental health benefits of sleep. All you have to do is observe a new parent and you’ll see pretty quickly what sleep deprivation does to humans. They have a tendency to be cranky, mentally unfocused and distracted people. When you consistently don’t get enough sleep those are the same types of things that happen to you.

According to the CDC, something like 70 million Americans suffer from sleep issues and I think we all know how often we don’t get enough sleep. A recent study showed that sufficient sleep was the single most important factor in your daily mood. And caffeine is no substitute for good sleep.

The tips for getting good sleep are pretty consistent across multiple sources and focus on several things including having a consistent sleep schedule, avoiding devices shortly before bed, keeping your home in low light before bed, not using your bed for anything but sleep (and sleep related activities) and avoiding big meals and caffeine shortly before bed. Finally, regular exercise, like it does for so many things, helps you get good sleep.

So take care of your sleep my friends and you’ll have happier days. ~ Rev Kane