Sleep Better Now

There are always new developments in the fields of fitness and maximizing human potential and performance. Somehow though, the most basic elements of human survival are overlooked. We lead demanding lives. Most people work at least 40 hours per week. On top of that, some of us go to the gym or workout at home. We have family commitments and social time with friends. We pile the toppings as high as they can go on our lives, and yet do very little to recharge the batteries.

One of the often sacrificed elements of our lives is sleep. We reduce not only the amount of time spent sleeping, but also the quality of that sleep in order to satisfy the many other parts of our lives we deem most important. The error in that thinking is the fact that depriving yourself of quality sleep is a sure-fire way to ensure your performance in other areas of your life declines steadily, and oftentimes sharply.

Before I share some ways to get better sleep going forward, we must consider a little history. Man used to live in caves. Man used to be at the mercy of the sun to provide light and heat. Man is not a nocturnal creature. These facts in place, we can now examine your sleep habits.

We all know of the eight hour sleep rule. What most people do not consider is the additional stress of intense physical exercise or a demanding job will increase the amount of hours sleeping your body requires. Trying to impose an amount on sleep time is actually not a good thing. You should wake up when your body is ready.

You should also eliminate as many of the modern distractions from your room as possible. Here are a few tips that, if followed, will have you sleeping like you have never done before:

1. Clear your mind. Before going to bed, write down everything on your mind in your journal. Getting it out of your head and onto paper clears the way for you to sleep better. Throw in some deep breathing prior to sleeping, and you are on your way!

2. Make your room as dark as possible. Close the blinds and the curtains. Remember, we used to sleep in caves, so your room is your cave. Make it feel like one.

3. Turn everything off. Actually, you should unplug it. Unplug the TV, the alarm clock, and anything else you have in your room that has an electrical current. These electrical currents interfere with your ability to enter into a deep sleep; without you even realizing it.

These three steps will have you sleeping like never before. There is a fourth, and it may be the most important, so I set it apart all together. LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONE IN ANOTHER ROOM! There is no reason to keep that thing with you unless you are on call for your job.

Combining these four sleep tips, with an earlier bed time, and allowing your body to wake up naturally instead of being jolted, will improve your sleep exponentially. With improved sleep comes improved performance in every other area of your life!

Joshua Noerr is a Coach and Writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He writes about all areas of personal development, from fitness to goal setting at http://www.joshuanoerr.com. You can also follow Joshua on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/joshuanoerr.