September 14, 2007

Are you getting enough sleep?

Lucky are those who can say ," I fall like a stone, and I rise like a feather."

Though many researches have been carried out on the subject, there is no agreement on the minimum number of hours that one should sleep to stay in top condition. But one thing is for sure - sleep well we must if we are to live a contended life. But these days, it seems, going without sleep has become the norm. And to worsen an already alarming situation, we have the Internet and the Television to keep one from going to sleep. Most of my friends seem to have got used to sleeping for about 4-5 hours a day, or even less.

From what I have read, it seems that one has to sleep for about 6-7 hours a night to be rejuvenated in the morning. If one sleeps less than that, it sooner or later takes a toll on the person in some way or the other. Lack of proper sleep might be one of the reasons that people these days have become more irritable and have less patience to suffer things. Sleeping is essential for the mind and if something is wrong with the mind, it does not manifest itself immediately, but has long term consequences.

Sleeping late has another major disadvantage. The most beautiful part of a day is the morning, and it is said that one should be out of bed before the Sun rises in the east. It is my personal experience too that on a day when I have woken up early, I have felt better and have been able to achieve more that day, and at night sleep has welcomed me with open arms. On the other hand when I wake up late, the whole day passes by jumping from one job to another, mechanically. Here again it can be safely said that these days TV and Internet keeps people up late at nights - mostly doing something unproductive - and people are hardly in a position to wake up early in the morning.

The beauty of a morning is such that even today, in the day of the concrete jungle, one can feel the touch of Mother Nature in the early hours of the day. When we sleep late we don't even realise what we are missing.

So, are you getting enough hours of sleep? and are you enjoying the sights and sounds of the early mornings?

If your answer is no, then get the TV and the computer out of your bedroom...dim the lights and go to bed. For it is not without reason that they say ,"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy , wealthy and wise."

(Another thing I realized after posting this is that I definitely have no future as a cartoonist. :o) )

3 comments:

Chaim said...

Hmm... I certainly agree with everything you have stated. I, too, have observed that the days I rise earliest are the best ones.

Usually I am a bad sleeper. In general, I usually suffer insomnia one or two nights out of every two weeks, but it has been even worse sometimes since I moved to New York City. This whole down is loud and electric. It hums and buzzes. It's hard to rest.

I haven't been working for the past week or so. Just eating and writing. This has seemed to sooth me. My sleep has been better this week than it has been since I moved here two years ago, so maybe it's a sign of change.

SandyCarlson said...

My daughter, who is almost nine, was shocked to learn she should be getting 9 hours of sleep every night. It seems even at her tender age, the idea that we rob ourselves of this basic need that we might be more productive is already alive and well. It's really silly to believe that by depriving ourselves of a basic need we are somehow more noble in some way.

silken said...

I agree with you that many of us are sleep deprived. Since my son has started public school for the first time, he has not gotten near enough sleep. His school starts at 7:20 with him having basketball practice at 6:15 every other morning. He is exhausted and sleep deprived. But even though "experts" say he needs around nine hours of sleep, really he needs between 10 and 12. I don't know if that is true for many teens, but for him it is!

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