Sleep, the Ultimate Good

I hold sleep as one of the most critical elements of self-care in our lives. Get enough sleep and the whole world looks brighter. But ignore the call of the mattress and dire consequences await.

This is especially true for me, as I slog through the ever-changing side effects of my current anti-cancer therapy (Tamoxifen). The amount and quality of sleep I get sets the tone of my day and determines my resilience to work and life stress. In addition, sufficient sleep has a significant positive effect on my cognitive functioning, which took a hit from cancer treatment.

But this is not limited to my personal experience. The more we learn about the science of sleep, the more we understand how our electronics-driven lifestyles disrupt sleep patterns and affect us as a society.

Dr. Matt Walker (UC Berkeley) is a strong proponent of sleep, and for good reason. He outlines in his TED talk (19:19) below some of the latest research on the repercussions of not getting enough shut-eye, and it’s not pretty. As a cancer survivor, I find this information particularly sobering. While I’ve written about the downside of placing superhuman expectations on ourselves, having THIS kind of superpower, getting sufficient sleep, is literally life-preserving.

Dr. Walker’s two main suggestions for good sleep? (14:16 in the video)
1) Keeping a regular sleep schedule, retiring and rising at the same time regardless of day of the week.
2) Keeping your bedroom temperature at about 65°F (no mean feat without A/C in the summer months!).

For many of us, improving the amount and quality of our sleep will take concerted planning and possibly sacrifices. We live in a 24-hour-a-day world and sometimes we try to keep up with that ’round-the-clock pace; ultimately, however, we pay the price for it. There should be no question that sleep is critical to our well-being and it’s time that we give it the priority that it deserves.