SLEEPING CONSCIOUSLY: A CERTAIN WAY TO RECHARGE

While in college, the common derisive mantra among freshmen and the sophomores was: “If you sleep eight hours a day, every day, you will be sleeping, one third of your life.”

The idea was that modicum of night sleep signified strength, ambition and vigour.  More so, if you could sustain regular all-nighter, then you were a rare gem.

Not surprisingly, many of us bought the idea, hook, line and sinker. It didn’t even matter, if our body chemistry strongly resisted the stereotyped notion.

We could alter nature easily, with coffee, caffeine and many other stimulants just to be among the best students in college.

Consequently, it took a toll on the system of some students. As the saying goes, “You can’t cheat nature.” Some would collapse during the day, in the classroom, and unfortunately for some, right in the middle of exams. A particular guy didn’t even make it to the exam hall. After many days of sleepless night studies; he slept off. His roommate woke him up after the day’s paper.

Enough of old days, but the obvious point of my preamble is to illustrate the misguided notion held by many in search of greatness; that sleep is not important.

That we can easily cheat our bodies, the naturally required amount of sleep, and at the same time, still find a way to perform at our peak.

Sleep — as I now realize — is right up there with calisthenics and diet in terms of its function for good health, well being, and stamina.

I hope by the end of this article you will totally agree with me.

This week, we will examine the following points:

1. The benefits of sleep

2. Sleep patterns of some greats

3. A certain way to sleep

THE BENEFITS OF SLEEP

“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” -Thomas Dekker

Based on the work of Dr. James B. Maas, a leading authority and international consultant on sleep and performance, and the CEO of Sleep for Success, if you want to maintain your sagacity, creativity, and energy, everyday, for the rest of your days: “You might need to spend one third of your life sleeping.” 

As it turns out, the sensible seeming mantra in college is not all it was held up to mean.

Below is an excerpt from his international bestselling book, Power Sleep:

“Sleep is not a vast wasteland of inactivity. The sleeping brain is highly active at various times during the night, performing numerous physiological, neurological, and biochemical housekeeping tasks.

These are essential for everything from maintaining life itself to reorganizing and enhancing thinking and memory. This enables us to remember the past, organize the present, and anticipate the future. 

The process of sleep, if given adequate time and the proper environment, provides tremendous power. It restores, rejuvenates, and energizes the body and brain. 

The third of your life that you should spend sleeping has profound effects on the other two thirds of your life, in terms of alertness, energy, mood, body weight, perception, memory, thinking, reaction time, productivity, performance, communication skills, creativity, safety, and good health.

If our sleep is limited, our health and daytime potential is significantly reduced, if not destroyed. With adequate sleep and its concomitant brain activity, the world is our oyster ... a pretty good deal for something that is enjoyable to do and doesn't take much, if any, effort!”

THE SLEEP PATTERNS OF SOME GREATS

Please don’t get me wrong, my crusade is not to tell you how many hours you must sleep every night. You are the sole determinant of that. Actually, there is no magic number when it comes to getting enough sleep.

As you shall see in this article, many great guys function better by sleeping on different schedules in varying hours.

My job is merely to debunk the myth that sleep is a waste of time and good sleepers are synonymous with lazybones. That is, in today's frenetic society people who sleep minimally are the only ambitious ones—the models for others to follow.

Before I outline the sleep patterns of many famous greats, allow me to present the words of Rebecca Johnston, the Hockey Gold Medalist in 2010 Olympics games, to out rightly debunk the myth. 

I find her words too compelling not to share, for the purpose of this article. 

Here they are:

"When in competition or heavy training, sleep is the most important factor in achieving my optimal athletic performance. I need at least 8 hours of sleep a night for me to feel fully recovered and energized to play my absolute best. If I don't meet my sleep requirement, my legs feel heavy, my reaction time is slower and my ability to think and act quickly is negatively affected."

Now peruse the personalities stated below to have a glimpse of the common thread in their way of sleeping:

Benjamin Franklin, the great American statesman used to sleep 7 hours, a day, from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.

Tim Cook, the chief executive officer at Apple sleeps 7 hours, a day, from 9:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. 

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon sleeps 7 hours, a day, from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.

Elon Musk, the CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors. The chairman of SolarCity sleeps 6 hours, a day, from 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.

Richard Brandson, the founder of Virgin Group sleeps 6 hours, a day, from 12:00 midnight to 6:00 a.m.

The above numerous data provide enough examples from men of incredible drive to prove the fact that sleep is an important everyday “thing” for anyone to make the most of his/her energy at work and in life. 

These examples are enough to serve majority of the population for different ranges of model.

However, US President, Donald Trump credits sleeping for three or four hours, a day, as one of its competitive advantages, while Albert Einstein claimed he needed ten hours of sleep to function well.

These extremes also provide another set of examples for a sub-set of human population. Since there is no magic number, only you can best know what the optimal sleeping period is for you. I am merely reminding you, the need to accurately know and fulfill this important natural requirement.

Dr. Vicky Seelall, the director of the Sleep Health Center at Beth Israel Medical Center also confirms that there is no magic number, when it comes to duration of good sleep for everyone, when he said:

"There are some people who need very little [sleep], and there are some people that need more than the average," explains Dr. Vicky Seelall.

What is the common thread noticeable in all of the above examples?

The common factor in the way all the greats sleep….. is this: 

They all follow a fixed daily pattern on their approach to sleep.

A CERTAIN (CONSCIOUS) WAY TO SLEEP

“I get up at four a.m. and work for five to six hours…... I go to bed at nine p.m. I keep to this routine every day without variation. “-Haruki Murakami

The premise of this article is that adequate sleep is a necessity for everyone and not a luxury for anyone. And that the best way to maximize the experience is to design it according to what your body needs, not just what you want.

Everyone needs to sleep. Though the quantity and the timing may vary, we all need good, quality sleep for the power to be our best, all day long. 

Certain way to sleep is about consciously building an optimal sleeping habit that can work well for us to perform best at work and to remain healthy and sound throughout life.

Just as the words of the award winning writer illustrates, it is helpful to build a good sleeping habit on a fixed daily routine for maximum sleep experience.

The key elements of “this way” which Dr. James B. Maas calls “the golden rules of sleep,” are:

1. Get an adequate amount of sleep every night.

2. Establish a regular sleep schedule.

Simple enough though, but it requires solid discipline to maintain, especially for the highly ambitious types.

For them, it is often harder to stop working and go to bed at night than majority of the people find difficult to wake up for the day. That discipline, is what the truly great men have all learned to cultivate.

Sleeping consciously; a regular way to recharge is the best way I think we can make the most of our days, in terms of alertness, focus and energy.

The nutrition and health expert, Tom Rath, also concurs with Dr. James on the idea of having a fixed sleeping schedule, as the optimal sleeping pattern not only for ourselves but also, for the members of our family—particularly our children:

“Today, researchers have identified a strong link between children’s sleep patterns and their performance in the classroom. They found simply having a specific bedtime rule makes a profound difference. Children with higher sleep quality are more active and eat healthier foods. All of this research suggests we need to rethink sleep as a core family value.”

The nimble Japanese writer quoted above, Haruki Murakami, is no doubt, a wonderful personality. An international best-selling author, with his works being translated into 50 languages and selling millions of copies outside his native country.

Steven Poole of The Guardian eulogized Murakami as "among the world's greatest living novelists" for his achievements.

Clearly, one of his secrets and strategies is embedded in the last sentence of his statements:

   “I keep to this routine every day without variation.”

If you give that sufficient thought, then you will understand the ample power of sleeping consciously; a fixed pattern to recharge and renew everyday.