It’s great to wake up in the morning refreshed, energized, and ready to go, don’t you think? If you have kids, or remember back to when you were a kid, it seems like children can get up and charge into the day. For adults, who have to either go to work or take care of a family at home, it can be an elusive goal.
Many of us can use more sleep, and feel great when we get it. The thing is, we have so much to do that we often end up shortchanging sleep. As a consequence, we might drag in the morning instead of being energized and ready to have fun conquering the day.
Given a choice, isn’t having fun conquering the day better than dragging through the day? I think so.
Getting more sleep can help us with many aspects in our life. You might recall my thoughts on the role of money in our life, where I gave my views on how health, wealth, and relationships are all interrelated. When one is improved, the others can benefit as well. Thus, while getting a great night sleep of course helps our health, it can also help us as we relate with others and can impact our wealth.
Now, I suppose it would have been inappropriate to advocate “sleeping your way to wealth”:) So, let’s rephrase that appropriately and operate with the premise that one can “spend more time asleep to help make money”.
OK, I know someone might suggest that while one person is getting a great night sleep, someone else is getting an hour less sleep and getting more done. Sure, some lucky people need less sleep, but if you’re cutting out the sleep you need, there will be a price to pay. It’s not easy to get something for nothing!
Here are 5 benefits to getting a good night sleep:
- Better Diet. So, how does sleep impact diet? Well, I can speak first hand about times in my career when I was tired after work, and either picked up dinner or ate at home but snacked on junk. Lack of sleep can affect our appetite, and can impact our metabolism. Again, back to the health/wealth connection, by avoiding this negative cycle, we can keep ourselves in better shape to make money.
- Better Attention and Retention. If you’re tired, it will be tougher to stay on the ball and be fully engaged. Additionally, getting proper sleep will allow you to retain information better than if you’re sleep deprived.
- Better Mood. If you’re cranky, impatient, or thinking of sleep, you won’t be as productive as you could otherwise be. Besides, who wants to work or live with a grouch? Get your sleep, and you’ll be more motivated and able to focus on activities leading to wealth creation and preservation.
- Safety. I recall one night when I had to work super late for a crunch at work, and was in the office until close to midnight. I was exhausted, and still had to make the commute home. Driving home, I felt myself lose concentration as my car was swerving to the next lane. If I had gotten in an accident, who knows what would have happened to my health? What about my ability to provide for my family?
- Health. This could be tied into #1 (Better Diet), but improved sleep can also help with other areas of health, such as less stress and less wear and tear on your body. You’re more likely to get sick if sleep deprived, which impacts your overall life….including ability to make money and good decisions.
My view is that if someone regularly shortchanges sleep in order to get more done, that person will get less done over the long run. Productivity will be down, and other factors can come into play in different ways that can impact health.
Getting a good night sleep as a regular practice can only help health, and ultimately wealth creation.
What do you think? Do you get enough sleep to feel energized and productive throughout the day, on a regular basis? Is this an area in which you need improvement, or do you already prioritize it?
Totally agree! I need my 8 hours to function! I can skip coffee, I can’t skip sleep! I also find that the best way to solve a problem is to ‘sleep over it’!
Are you a night owl or an early bird?
MoneyCone – wise words indeed, “sleep over it”. Some decisions are just made better when not tired, in my experience!
I went through college sleep deprived (because I was in engineering school and working over 30 hours/week). The payback is now I have the luxury of getting a good nights sleep. It is something I won’t sacrifice easily. Then I had kids and got to experience that feeling all over again. It’s not a good one. I seriously don’t think it’s sustainable to live on less than a full night’s rest.
I do believe that different people have different levels of sleep their body needs, but shortchanging yourself and feeling like a zombie is no way to live long term.
First Gen – we’re on the same page. Burning the candle on both ends and being chronically sleep deprived is not sustainable in the long-term and not conducive to good health….and wealth. Agree that the actual amount of sleep needed varies by person. For those who need less, they’re lucky!
I am a big fan of sleep.
If I’m ever asked the biggest flaw question at a job interview, it’ll be that I need 7 hours of sleep a night to function (closer to 8 is optimal). That has forced me to be more organized. Yadda yadda.
Nicole – I’m a big fan of sleep too. Off to sleep in a few minutes here, in fact!
What a timely article. Just last night I looked in the mirror and thought I was looking a little run down. Working hard on the Yakezie Challenge, although fun and exciting, was taking away some sleep. This morning I stayed in a bed a little longer. Great advice and reminder to get enough zzz’s, thanks! 🙂
Buck – yep, if you don’t get sleep, the run down look appears. I worked with a guy years ago who took 2 weeks off, and when he came back he looked 5 years younger. It was something else. He attributed it to sleep, and no late nights in the office.
I NEED 8 hours of sleep and haven’t really ever deprived myself of that. I know some people can get by on 5 hours, but I function like a zombie when I get less than 7!
Little House – I can understand that need for sleep, though I’m able to operate on less than 8 for sure. The thing is, after taking a little bit of time off recently and sleeping 8 hours nightly, I felt awesome. It really helps big time.
I remember reading about a study found that there was no correlation with waking up early and wealth. In addition to the benefits that you mention, it really does just feel right to get adequate sleep. Certainly, we have to customize our sleeping patterns to suit our needs, but yes I am also an “advocate” of prioritizing sleep too 🙂
Shawn – sleep is awesome. Hope it will be happening for me very soon here:) And I’m not surprised about that study you mention, it’s very believable that there’s no correlation.
I cannot function at all anymore on a few hours of sleep like I used to be able to. I seem to have a narrow band of optimal sleep. Less than 7 hours and I feel awful. More than 8.5 and I feel groggy and just cruddy all day.
When I am feeling well, I try to get 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep. I want to completely eliminate ‘sleeping in’ from my schedule. Sometimes it feels great to get that extra sleep as you are sleeping. But I pay for it the rest of the day once I get up.
Everyday Tips – I know you what you mean about difficulty functioning well with little sleep. I can do it, but not as well as when I was younger. The thing is, even though I can swing it for one or two straight nights – a few hours a night – I don’t feel right for a while afterward. When I do get good sleep, it feels so much better than otherwise, and light years ahead of those times where I get little sleep. It’s just not a good idea to shortchange sleep, and it impacts all areas of life.
I really need to get me a copy of that 4-hr workweek book. I think that regular work interferes with my sleep, as I have no trouble at all sleeping in when I’m on vacation 🙂
Most days, though, 5 to 6 hours of sleep is about all that I seem to need. I do notice though that I wake up *less* during the night, the less caffeine I consume during the day. I’ve gone from 5 to 6 cups a day to one or two, and certainly none after midday.
Good point on safety and sleep. I remember many times during college days, when I took a heavy class load and worked full time, that almost falling asleep at the wheel led to a couple of close misses.
101 Centavos – if you truly need only 5 or 6 hours of sleep and can be totally refreshed, then that’s something to feel lucky to have. It gives you an extra 2 hours over most people to get things done and just enjoy being awake, which is fantastic. Looking at it from a strictly personal finance perspective, it’s a nice advantage to have.
I love waking up and conquering the day! In the morning, I am ready to get things done! And, if I have time, I have a wonderful sunny afternoon to relax. 🙂
LifeAndMyFinances – I like that feeling too, waking up and conquering the day!
I need my 8 hrs. My husband can go on for upto 3 days with “power naps” before he needs his regular sleep. On a regular day, 6 hrs of sleep is all he needs. I envy him 🙂 Due to a health condition, I am always tired these days. Hopefully I can get rid of that and become normal again.
Any problem or confusion, nothing works better for me than sleeping over it though,
Suba, your husband is lucky to be able to function well with just 6 hours of sleep on a normal day. As for you, I hope you feel better and get the energy back. Also – I know what you mean about sleeping over problems. My father once told me not to make any really important decisions at night, and as I get older, I see the wisdom in those words.
Sleep is huge — I don’t get enough of it, and I feel it all day, being groggy and grumpy. I’m trying to get more in 2011… not working too well just yet, but working on it!
Twentysomethingmoney – you and I both, trying to get more sleep in 2011. I’m convinced it makes a real difference in quality of life.
One of my resolutions for the New Years was to get myself better organized so I can sleep like a normal human being. For whatever reason when 11pm hits I am WIRED and ready to work on side hustles…I need to train myself better lol
Evan – for better or worse, I am the SAME way. Late in the evening, I’m ready to rock and roll on side stuff. Might be ok, as long as the sleep still happens…maybe that means getting up later!
Usually I get about 7 to 8 hours of sleep, but sometime I would wake up at 3am and couldn’t go back to sleep (this morning for instance.) I think I’m a bit stressed out and there are too many things rolling around in my noggin. I need to simplify my life a bit.
Retireby40 – I’m coming to the conclusion, as I get older, that it’s not worth getting too stressed about things. It’s one of my self-improvement goals. Sleeping like a baby is great for health, with peace of mind. Simplicity totally helps there – which is why I too want to get back there!
A good night’s sleep for me is 5.5-6hours. I just get up naturally. I wish it was more like 3-4 hours!
Hey Sam, you’re lucky that 6 hours is a good night’s sleep! Only 3 or 4 hours needed would make one unstoppable:)