{"id":26443,"date":"2014-06-20T05:00:13","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T10:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=26443"},"modified":"2014-06-20T05:00:13","modified_gmt":"2014-06-20T10:00:13","slug":"6-strategies-sleep-soundly-wake-rested-accomplish-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/6-strategies-sleep-soundly-wake-rested-accomplish-more\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Strategies to Sleep Soundly, Wake Rested, and Accomplish More"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about sleep recently. Most research shows that we don\u2019t get enough, and our deficit is seriously hurting our productivity, our physical health, even our mental well being.<\/p>\n\n

Leaders and business writers like Arianna Huffington<\/a> and Tom Rath<\/a> are devoting more time to the topic. Greg McKeown\u2019s Essentialism<\/a><\/em>, a book I\u2019m very excited about right now, spends a whole chapter on it.<\/p>\n

The line we\u2019ve all heard is, if you snooze, you lose. But it turns out the opposite is true.<\/p>\n

The costs of not getting enough sleep are staggering<\/a>. And a key difference maker in accomplishing more is more sleep<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So we all know it\u2019s important. But how do we actually do it? There are a lot of factors working against us, but many of these are easy to address. You don\u2019t have to follow any of these perfectly\u2014I certainly don\u2019t, at least not all the time\u2014but here are six strategies for getting more and better sleep starting tonight.<\/p>\n

1. Get Committed<\/h3>\n

How many times have we been up later than we wanted because there was one more link to click, one more episode to watch, one more page to read, one more whatever?<\/p>\n

Researchers call it \u201cbedtime procrastination<\/a>,\u201d and it\u2019s really about willpower. If we want the benefit of extra sleep, we have to decide on the tradeoff: one less link, one less episode, one less page. Determine to go to bed at a set time and then do it.<\/p>\n

2. Set an Alarm<\/h3>\n

To help follow through on that commitment, set an alarm. There\u2019s an inertia to being tired. We\u2019ve all experienced this. It\u2019s easier to just go on than go to bed. But a calendar alert or phone alarm can help us change gears when we might otherwise cruise along for another hour or more.<\/p>\n

Blogger Eric Barker started using an alarm to signal sleep time and reports<\/a> it\u2019s even more beneficial than a morning alarm.<\/p>\n

3. Establish a Ritual<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s easier to do just about anything when there\u2019s a pattern or a rhythm we can follow. As parents and grandparents, we know bedtime rituals work for our kids<\/a>, but they can work for us too\u2014especially if the ritual includes things that are helpful in making the transition to sleep, like:<\/p>\n