Sleep: The Most Important Ingredient in Our Wellbeing

More than 1 in 3 Americans are sleep-deprived

I believe proper sleep is the single biggest contributing factor to our healthy mental and physical functioning or lack thereof bar none.

Thus, IF there is nothing wrong with you medically and you find yourself sad, depressed, irritable, emotionally labile and/or cognitively slow and foggy — one quick check is whether or not you are getting 7–9 hours of good quality sleep!

I realize others would choose relationships or work related matters but if you’ve ever tried to maintain warm caring relationships and work at high levels on little sleep, I’d like to see the scientific research comparing these factors related to how they impact our wellbeing. In my professional opinion, until we figure out a healthy sleep hygiene routine and be able to stick to it on a consistent basis, we might as well hold off on other matters related to our wellbeing.

We Americans are notorious for taking our sleep for granted. In fact, one in three Americans report not getting enough sleep, seven or more hours, on a regular basis to ensure optimal health and wellbeing is possible (CDC 2016). In my practice, I regularly run across individuals tied to the business world who seem to wear their dark rings around their eyes as if they’re badges of honor. Lore holds that if you want to get ahead in certain segments of business you need to work as many hours as possible, including nights and weekends. I’ve even had a graduate student immersed in a full blown panic attack in my office wearing a t-shirt with the catch phrase “sleep is for the weak” emblazoned on it. When I suggested there might be a connection between his recent bouts with mood swings and panic attacks, both atypical for him historically, and the inscription on his shirt, he was none too amused. He scoffed, proclaiming he was a night owl and that the bulk of his most important intellectual ideas came to him in the wee hours of the night. Don’t they all when we are young I gestured light heartedly.