The importance of sleep

     The worst way to start your day is with very little sleep. I bet many people have experienced this time after time. The recommended amount of sleep by most physicians is eight to ten hours. Some of us are different in the amount we need. I need six hours of sleep to function properly during the day.
     Now if you can't get your recommended amount of sleep or you are running short on time, I make this recommendation that has worked for me so far....
...For example, I might come home around 9:00 P.M. after my tasks have been completed at school. Rather than stay up until 1-2 in the morning doing homework at half my ability to function and then only getting four hours of sleep. I would immediately go to bed at nine and set two alarm clocks (Starting off the day article) for 3:00 A.M. I would get six hours of sleep essentially. My ability to function would increase and I would have no distracts. Come on, let's be real from 8:00 P.M.- 12:00 A.M., eighty percent of the teenage population is on Facebook. However at 3:00 A.M., no one will be texting, calling, Facebooking, Twittering you at all. You will feel compelled to get work done since you have no outside distractions and you know if you don't finish it at this point and time, then you will receiving that incomplete on that homework assignment or a bad grade on a test.
     Do not pull all-nighters. I repeat do not pull all-nighters. If you have to that means you got behind on your work or had too many priorities that week. We will talk about that in the next article, how to manage your time. All-nighters may seem smart since you will be working for nine hours straight but in reality, your capability to think decreases expontentially the longer you are awake. Then at work/school, you are falling sleep at every moment you can, zombie-like. It doesn't ruin one day, it ruins entire week of work. I remember once I fell behind on so much work, I had to pull two all-nighters in one week. Let's just say for now that week wasn't pretty, the way it turned out.
      Naps may feel great but the consequences of them are greater than the benefits. Naps are meant to be one to three hours long. But once you take a nap, you get behind in your schedule and you won't be able to sleep at night since you went to bed already. If you need to sleep, why not take a full resting period rather than a half/quarter resting period? It would be more efficient use of time and you will properly think better.
      I can't stress enough how important sleep is but also how you do it matters. Compare this to your sleeping pattern and evaluate if you see any similarities or differences. Perhaps, sleep on it tonight.