When our kids are young we hurry them to bed with a night time routine of teeth brushing, flossing, sp of water and a kiss good night. The lucky kids get a story or 4 read to them first before it is lights out and pillow time. We stress the importance of sleep with our children because we know the ill effects it has with them—we can see it. If you are a parent you know the long day ahead you will have when your child goes to bed too late and wakes up too early. I am sure just thinking about that situation caused an audible grunt from some of the readers. Yet, as we grow up and begin our adult life we seem to forget the importance of sleep with our own self. After all, we can play catch up this weekend when we get the chance to sleep in. However, by the time Saturday is here plans for outings, honey-do lists and other priorities cause us to miss out on those sleeping hours we missed during the week.

Sleep experts suggest we get between seven and nine hours sleep each night, but a survey done by Stanford University concluded than an estimated 80% of Americans are severely sleep deprived. One survey done showed that on the average we are sleeping about 6 hours each night, not the 7-9 we need. Given that we think we are going to play catch up on the weekend that would require us to go to bed Friday night and sleep an extra five hours minimum but if you want to really make sure you make up for lost sleep you would need to sleep in an extra 15 hours—did you have plans for the weekend?

So-how bad is lack of sleep for us, anyway? Short term dangers would be fatigue causing slow reaction time while driving and working. In fact 10% of car accidents annually are a result of the driver being too fatigued to be behind the wheel. Lack of sleep can show a delay in thought process making us less productive at the office and of course. Being tired in the afternoon can cause us to look for an alternative energy source for the body to wake us up—that usually comes in the shape of prepackaged junk food and coffee. In fact, how many of you reading this automatically look for an afternoon pick me up of coffee and a snack? This is causes by a decrease in our energy hormone leptin, and an increase in the hormone ghrelin—known as our hunger hormone. Since you won’t be sleeping an extra 15 hours on the weekend, you can see how this hormonal cycle can certainly be a contributing factor to America’s obesity problem—this is why we “run on Dunkins”. Harvard studies have shown a link to colon cancer, breast cancer and diabetes with poor sleeping habits. Some other studies implicate the body being at a higher level of alert due to lack of sleep, increasing stress hormones and blood pressure. Other studies support evidence that sleep or lack of sleep affects the very lining of your blood vessels, suggesting this could predispose you to heart attack and stroke.

So, why aren’t we sleeping? I know, we all have read to shut off the news and go to bed. Yet many of us are burning the midnight oil while we just lay in the dark on our pillows. Thinking about what we did or did not accomplish during the day, or what we have to do in the days that follow. Of course with today’s economy many are laying in bed worrying about money and bills they need to pay. There are so many reasons why we are still awake long after we tucked the kids in and breathed our day-is-done sigh.

So, how can we get more sleep? Well, as I touched on—turning off the TV before midnight is a good start. However, you may need more encouragement and assistance to wind down. I won’t suggest things which are not feasible for many people. Sure a relaxing bath and soft music can help you feel sleepy but many of us are busy until we drop—so why bother, right? Instead, lets fit things into the day that will help us to fall asleep faster.

Exercise—ok I know I said no bath because we are busy but we all really do have 10 minutes at some point in our day where we can incorporate some exercise. Take the stairs, park at the farthest end of the parking lot; even just sitting at your desk you can move your body more. Stand up and sit down for 5 minutes, that sounds silly but wait till you try it!

Eat healthy—you eat already so why not incorporate some healthier meals into your day? Think whole foods instead of processed foods, fruits, nuts and lean proteins to replace the fast food you may be inclined to go with in a rush. An apple is faster than chicken nuggets, I promise.

Try herbal relaxers about 2 hours before bed. Instead of the soft drink or beer you may grab while watching TV at night why not brew some herbal tea that will cause you to be sleepy? Herbs like Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena and English Lavender make a very pleasant flavored tea. You can mix 1-2 tablespoons of each herb to 2 liters of hot water and allow steeping. Drink this over the course of the evening to help your mind relax and allow for natural sleep to happen. If you are looking for something stronger but not quite the full affect the apple had on sleeping beauty you can look for herbs like Kava Kava and Valerian Root—these are usually available in capsule form. These would not make a good tasting tea, trust me on this one. You can take up to 300 mg of each herb about an hour before bedtime. Do not take these herbs without consulting qualified herbalist or doctor. Of course, it would be a great idea to follow all of these suggestions to improve your sleep and your quality of life. Don’t forget the warm milk and a story!