It's all in your head

"Cogito ergo sum" - "I think, therefore I am" - Rene Descartes

Sleep is all the rage in the health and fitness world. Every magazine you pick up has something in it about the importance of sleep on your physical and mental well being. It's recommended that adults get anywhere from 7-9 hours of "quality" sleep per night; quality meaning uninterrupted sleep. How much sleep do you get and how does that affect you during the day?

I was having a conversation with a group of people yesterday and the topic of sleep came up. We all had various answers as to how much we get and need. Somebody brought up how he's never really tired unless he's sick because he mentally does not allow himself to be tired. Very interesting point and the more I thought about it the more it dawned on me that he was pretty much right on.

Everybody has different sleep needs. There's the 2-5% of the population that can function successfully off of less than 5-6 hours per night, but for the other 95% of people need to get somewhere in the 7-9 hours range. For me, I've found over time that 7.5 hours is perfect. 

The mind is a very powerful tool and it can do extraordinary things if you're feeding it the right information. Think about the positive - if you expect good things to happen to you and that you're going to overcome any obstacles in your way then good things will come. Same thing with the negative - if you tell yourself you're having a bad day then chances are your day is going to get even worse.

Next time you're feeling tired or drained mentally/physically take a moment to think about what's going on in your head. Stop thinking "I only got 6 hours of sleep. I'm beat and just can't do this right now." and replace that with "I feel great. I'm well rested and full of energy". If you say those positive affirmations internally over and over again your mental state changes to reflect renewed energy and a renewed attitude. For even better results try saying it aloud - but you might want to go into an area by yourself so people don't think you're losing it ;). It takes time and a conscious effort to control your thoughts, but it can and will work.

Don't believe me? Try it and you'll be amazed!