Go the F to Sleep.

A hilarious children's/parent's book about the truth regarding bedtime.

I told my in-laws on New Year's Eve that if I could have a world health resolution (one resolution that everyone on Earth would resolve to do) that it would be to get more sleep. If everyone had more (or just enough) sleep, then I believe they would be happier, less stressed, concentrate and/or think better (maybe resulting in more global innovation and problem solving), have better memories, and healthier overall because their bodies would be able to complete fully repair during sleep.

While I've talked about sleep a bit before, here are some tips to just get in your butt in bed.

- Set an alarm. Just like waking up, set an alarm to remind yourself to go to bed. *Beep beep beep* it's 11 pm, time to go to bed. No and-ifs-or-buts.
- Calculate. When do you need to get up in order to go to work, school, or your appointment? If it is 8 AM, then calculate backwards seven to eight (eight is ideal, seven is minimum) and go to bed then. That means not a wink later than midnight.
- No more shows. If you are watching TV and your show ends, turn the TV off, immediately! If another interesting show starts, you'll be tempted to watch "just one more" and then you become tied to TV for another 22 minutes.
- Get into PJs. After dinner or sometime close to bedtime, change into your PJs. They are comfy, make you feel sleepy, and make you to want to curl-up in bed.
- Don't eat late. Nighttime energy will give you a burst of false energy. You really should be tired around 10 PM, but that chocolate chip cookie is making you feel quite hyper (it just gave you a boost of short term energy, making sleep look less appealing). Also, going to sleep with a full stomach can be a yucky feeling, making it harder again to pull yourself into bed.
- Honor thy body. If you feel yourself nodding-off of yawning frequently, jump on this opportunity to go to bed! Don't force yourself to watch until the end of the show or just finish reading that book chapter... (if possible) go to bed, honoring thy body and its apparent needs!
- Make health the priority. This is a comment for all of the students and hard-workers out there: schoolwork or office presentations CAN wait. What is the point of harming yourself to get that perfect grade, job, or promotion if I get sick and can't enjoy the benefits of it?

And with that, Go the F**k to Sleep!