We’ve all heard countless times from our parents that we need to get enough sleep each night. However, how often do we actually listen? This came to mind because recently I haven’t been able to get my usual amount of sleep (about six to seven hours per night) for a variety of reasons, and I’ve seen a noticeable decrease in my effectiveness at work and home. I found it harder to concentrate, harder to get the motivation to work out, and other differences that I wasn’t expecting.

I used to be able to run on just a few hours of sleep a night, I guess that isn’t the case anymore. I’m not saying you need to get eight hours every night, I suggest finding the number that allows you to be at peak effectiveness. For me, this is about six hours. Interestingly enough, if I get more than this, I also find myself being less effective, so I guess it operates like a bell curve.

Experiment with how much sleep you need, but remember this: You’re not in college anymore, you may actually need to sleep each night =p.