Sleep 8 Hours Every Night / No Excuses

Sleep 8 Hours Every Night / No Excuses

Dr. Gary Epler – Eight hours of sleep is the foundation for living an extraordinary life with dynamic energy, high performance, and enduring joy. That’s right, eight hours of sleep. It’s the non-negotiable foundation for accessing the mind, which is the universe outside the body.

Joan – Eight hours, that’s a big ask for most people. What happens during the eight hours that’s so crucial?

The first six hours restore your brain energy, like refueling a car. The last two hours of dream sleep or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep give you kindness, creativity, and connection to the mind that contains all information and knowledge about the past, present, and future.

What if you don’t get the two hours of dream sleep?

When you don't get enough sleep, your primitive brain takes over causing stress, self-importance, and negativity. Recent findings show that with less than eight hours of sleep, a critical region in the middle frontal lobe is deactivated, disabling your ability to turn knowledge into action. People know the need for healthy nutritional lifestyle, daily exercise, and required tasks at work, but will lack the brain energy to accomplish them. This leads to conflicts with family and colleagues, and even job loss.

How big is the problem of less than eight hours of sleep?

It’s a massive problem all over the world. The statistics tell the story, 15% of people worldwide get less than five hours of sleep and 75% get six or less hours of sleep. This could mean that billions of people are living from the primitive brain and not the human brain with kindness and helping others.

How does less than eight hours of sleep impact people’s daily lives?

Without eight hours of sleep, you know what to do, but you won’t have the energy or creativity to do it. You’re stuck in survival mode, without the ability to innovate or solve problems. You’re living from the primitive brain, which is selfish and egocentric.

How can we prioritize eight hours of sleep in our busy lives?

Make it a non-negotiable priority. Set a consistent bedtime. Go to bed at the same time each night. The pre-bedtime routine needs to be no sleeping during the day and no eating after 7:00 pm, and avoid video screens before sleep.

What do you do if you stay up later than you normally do?

Add eight hours and start the day at the later time. If you can’t do this, be aware that you’re going to be spending your day at lower-level thinking, and the next day will be normal. Sleeping more than eight hours does more harm than good. You lose energy and creativity. You can take a 10- to 15-minute nap without disrupting your night’s sleep cycle.

This makes sense. What if you can’t fall asleep?

That’s where breathing techniques and self-relaxation come in. Count down from 100 to 90. Breathe in counting to six, hold your breath for the count of eight. Yoga box method by breathing in for the count of five, hold your breath for the count of 5, breathe out for the count of five, and hold your breath for the count of five. Repeat these breathing techniques as needed. Self-relaxation means relaxing your eyelids, your face, your neck and shoulders, your arms and fingers, your chest and abdomen, your upper and lower legs, and finishing with your toes.

Joan – I love these techniques. The benefits of eight hours of sleep include kindness, creativity, and joy, what else?

Dr. Gary Epler – With eight hours of sleep, you’re more productive, innovative, and resilient. You’re better at managing life’s challenges.