"The wealthy sleep more than you do." - WALL STREET JOURNAL
Americans suck at sleeping.
According to a 2011 poll from the National Sleep Foundation, 43% of Americans say they never get a good nights sleep, 60% say they experience a sleep problem every night, 15% sleep less than 6 hours a night, and 100% say there shouldn't be foundations for sleeping; people should just sleep.
Getting less than 7.5 hours solid sleep has the following consequences and repercussions:
- lower stress threshold - impaired memory - trouble concentrating - decreased optimism - impaired creativity - increased blood pressure - increased appetite - increased risk of death - increased risk of no life after death
I made that last one up, but the rest are real.
Why aren't Americans sleeping?
Bad mattresses?
Lack of quality sleep masks?
Too many screaming babies?
Yeah right.
There are three reasons we're not sleeping:
1. We don't value sleep (or sanity).
2. We have levels of stress and anxiety that, if you were to lay them on a pre-industrial- revolution-era peasant worker for just one second, they would die instantly.
3. Our consciences won't allow it.
We'll address these three things in a moment. But first …
What if I told you that you had a 1,000% better chance of becoming wealthy by simply getting a better night's sleep?
To make it in this post-modern, high-tech globally connected world where no one gives a crap about anyone else and is focused solely on their own personal pleasure requires super-human levels of focus, motivation and energy. And this is impossible without a good night's sleep.
There are three ways to deal with this:
1. Say "F U world," move to a small farm in North Dakota and opt out of the insanity (not a bad idea, and I have seriously contemplated it).
2. Say "screw sleep - sleep is for sissies" and slam Dopios spiked with 5-Hour Energy's all day long.
3. Learn how to manage energy and get a good night's sleep.
America is the most sleep-deprived nation on earth. We are also one of the illest (not in a Beastie Boy way), obese, diseased, and psychotic countries as well.
We are sleep-deprived because we are peace-deprived.
And our wealth is dwindling as a direct result.
A Harvard study estimates that sleep deprivation is costing companies $63.2 billion dollars in lost revenue each year due to decreased productivity.
What if only the people who would commit to getting a good night's sleep got to split that 63 billion dollars? Would you play that game?
Well I've got good news for you …
That game is ON.
Here's how to win:
1) Start valuing sleep. Understand at a deep level that your happiness, well-being, and wealth depend on you being well rested.
Don't let anything come between you and your 7-8 hours. Defend it like you defend your doughnuts from people at work who keep asking if they can have one. And then start not having doughnuts at some point. That will help too.
2) Exercise vigorously in the late afternoon or early evening. When I say vigorously I mean sweat should be gushing from every pore of your body. You should look like a freaking fountain. If people aren't tossing pennies at you and wishing for things you're not doing it right. This will both reduce stress and get you enough pennies to buy some melatonin.
3) Melatonin sucks by itself. Take the #1 best sleep supplement in the known universe: http://www.poweronpoweroff.com I take these every night and I've been winning national sleeping contests ever since. It's like taking a handful of sleeping pills plus harpooning yourself with a whale tranquilizer but good for you.
4) Take cold showers and ice baths. I take 3 ice baths a week. The trick is to make the bath at room temperature, get in, and then put a few bags of ice in. It slow freezes you like a frog in boiling water but the opposite of that. Don't be a hero and put the ice in first; trust me.
Ice baths are like putting a shotgun to the head of anxiety and pulling the trigger. It also naturally boosts your body's production of melatonin, which as I said, sucks by itself. (http://www.poweronpoweroff.com)
I realize this may sound insane to some people, but it's no more insane than sleeping 5 hours a night, drinking coffee to stay up, alcohol to get back down, and then putting poisonous chemicals on your face to erase the wrinkles that come as a direct result. If you've never slept for 8 hours, try it once. You will be amazed at what your face and eyes look like in the morning. It is like you slept in a time machine that went back twenty years.
Sleep is the new Botox.
5) Be as productive as possible during the day. If you don't, your conscience won't let you sleep. "I Could've Done More" is the worst lullaby song ever. Worse than Rock A Bye Baby. "… the cradle will fall and down will come baby cradle and all???" Who the heck wrote that psycho-song for infants, and how did it catch on exactly? That's right up there with the "and if I should die before I wake …" kid's prayer. WTF? That had to have been the Nazi's.
"A day, well spent, brings happy sleep." - Leonardo Da Vinci
6) Destroy as few lives as possible during the day. If you don't, your conscience won't let you sleep. "I Could've Destroyed Less" is another lullaby flop. Ironically, that one was a hit with the Nazi's. It put them all to sleep. That's how we won.
"Your life is a reflection of how you sleep, and how you sleep is a reflection of your life." -Dr. Rafael Pelayo
7) Rub a few drops of lavender and chamomile essential oil on the bottom of your feet and palm of hands right before bed. Cup your hands over your mouth and breath it in for a minute. Add a few drops of chloroform if the situation warrants.*
8) Get 20 minutes of morning sunlight on as much of your body as possible. This adjusts your body's circadian rhythm to match reality. People used to be out in the sun every day. I don't know if you know that or not.
9) Turn your TV off two hours before bed. Your brain thinks it's the sun and it messes your circadian rhythm up. Better yet, never turn it on in the first place. You have no idea how dumb it's making you.
10) Develop a ritual (possibly with some of the things above) before bed. This sends a clear message to your subconscious that it's time to switch everything off. Don't let this somehow devolve into a Satanic ritual. Those are bad. Satan is a horrible sleeper.
11) Read fiction before bed. Preferably something funny that makes you laugh out loud. Laughing boosts serotonin. Try "Asshole: How I Got Rich & Happy By Not Giving a Damn About Anyone & How You Can, Too (kind of a vulgar title for marketing's sake, but its one of the funniest books I've ever read)
12) Count 100 "Gratitude Sheep" when you close your eyes:
1 … I'm grateful it wasn't any worse than it definitely was today.
2 … I'm grateful I wasn't born a Nazi.
3 … I'm grateful for the extra bowl of porridge Barack has rationed us this month March 2024.
4 … zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I have like twenty more tips but this is all you're getting for free.
And by the way, anything more than 8 hours of sleep is bad for you. You will find yourself more and more tired during the day for every minute over 8 hours you slack around in bed. If that's you, wake the heck up and stop avoiding reality. It's not as bad as you're thinking it is. It's close, but not totally as bad. And I mean let's face it … if you can sleep like a baby for more than eight hours with no trouble at all without smoking weed or popping Ambien?? You might have more in common with that baby than you think.
Here's a good rule of thumb: If you're living life properly you should have to fight for sleep (but still get it), and be glad when it's over - meaning you pop out of bed without hitting a snooze button. Dude if you are hitting a snooze button you are LOSING. Snooze buttons are for losers. Straight up. I know this because whenever I used them fifteen years ago I was losing badly.
Affirmation For The Week: I value sleep and am always full of energy.
* DO NOT ACTUALLY DO THIS! And don't Google "chloroform" unless you want a SWAT team knocking your door down in the next half hour.
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Preston Ely is a successful real estate investor, information marketer, serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, life coach, musician and philanthropist. He has also produced a dozen home study courses and membership sites on topics ranging from personal development to creative wealth building.
Go to http://WakeWealthy.com to read more free articles and get yourself on the track to finanical freedom today!
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