World Sleep Day 2017: Sleep Soundly, Nurture Life

Sleep comes naturally for all of us, so much so that we humans spend one third of our entire life sleeping. That means, if we live to be 75 years old and we’re sleeping at least 8 hours a day, 25 years of that is spent sleeping.

But has sleep really been given much importance or has it taken the sidelines and for some, maybe even considered just an option and no longer a necessity?

We’re past the era when people knew very little about the importance of sleep or what happens during sleep and have gone from thinking sleep was a form of death to actually being able to document different brain cycles during sleep – and yet we’re sleeping lesser or not at all either because of sleep issues or by choice.

Because of the significance of sleep in our physical, mental and emotional well-being, it is important that we don’t let sleep be just a nighttime ritual behind closed doors, but an open subject for all to discuss and celebrate and even share with others.

With people sleeping over an hour less than what we did 100 years ago, we have an epidemic of partial sleep deprivation in western society. This is finally being recognised. People are beginning to understand that sleep health is just as important, if not more important, than diet and exercise.

Sleep Celebration

World Sleep Day is an annual event, intended to be a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to sleep, including medicine, education, social aspects and driving. It is organised by the World Sleep Day Committee of World Sleep Society and aims to lessen the burden of sleep problems on society through better prevention and management of sleep disorders. As of 2016, World Sleep Day had a total of 394 delegates in 72 countries around the globe. (source)

This year, World Sleep Day will be celebrated on March 17, 2017 (today!) all over the world and will echo the message of “Sleep Soundly, Nurture Life.”

Celebrate Sleep Your Way

You don’t necessarily have to be a delegate to help spread the good message of sleep throughout the world, you can be a Sleep Ambassador in your own simple way and you can start with prioritising and improving your own sleep.

Here’s how you can help celebrate World Sleep Day:

1. Check the quality of your sleep: are you waking up refreshed and rejuvenated or are you waking up groggy and with low energy? A good night’s sleep is comparable to charging your batteries to make you fully-charged to start another day. If you don’t sleep well, don’t  buy into the myth that there is nothing that you can do, and that you just have to “put up with it”
2. Become aware of what affects the quality and duration of your sleep.  What does and doesn’t work for you? Don’t just look at your sleep habits – but what are you doing during the day that affects your sleep at night? If you can’t figure it out or need some help it might be time for a trip to a Sleep Coach.
3. Be a living testament of good sleep: Waking up on the wrong side of the bed is an expression which might be linked to not being able to sleep soundly thereby affecting your mood and quality of life. If you get enough quality sleep, you’re affecting the world around you with your positivity and vibrance. Sleep more so you can smile more and live longer!

World Sleep Day is a celebration every first Friday of March but that doesn’t mean sleep should only be celebrated then. Sleep should be celebrated everyday and you can start now!

Good night and sleep tight! Don’t let the bedbugs bite!