There seems to be this perception that going to bed early means you’re missing out on life. That, by going to sleep, you skip out on some time that you could be living. Do we miss out on life when we go to sleep? Or do we miss out on life when we don’t go to sleep?

I think that despite the prevalence of support behind popular mantras similar to the “Sleep when you’re dead” philosophy, you miss out on life when you’re tired every day because you’re not truly able to enjoy each day to its fullest. To me, going to sleep early enables me to appreciate life and I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. In fact, I feel like I gain so much life when I’m well rested.

Think of the quality of your day when you’re tired and then think of the quality of the day when you’re well rested… it’s night and day different. You might lose an hour at the end of the day but if you gain quality of the hours during the rest of the day to me that’s pretty fair trade.

Is An Hour Worth It?

So many of us are unwilling to sacrifice that time at the end of the day but it really isn’t even that valuable as a quality hour. Staying up the extra hour just to stay up doesn’t give you very much at all actually. Could we be doing something better with the time (like resting or sleeping) so the next day we’re fully rested, recharged and able to enjoy the entire rest of that day?

Also think about this: would you give up an hour at night to sleep more if that meant that it was easier for you to keep a healthy weight, you had more energy, you were stronger, you got sick less, you had better digestion, your memory was better and just feel better overall? Think about how much that hour is actually worth. Quite a bit if you ask me.

What An Hour Can Be Worth

Is that hour worth it if it gave you a little bit more energy the next day? What if giving up that hour gave you better energy during the day, every day? Is that hour worth it now?

Let’s say you were able to lose weight easier and keep it off?

If giving up that hour meant your body functioned better and you didn’t have as much constipation, eczema or migraines? Worth it?

Let’s say you were more productive each and every day?

Let’s say you had more sex drive?

Let’s say you were able to be stronger, build muscle, have more endurance and be more active?

Let’s say your memory was better?

Let’s say you were able to have more patience each day?

What about a little bit of all of the above?

Is that hour worth it?

What are we really doing with that extra time anyway? Maybe if it’s relaxing or chatting with your spouse or hanging out with friends it’s probably worth it. But if you’re spending that time mindlessly surfing the Internet, watching TV or doing something else that’s not giving you a lot of good quality restoration and/or downtime then what you’re doing cannot be more valuable than sleeping.

Although we all have our own differing lives filled with challenges it’s in our own best interests to look at the value of that nighttime schedule. Getting to bed early and being more rested will leave your body, mind and spirit functioning better. Then you’ll be better able to enjoy every hour you are awake and that hour will definitely be worth it.

Thanks for reading, have a great early night!