We all need more and better sleep.

Exhaustion has a lot in common with inebriation. The more exhausted we are, the poorer our judgement. As we take on more exhaustion, we lose the ability to appreciate just how exhausted we are until we collapse, only to start the cycle again when our collapse piles more stress upon the stress that drove us to exhaust ourselves in the first place. Many of us are “high-functioning exhaustives,” at best, kept vertical only by the caffeine that represses our exhaustion.

We didn’t evolve in an environment with such bright lights after sunset, or so much activity, or so many demands on our time that exceed the actual number of hours in a day. How can we can function at our peak under such conditions, or even tread water? We often teeter on the edge of a crash without realizing how close we are to the cliff. How badly do you need to watch that next episode, or be around so many people, or put in that extra hour on the job?

How is your sleep hygiene? Do you practice any? Avoiding stimulants past a certain hour. Turning off lights (especially blue lights) sooner rather than later. Clearing your active mind of concerns before crawling into bed. Your problems will be there in the morning anyway so you might as well face them fully rested. And some of those problems might only be in your exhausted head. A good night’s sleep can show you the real size or solution far more quickly and less painfully than working on them through daybreak, like waking from a nightmare into a much more pleasant real world.

Why don’t you tuck in early tonight?