Making New Year’s resolutions is a tradition that has been carried on for some 4,000 years. This tradition was originally inspired by spiritual beliefs whereby a person could renew themselves by ”making things right” with their God. Promises in prayer to change undesirable traits, accomplish personal goals, pay off debts, or to continue productive behavior were celebrated at the turn of the year by affirming old and new commitments.
This tradition of renewal has stayed alive regardless of religious beliefs. However, in the progression of our modern world, the success rate of achieving resolutions has become less committal, and even joked about. Are we missing something?
Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions Today in 2020:
- Get more involved in sports/exercise
- Lose weight
- Change your diet
- Improve your relationships
- Get rid of bad habits
- Help the environment
- Volunteer to help others
- Find or increase spiritually
- Get married/have kids
- Better money management
- Improve education
- Positive thinking
What is missing from this list is the resolution to get better sleep!
How Does Poor Sleep Sabotage Your New Year’s Resolutions?
Read and learn why we haven’t known, before more sophisticated sleep studies, that even subtle sleep disruptions have quietly in the night compromised our resolve to reach our goals:
Appetite control is compromised–our metabolism’s machine is thrown off by poor sleep since this sends messages to the brain that restoration from sleep was not completed and energy is low; hence, this causes us to crave high-calorie and fattening foods to refuel the energy void, making it harder to resist poor choices and stick to a healthy diet resolutions.
Performance is broken down–studies have shown that even the slightest sleep deprivation will cause an athlete’s performance to be reduced to the equivalence of 0.05% blood alcohol content impairment, AND, that we can assume other kinds of performance, such as in the workplace, will suffer the same degradation; therefore, it’s harder to achieve both physical and mental goals when your sleep is off.
Poor decision making–sleep deprivation defects the part of our brain that controls risk-taking and emotional processing, which poses a threat to being less concerned with potential losses. You will be less likely to make sound decisions about all of your future goals.
Impaired social-emotional recognition–just one night of poor sleep can hinder the region of your brain that recognizes facial expressions and their meanings; so make note, it will be harder for you to nurture crucial relationships since communicating effectively, collaboratively, and accurately won’t be on par.
Weakens emotional states–lack of sleep causes our brain to maladjust in response to life and amplifies more negative perceptions. This makes it no surprise that we argue more when we are tired, or we find it difficult to be objective, calm, or to just plain be happy in life!
Making a Commitment to Better Sleep in 2020
2020 is the year to follow through on sustaining your goals– largely because we now understand how to not let our sleep be an oversight in achieving New Year’s resolutions.
As you have read, your sleep patterns lay the foundation for EVERY part of your life, from maintaining your health to maintaining the health of our environment. The key to understanding what it means to commit to better sleep is to have a clear understanding of what better sleep actually means.
When we are chronically sleep-deprived, the effects are more obvious to us: getting through the day after a sleepless night is a real struggle and we vow to get to bed earlier that night to catch up on lost Zzz’s.
When sleep patterns are disrupted by more subtle factors, especially on a regular basis, we aren’t necessarily FULLY aware of how this is sabotaging our functioning. Sleep scientists compare this unawareness to a person’s impaired thinking after they have consumed some alcohol and still think they are capable of driving.
Are You Clear Headed About Your Mattress?
When you lay on your mattress, are you assuming it’s “got your back”? Are you sure? Because your mattress is the first place to start in ensuring consistent sleep quality. No matter how many steps you take to sleep better, if your mattress is ill-fitted to your individual needs– then your sleep suffers, PERIOD!
Our mattress company, Mattress Express, pays more attention to each customer on a personal level, and we recognize how important your personal goals are a part of planning for your future.
Let us help you with your New Year’s resolutions in a BIG WAY! Come visit us at one of our many locations to fit you up for a lifetime of successful New Year’s resolutions.
