WEBVTT - Second Cup: How to get 8 hours of sleep

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:09.800
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

0:00:11.080 --> 0:00:16.760
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:20.280
<v Speaker 1>tip is that it is possible to get eight hours

0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:24.440
<v Speaker 1>of sleep a night, but doing so requires prioritizing it,

0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:30.920
<v Speaker 1>which means getting into bed on time. About a year ago,

0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:34.960
<v Speaker 1>I published a book called Tranquility by Tuesday, which was

0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:38.840
<v Speaker 1>about nine rules for calming the chaos and making time

0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:43.040
<v Speaker 1>for what matters. I think these rules can help anyone

0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:48.200
<v Speaker 1>live a more productive and tranquil life. The very first

0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:52.559
<v Speaker 1>rule Tranquility by Tuesday, rule number one it was to

0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:56.520
<v Speaker 1>give yourself a bedtime. I have noticed over the years

0:00:56.520 --> 0:00:59.520
<v Speaker 1>that many people get enough sleep averaged over the course

0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:01.880
<v Speaker 1>of a week, but there are a lot of short

0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:06.520
<v Speaker 1>nights followed by crashing nights. It is better to sleep

0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:10.319
<v Speaker 1>seven point five hours each day than six hours some

0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:15.880
<v Speaker 1>days and nine hours other days. In any case, most

0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:18.720
<v Speaker 1>adults need to wake up at set times for work

0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:22.600
<v Speaker 1>or family responsibilities. That's why you have an alarm clock

0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:26.200
<v Speaker 1>and have probably said it most mornings since you were twelve.

0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:31.720
<v Speaker 1>Fewer of us have bedtime alarms. But it's not a

0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:35.840
<v Speaker 1>bad idea, and that is because unfortunately we are about

0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:38.560
<v Speaker 1>as trustworthy on that side of sleep as we would

0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:42.319
<v Speaker 1>be in the morning without an alarm clock. I saw

0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:45.440
<v Speaker 1>a meme a while ago that had someone asserting dramatically

0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:49.160
<v Speaker 1>that she would do absolutely anything to get eight hours

0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:53.680
<v Speaker 1>of sleep except go to bed eight hours before she

0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:57.000
<v Speaker 1>needed to wake up. And isn't that true for most

0:01:57.040 --> 0:02:00.120
<v Speaker 1>of us. Some people have babies who wake up in

0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.000
<v Speaker 1>the middle of the night, and some people do shift work.

0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:06.200
<v Speaker 1>But for those of us who have the ability to

0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:09.240
<v Speaker 1>choose when we go to sleep and know that we

0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:11.880
<v Speaker 1>will probably be able to stay in bed until we

0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:15.000
<v Speaker 1>need to get up in the morning, getting enough sleep

0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:19.800
<v Speaker 1>requires this. You decide that the day is over and

0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:24.320
<v Speaker 1>act accordingly. You go to bed enough time before you

0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:26.640
<v Speaker 1>need to wake up so that you can get the

0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:31.079
<v Speaker 1>amount of sleep you truly need. During the school year,

0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:34.240
<v Speaker 1>I generally have to wake up at six thirty am.

0:02:34.520 --> 0:02:36.880
<v Speaker 1>I need seven and a half hours of sleep more

0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:40.400
<v Speaker 1>or less, so I go to bed at eleven pm.

0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:45.639
<v Speaker 1>This is not rocket science. It is simple math. If

0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.919
<v Speaker 1>I needed eight hours of sleep, my bedtime would need

0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:53.240
<v Speaker 1>to be ten thirty. If you want eight hours of sleep,

0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:57.440
<v Speaker 1>you just have to do the same thing. Figure out

0:02:57.440 --> 0:02:59.840
<v Speaker 1>what time you need to set your alarm and be

0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.040
<v Speaker 1>reasonable here. Don't say you're going to wake up at

0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:06.200
<v Speaker 1>five am to exercise and then hit snooze eight times.

0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:11.560
<v Speaker 1>Just decide when the day should rationally start and then

0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:15.200
<v Speaker 1>count back eight hours. Commit to turning off the light

0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:19.840
<v Speaker 1>by this time. Of course, most of us don't dive

0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:23.280
<v Speaker 1>straight from life and to sleep, so you probably need

0:03:23.320 --> 0:03:27.080
<v Speaker 1>a little wine down time. It is worth constructing your

0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:30.560
<v Speaker 1>evenings with this in mind. Can you create some sort

0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:36.360
<v Speaker 1>of indulgent bedtime routine so going to bed feels fun.

0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.280
<v Speaker 1>Maybe you spend a little time reading or doing a hobby,

0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:43.520
<v Speaker 1>taking a relaxing shower, joining some couple time. I don't know,

0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:48.400
<v Speaker 1>but build this slowing down into your life and then

0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:52.520
<v Speaker 1>just get in bed eight hours before you need to

0:03:52.520 --> 0:03:55.720
<v Speaker 1>wake up. If you do need eight hours of sleep,

0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:59.760
<v Speaker 1>you will find this practice life changing. You will have

0:03:59.800 --> 0:04:03.400
<v Speaker 1>more orderly days and be able to enjoy your weekends

0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:08.400
<v Speaker 1>when you are not constantly crashing. As one person in

0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:11.720
<v Speaker 1>the Tranquility by Tuesday book told me, this first rule

0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:16.799
<v Speaker 1>was the least sexy but the most impactful thing they tried.

0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:21.400
<v Speaker 1>Build in eight hours of sleep, and you are more

0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.880
<v Speaker 1>likely to get eight hours of sleep. Then if you

0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:28.440
<v Speaker 1>figure hey, time is magic and you'll sleep enough despite

0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:32.600
<v Speaker 1>being in bed for six hours, it just doesn't work.

0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:38.279
<v Speaker 1>Math and reality are tough that way, but accept the

0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:41.960
<v Speaker 1>limitations of time and work with them, and you will

0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:48.800
<v Speaker 1>ultimately be happier in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks

0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:53.240
<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:04.400
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:07.960
<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:17.360
<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:22.000
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:25.520
<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.