How (and why!) to get Great Sleep

Listen to the interview.

Dr. James Maas is a social psychologist and professor at Cornell University. He is best known for his work in the field of sleep research, specifically the relationship between sleep and performance. He coined the term “power nap” and wrote the best-selling book, POWER SLEEP. He has produced numerous film specials on sleep research.  I loved chatting with him about sleep and I encourage you to listen to the interview. He provides so much great information.

Dr. Maas suggested there are 4 Essential Keys to sleeping well:
1: Determine your Personal Sleep Quotient and meet it nightly.
2: Go to bed at the same time every night and wake up naturally at the same time every morning, including weekends.
3: Get your required amount of sleep in one continous block.
4: Make up for lost sleep as soon as possible.

He shared some really interesting sleep facts:
We should spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping.
Stress is the number one cause of insomnia. 65% of Americans say stress disturbs their sleep.
Staying in bed longer can actually keep you from gaining weight. The less sleep you’re getting, the less efficiently your appetite-regulation system works.
The weight of your mattress doubles every 10 years due to dust mites so be sure to invest in a new one every decade.
Sleeping longer than 6 hours per night helps in memory retention, but it takes 8 hours to fully incorporate learned material.
The ideal room temperature for sleep is 65 degrees F
The ideal naptime is 20-90 minutes.