Good sleep, good learning, good life
It is everyone's dream to wake up fresh, happy, and ready for action on a daily basis. Sadly, in the modern world, only a small minority lives that dream. Yet the dream is within reach for most healthy people given:
I hope that this article compiles all the basic ingredients of knowledge that are helpful in accomplishing refreshing sleep. As for the sacrifice, it is important to begin with the understanding that one cannot eat one's cake and have it too. Healthy sleep may be incompatible with some modern habits, some cravings, or some lifestyle choices. At worst, refreshing sleep may be incompatible with one's job or even long-term goals. Due to the latter fact, this article cannot provide a solution for everyone. Moreover, having a happy and fresh mind on a daily basis is a difficult thing to accomplish even with an arsenal of knowledge and full focus on good sleep. However, let me state it emphatically, good sleep on most nights is feasible for most people!
This article was originally written a decade ago. I have always been interested in memory, learning, and sleep. In addition, in my job, sleep is as important as oxygen. As we all move deeper into the Information Age and Knowledge Economy, the issues discussed herein will become more and more important for each of us. After writing the original article, I had the great pleasure of getting in touch with hundreds of people experiencing various sleep problems. I came to see first hand how knowledge of sleep helps solve their problems. I could also see how the industrialized age lays obstacles in one's quest for good sleep and high productivity. I have witnessed a true epidemic of sleep phase disorders, an explosion of interest in polyphasic sleep, and an exponential increase in interest in the matters of sleep in general. Despite my pleas, many people just cannot avoid using an alarm clock, running all-nighters before exams, waking their kids cranky for school, popping pills before sleep, leaving babies in their cots to cry it out for sleep, etc. The picture would be pretty sad and alarming were it not for the fact that there is hope in knowledge. With a degree of determination, everyone can improve his, her, or their kids' sleep.
