Ice Breaker – One Thing, Right Now

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question.  The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community.  I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments.  While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

Question:  What is one thing you could do right now that would improve your life?

My Answer:  Sleep more.  If I had to guess, I probably average 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night.  Studies show that 7 hours a night is much closer to the ideal.  And 7 hours of sleep provides most people with much better focus and energy for the day.  According to a June 6, 2008 article in Time:

Studies show that people who sleep between 6.5 hr. and 7.5 hr. a night, as they report, live the longest. And people who sleep 8 hr. or more, or less than 6.5 hr., they don’t live quite as long. There is just as much risk associated with sleeping too long as with sleeping too short. The big surprise is that long sleep seems to start at 8 hr. Sleeping 8.5 hr. might really be a little worse than sleeping 5 hr.  (Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1812420,00.html#ixzz2RWfzvoVV)

This is a tough one for me to change as I like to burn the candle at both ends.  I get up early to run, write, and get ready for the day.  And I probably stay up later than I should reading, watching television, or waiting for my teenage kids to go to bed.  How can I fit it all in?  I’m sure the answer lies in giving up a few things between the time I wake up and the time I go to bed.  But what should go?  That is the question.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment.  I look forward to reading your response!  (As always, feel free to share links.)