Now this is crazy stuff: have you ever seen the popular reality show "Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery Channel? It is one of my favorites; I seem to just find it fascinating. It’s about Alaskan king crab fishermen up in the Bering Sea, and what they risk to get their grubstake.

Seriously, this puts The Perfect Storm to shame, and I honestly don’t know how they even manage to video tape some of this madness. Picture yourself on a fishing boat (try not to get seasick). You’ve got a 24-hour shift in front of you (no naps!)… as well as 40-foot waves thumping against the boat and sloshing you around constantly, 80-mile-per-hour winds whipping against every inch of you, and oh yes, subfreezing weather. You hope you can at least feel something in your hands so you can handle the 700-pound crab pots that are banging against the deck. The injury rate? One-hundred percent, from limbs to lives. 

Why, you might ask, would someone choose to do this?

Well, the payoff can be huge for the guys who brave this nearly superhuman task: jackpot crab pots can garner millions of dollars worth of highly-prized king crabs. (Yeah, the next time you order king crab in a well-to-do restaurant, stop and think for a moment what it took to get it there.) Boats that aren’t successful in placing their pots in the hot spots can come home empty-handed, or so light-handed that their catch only covers the boat’s operating expenses. 

I think it’s crazy, but the allure must go deeper than the potential money. It must tap that proverbial “man versus nature” thing on some level. Many of these fishers come from families that have been in this business their whole lives—they know of nothing else and have no desire whatsoever to try doing anything else. To them, crab fishing not a job, it’s a life. One of the captains of a boat didn’t even think about how crazy his job was until the cameras started showing up to tape the show! Clearly, these people are doing what they’ve always done, and we’re finally allowed “in” to see what it is they do.

One request: can they get more fishers on board to share the duties so everyone can get a good night’s rest?

I think every captain would laugh at my suggestion. It appears to be a badge of honor that they can go days without sleep, even if this entails dangerous mistakes.

It is amazing to me that sleep deprivation is both a method of torture in some countries and a badge of honor all at the same time.

Some episodes have featured their contests for the first person to fall asleep and where (please not out on the edge of the deck). Occasionally the ships’ captains fall asleep at the wheel during rough weather.   

This isn’t the only profession where sleep deprivation is considered a badge of honor. There are many other people out there who brave sleepless nights and odd working hours, like medical residents and surgeons, college or graduate students, air traffic controllers, truck drivers, loggers, farmers, start-up entrepreneurs… just about any workaholic who can’t fathom sleeping a full night’s sleep when there’s work to be done.

Many of the world’s most dangerous professions entail multiple “badges of honor.” People who do the fishing, hunting, and gathering for us folks are among the toughest and bravest individuals. They do extremely dangerous jobs that are in many cases conducted in an environment that is largely beyond their control. Nearly half of all fatal work injuries occurred among workers who drive or move material around for a living. Truck drivers, forklift operators, trash collectors, and cabbies are all part of this group. A sleepy truck driver or forklift operator having an accident is practically cliché.

According to a survey reported by CNN, the fishing industry is a perennial leader as measured by death rate; drowning is the most common cause of death in this industry (they can fall asleep first, then fall overboard!), but fishermen also suffer from fatal accidents in handling some of the heavy equipment that the modern fisheries employ—heavy equipment that requires fast-thinking, and an alert, awake mind.

Is it “brave” to avoid sleep for work? No. But unfortunately our social mores and industry prerogatives haven’t changed.

Would the worlds “most dangerous jobs” (which sometimes gets labeled as the world's “worst jobs” because of this fact) become better if we set new standards that prevented fatal mistakes? Yes. I believe so, and we can do that starting with just one: making restful sleep a priority.

So I propose a new badge of honor: one that respects hard work and hard sleep. The two can work miracles. Oh, and let’s not forget hard play. Now that’s a recipe for living “on the edge.” But I have to admit, I do find the show fascinating!

The news of celebrated newsman and Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert's sudden passing last Friday took many people by surprise. He was only 58 years old; even his own father, who became the basis for Tim’s last book, has outlived him.

By Monday morning, the stories about this prominent and beloved man’s life were still circulating, and talk about how or why he died so young started brewing stronger. People began asking about heart attack avoidance. Newsweek magazine featured a story about the "science of sudden cardiac arrest".

I heard Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC’s chief medical editor, answer general questions about Tim’s previously diagnosed health problem: coronary artery disease. He was doing everything right to manage his disease, which included occasional stress tests to check out his heart (the last of which he passed on April 29), medication, daily exercise (he had used a treadmill the morning he died), and watching his diet. His blood pressure and cholesterol were “well-controlled.” So what went wrong?

With the buzz about terrorist attacks and cancer running routinely in the media, we often forget that heart disease is the number one killer for both men and women.

That’s right: we’re all more likely to have a heart attack than be struck by a missile or get cancer.

We do have an impressive array of technology, tests, and drugs today to help detect, treat, manage, and combat heart disease. But for some, as was the case for Tim, it’s too late by the time the “big one” hits.

Sudden cardiac arrest accounts for 310,000 deaths in America every year, or 850 a day—more than those caused by breast cancer, lung cancer, stroke, and AIDS combined. According to his own personal physician, his particular heart disease resulted in hardening of his coronary arteries. A fresh clot ruptured in Tim’s left anterior descending coronary artery, causing the fatal heart attack. The autopsy also revealed that he had an enlarged heart.

The risk factors for heart disease are well-documented. They include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, being overweight, a sedentary lifestyle, and tobacco abuse.  Russert apparently had these risk factors under control (I don’t believe he was a smoker). But he did have a very busy, over-scheduled career that had him juggling a stressful load of responsibilities. He may not have viewed his life as “stressful” because he loved what he did so much, but his body no doubt must have been crying out for a respite. Sometimes you’d see him fervently commentating into the wee hours of the night during the peak of a political campaign or election, only to see him again on television a few hours later that next morning. As if he never went to bed.

He was indeed a passionate man, dedicated to his thriving career as well as his family. He wasn’t the type to take an extended time-out because he couldn’t stand being far from his job—even if he sacrificed sleep. I hear that he flew back from Rome early, where he’d been celebrating his son’s recent graduation from college, because he wanted to prepare for Sunday’s show. He’d gotten just two hours of sleep on the plane before hitting the ground running again at work.

When you’ve already got coronary artery disease you have to consider more than the obvious risk factors. You have to think about what your body—not necessarily you—need. Otherwise, you could be setting yourself up for an unexpected, asymptomatic, and untimely health problem.

For Tim, coronary artery disease was probably his single biggest risk factor for having a fatal heart attack. Going on little sleep just compounds that—and other—problems. In fact, sleep plays directly into all of the chief risk factors for heart disease. Dr. Snynerman underscored this during her interview: “We are a sleep-deprived nation… The less sleep you get, you’re at an increased risk for heart disease.”

This is not to say that Tim’s untimely death was caused by sleep-deprivation or could have been avoided had he given his body proper rest. But it’s worth noting that adequate sleep can lower your risk for heart disease and lower some of the risk factors, such as diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. In addition, sleep takes the edge out of our stressful lives and helps us restore our bodies for the next busy day. 

With all this in mind, I leave you with a new list of things to do to avoid a heart attack.

• get your cholesterol and blood pressure checked and under control if high
• watch your girth (women should have a waist no larger than 25 inches around; for men it’s 40 inches)
• be active most, if not all, days of the week
• quit smoking
• eat well—a high-fiber, low fat diet
• get plenty of rest
• get plenty of rest
• get plenty of rest

While it’s true that we get to “rest in peace” after our time on earth has ended, we need to rest up for a third of that lifespan in order to make it a long one. May Tim’s death be a reminder for us all to take sleep to heart.

Now this is scary stuff. I just read an article reporting new research on the effects that insomniac parents can have on their children. The gist: if you suffer from chronic insomnia and have adolescent kids, they could be at a higher risk not only for insomnia themselves, but also for suicidal behavior and for using drugs that induce sleep (like hypnotics).

Whoa. I know what you’re thinking: how could something as commonplace and seemingly “harmless” as insomnia in one person trigger suicidal behavior in another person? It’s a bit more complicated than you think.

Insomnia and Families

In a recent post, I commented on the muddiness of insomnia, which is a sleep disorder with myriad probable causes. We don’t have a single “cause” to blame for this multi-faceted problem, which the American Academy of Sleep Medicine says about 30 percent of adults have symptoms of. And new research is now showing that in some cases, genetics could be at play.

Insomnia can run in families, but only a few research studies have focused on the children of insomniacs. What’s more, we’ve only recently learned that having insomnia makes a person at high risk for major depression later in life, but this study could be the first to look at kids in particular and identify a major problem.

This latest study, which was headed up by a psychiatrist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School, has astonishing findings: Children of insomniac parents in the study were almost three times more likely to report symptoms of insomnia themselves, more than twice as likely to report fatigue, and more than five times as likely to report using hypnotic drugs.

Even more troubling, almost 17 percent of children with parents who had insomnia reported suicidal ideation (thoughts and behavior), 9.5 percent reported suicide plans, and 9.5 percent reported actual suicide attempts during the past year. This compared to 5.3 percent, 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, of teens whose parents did not suffer from insomnia.

The lesson is clear: get your insomnia under control or seek help for it if the usual remedies don’t work.

Insomnia Remedies

What are the usual remedies? As I’ve mentioned in recent postings, this includes maintaining good sleep hygiene, avoiding stimulants like caffeine after 2:00 PM, taking a time-out from the day’s stresses long before you slip into bed so you’re prepared for sleep, scheduling exercise into your day, and learning how to lull yourself to sleep (plenty of ideas and step-by-step instructions for visualizations techniques, among others, are in my book, Beauty Sleep).

And what to do if you’re worried about the kids?

Five ideas:

1. Speak with them about your sleep habits, as well as their sleep habits. Let them open up to you about their troubles with sleep, if any. Ask them if they’ve used any drugs to help them sleep better. Hopefully they will be open and honest with you.
   
   
2. Help them learn all-natural techniques to treating their insomnia. Teens often start using (and abusing) caffeine, for example, in order to get more done in their over-scheduled lives, both academically and socially.
   
   
3. You can help them establish a foundation for developing strong and lifelong coping skills for managing stress. There’s no better time to do this than now during their adolescence.
   
   
4. If your teen still sees a pediatrician, it may be time to upgrade to a doctor who specializes in adolescent medicine. He or she can offer treatments and insights more tailored to your teen’s specific needs that a pediatrician may not be equipped to handle.
   
   
5. Don’t underestimate the power and effect you have on your kids’ health and behavior. If you can’t get a handle on your own insomnia, they may not be able to, either. Make this a team, family effort.

And remember, getting a good night’s rest is a vital sign of good health—no matter how old or young you are.   

Related Posts:

• Teenage Insomnia Can Create Problems Later On
• YouTube Video: Dr. Breus on Teens and Sleep Deprivation

Are you an insomniac? If so, then which kind? The one who flat-out can’t ever get to sleep? Or are you the type who fall asleep okay but then has a restless night of tossing and turning as you struggle to stay in dreamland? If you’re the latter, there’s hope—maybe.

Tossing and Turning -- A Genetic Mutation?

I just read about a new study that details how scientists have found mutations in two genes that could clue us into understanding insomnia better. These two genes control electrical excitability in a particular area in the brain known to be involved in sleep.

Of course, the researchers were looking at mice genes, but this could give us a model for understanding how a genetic mutation could partly be to blame for those restless nights. And it could lead us to better treatments in the future. But this would certainly come with a few, shall I say, caveats.

The Causes of Insomnia are Sometimes Hard to Identify

No one who suffers from insomnia likes to hear that it’s a “vague” disorder. But it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what’s causing it.

For some, an underlying medical condition or chronic pain could be the culprit.

For others, it could be psychiatric problems like depression, or another sleep disorder like restless leg syndrome (RLS).

The other hard part about insomnia is there is no easy “cure.” In fact, there may never be. You have to address all the factors that could be channeling the sleeplessness. With stress running our 24-7 lives today, it’s no wonder insomniacs are on the rise.

But, what if some of those insomniacs could blame (partly or wholly) a mutant gene?

Insomnia Can Have Multiple Sources

I think this opens the conversation up to an even wider playing field. Much wider. This could make this particular area of study fuzzier.

To that I pose this question: Assuming you could “turn off” that gene, would someone who has this mutation and insomnia then be insomnia-free? 

Is seriously doubt it. Call me cynical. Sure, some lucky few who could blame all of their sleepless nights on a dysfunctional gene would be just that—lucky. 

I think we owe the vast majority of insomnia to other causes, from medical to psychological to plain practical (screwing up our sleep cycles by staying up too late, working too long, and taking all of our worries to bed with us).

I challenge anyone who has trouble getting a good night’s sleep—no matter what kind of sleep trouble you have—to go on vacation to a truly relaxing place and see if you still have the same sleep issues on the third day of your bliss.

Okay, okay… so a trip to Hawaii or Bora Bora may not be in the cards. Here are my top 5 ways to ensure (not guarantee, but close enough to it!) a good night.

Top 5 Sleep Tips from Dr. Breus

1.    Set aside a Power Down hour before bedtime. Stop work. No chores. Do something relaxing like take a warm bath, engage in light reading, or watch TV if that’s relaxing for you (avoid the news channels).

2.    Go to bed and get up at the same time 7 days a week—no matter what!

3.   Schedule in at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. You can break up these minutes into pockets of 10 minutes if you have to. Here’s an idea: Expose yourself to bright, morning natural light (a good thing for calibrating the body’s natural clock) with a brisk walk before breakfast, then again at lunch, and after dinner.

4.    Avoid caffeine after 2 pm in the afternoon. Don’t forget hidden sources like soda, and some headache medicines.

5.    Adopt some mind-, body-, and sleep-friendly practices like meditation, massage, or yoga. 

If you know that pain or a medical condition is affecting your sleep, including meds that you take to treat that condition, speak candidly with your doctor about it. You may have options you have not explored yet to address both the medical condition and your insomnia.

For more ideas, and a specific day-by-day program that you can tailor to your lifestyle to help you achieve restful sleep, I encourage you to grab a copy of my book.

Good night!

Recently, I was reading an article online about the health problems plaguing Americans as worries about mounting debt trigger extreme stress. Rather than blaming things like back pain, headaches, ulcers, depression, and even heart attacks on a specific underlying medical cause, all fingers are pointing toward plain old stress.

Stress is a fact of life...

...and unfortunately debt has also become a fact of life for many of us. 

Compounding the problem are recent economic woes as the real estate market sinks, cost of living expenses rise, and just driving the car to the gym or yoga class to work out those stress-related kinks is getting expensive.

According to an index tied to a recent AP-AOL survey, debt stress is 14 percent higher this year. Revolving consumer debt, almost all from credit cards, now totals $957 billion, compared with $800 billion in 2004, according to the Federal Reserve. Argh!

Debt, Stress and Sleep Problems

I don’t have to outline all the statistics that point to our heightened stress level. It’s obvious to everyone living in the 21st century, unless you’re in denial or have miraculously found the cure to conquering stress. But what the recent article and survey did not indicate is how much this stress is affecting people’s sleep.

I have no doubts that today’s intense stress levels are adversely affecting the quality and quantity of our sleep. Not only do we take our worries to bed with us, fueling insomnia, but we also delay going to bed as we tool around the Internet late at night paying bills or seeking support through others on the Web.

This sets us up for feeling more stressed out when sleep deprivation lowers our thresholds for enduring high stress levels. Our moods dim, our immune systems plummet, our body’s hormonal clocks tick a little off, our hunger and satiety signals change, our ability to learn new things weakens, our concentration dwindles, our physical bodies miss out on a much-needed time-out to fully recover for the next day, and on and on.

Sleeping More Can Help You Cope

I could list a litany of problems associated with chronic sleep deprivation. I can also create an even longer list of benefits that come with getting a good night’s rest.

And one of them would be this: being able to cope with and manage something as difficult and stressful as serious debt.

With a good night’s rest, you feel energized, upbeat, refreshed, and focused. You can problem solve more easily and find ways to work through your debt so it doesn’t become a pain in the neck, the back, your head, your heart, and soul. That said, let me suggest...

3 Ways to Conquer Debt through Sleep:

1. Set aside 15 minutes a day to focus on your debt and making plans to diminish it—but avoid doing this at night. Schedule it early in the day or first thing in the morning, and be done with it.
   
   
2. If your debt worries keep you up at night, start a Worry Journal. Have it by your bedside, and write in it as your stressful thoughts emerge. Then close the book and close your mind off those thoughts. If solutions or things to do in relation to those worries crop up as you write, record those.
   
   
3. Physical exercise is a great sleep promoter and stress reducer. If you find yourself avoiding exercise to “get more done” during the day, it’s time to re-evaluate. Be sure to schedule in at least 30 minutes of physical exercise no matter what. It can be as simple as going for a brisk walk in the evening.

Don’t let debt get your sleep. Becoming debt free will happen much more effortlessly if you have sweet dreams.

Are you having trouble sleeping?  Do you think a new mattress could help?

Visit Sleepless in America and learn how you can share your sleep story -- and become eligible to win a FREE mattress and sleep consultation with me. Just submit a video, photo, or short essay describing your sleep problems before June 30 and you'll be eligible to win the grand prize package, worth $1500. 

Click here for details on how to enter.

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form of the disorder; breathing becomes halted or very shallow for short bursts of time during sleep. Because of this, the levels of oxygen drop in the blood as not enough gets in through the nose or mouth. Imagine what this could mean for someone with heart or other vascular challenges.

Why Flying is More Dangerous for People with Apnea

It makes sense that the environment on a plane could exacerbate someone’s sleep apnea. (It exacerbates a lot of things, like people’s patience and flexibility.) Oxygen and pressure levels can change, and compounding the problem is the fact people who suffer from sleep apnea generally have higher metabolic demands during flights. In other words, their bodies—especially their hearts—have to work harder to stay fully oxygenated. It doesn’t help that many people who suffer from sleep apnea have another problem: obesity. The two often go hand in hand.

How Will This Affect Air Travel?

Flying isn’t as like it used to be. We now have to deal with smaller seats, packed planes, long waits, no food, and grumpy fellow passengers in general. It’s not pleasant to sit next to a stranger who begins to snore and creep over into your space.

Snoring is a hallmark sign of obstructive sleep apnea. If the obesity rates continue to climb, will we have to set new standards for air travel? Wider seats? Extra oxygen tanks? Extra defibrillators? Cautionary signs in front of our seats that say “Attention Snorers or People with Apnea: Please Avoid Sleeping."?

I know this all sounds so extreme, but it’s true that as a nation our obesity is raising the risk for all kinds of health challenges—many of which can be compounded on an airplane. If only people took to heart the fact that weight loss can cure so many problems, and in some cases, sleep apnea included.

But, if gas prices continue to soar, we could see an historic pullback in the number of people who can afford the luxury of flying. I’ve heard some speculate that flying will become an extravagance for the common person. The only jet setters left will be business types with corporate credit footing the bill. In any event, here’s some advice:

5 Ways to Make Air Travel Safe(r) If You Snore

1. Eat well the morning of your flight and carry healthy snacks. Avoid fatty foods that can raise blood cholesterol and tax your system.
2. Get yourself a C-pillow to support your head so you can nap comfortably in your seat, this will also keep your head from bobbing and cutting off your air.
3. Avoid napping entirely if you cannot get into a comfortable position that prevents snoring. If you’re seriously overweight, consider buying a business class ticket so you have more room.
4. Don’t do anything stressful during the flight. Enjoy this time to relax, read something light, or have a conversation with the person next to you.
5. If the cabin pressure changes and you sense a higher heart rate, focus on taking a few deep belly breaths. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Let your belly expand outward as you inhale, and back to resting position as you exhale.

Have a nice flight.

More than 18 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that causes your airway to collapse during sleep. If you’re among those millions, then each night your breathing essentially gets cut off multiple times, and so does that restful sleep. Untreated sufferers of sleep apnea never feel fully rested, which can result in chronic sleep deprivation that can be life-threatening.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

You could have apnea if:

• You snore
• You wake up with a headache
• You're moody most days
• You are tired to the point of falling asleep
• You have constant congestion
• Someone has seen you stop breathing

But there’s some good news to report: chemicals found in green tea may be able to prevent some of the cognitive problems that can happen with obstructive sleep apnea.

Green Tea Can Help Your Memory

Cognitive problems, you’re wondering? That’s right, sleep apnea isn’t just about missing out on a few breaths of air through the night. All those intermittent moments of oxygen deprivation add up, and your body isn’t able to reach a level of sleep that is restorative—where the brain can essentially re-boot itself and prepare for the next day when it will need to learn new things, solve problems, and tap its memory card.

Other Benefits of Green Tea and Polyphenols

The benefits of green tea don’t end with the brain boost, though. The researchers who discovered this recently also confirmed what we already know about the positive effects green tea can have on us. Its rich supply of polyphenols acts as a powerful antioxidant to help tame the flames of inflammation and oxidative stress—two big agers in the body.

So yes, green tea may help you beat sleep apnea deficits, but the bonus is you can give yourself a good dose of anti-aging ingredients, too.

Green Tea and Weight Loss

In a recent post, I talked about ways to lose weight (so you can sleep better at night). Nixing sugar-laden drinks is an easy way to steer clear of a boatload of unnecessary calories.

Regardless of whether or not you suffer from sleep apnea, give green tea a try for a week. Switch out your sodas and juices for a thermos of hot or cold green tea. Sip on it all day and avoid other drinks (don’t worry, tea is also a source of water).

At the end of the week, check in with yourself: do you feel sharper-minded and maybe a pound or two lighter?

What I’d like to know is if other sources of polyphenols can also be as effective. These include berries, beer, grapes (including wine), olive oil, chocolate/cocoa, walnuts, peanuts, pomegranates, yerba mate, and other fruits and vegetables.

One thing is for sure: drinking green tea is something you can do all day long (try de-caff in the afternoons). Not sure the same could be said for the other polyphenol friends.

My trusty industry journal, Sleep, just published another study confirming what we’ve known for some time: waist size affects sleep quality. The bigger you are, the bigger your chances are of not getting a restful night’s sleep.

An overview of the study was recently posted on WebMD, and it points out that “short sleepers”—people who get fewer hours of sleep that others in their age group—are more likely to be obese. This is true for both adults and children. For adults, a short sleeper is defined as someone who five hours or less of sleep. For kids, it’s less than 10 hours.

Many researchers have suggested that short sleep may prompt hormonal changes that fuel appetite and caloric intake, thus leading to obesity. We already know the hormones that control appetite are negatively affected by sleep deprivation (sleep less, eat more), so this is very plausible. It’s yet another call to make the necessary changes to shed those excess pounds.

Are Sleep Tips Enough?

I’m used to giving tips on getting a good night’s sleep, such as teaching people how to create the perfect bedroom setting, and reminding them to get up and go to bed at the same time every day, to avoid stimulates like caffeine in the late afternoon, and to establish a Power Down hour prior to bed so they can prepare the mind and body for sleep.

But what if these tips are not enough? What if all the “sleep hygiene” recommendations mean diddly-squat when the prime reason for one’s poor sleep is simply too much weight?

It means we must begin to give equal focus to the things we can do to reach our ideal weight and maintain it. So here are my top 5 weight-loss friendly ideas to think about throughout the day if you know you could lose a few.

5 Ways to Help Weight Loss

1. Eat breakfast within one hour of rising (go for high-fiber cereals or low-fat yogurts topped with berries) and then be sure to eat something every 3 to 4 hours thereafter. This will keep your metabolism humming and your blood sugars stable throughout the day; you won’t ever feel famished or stuffed.
2. Replace sodas and fruit juices (including those labeled “diet”) with water. This will help nix all those excess sugar calories, including artificial sweeteners that can trigger cravings. If you prefer, opt for sparkling water and throw a wedge of lemon or orange in it for more flavor. 
3. Replace butter and margarine with vegetable oils and extra virgin olive oil. Use cooking sprays at the stove. This will help you stick to healthier fats.
4. Switch from plain pastas, refined breads, and white rice to whole-wheat/high-fiber varieties. This will boost your daily fiber intake and also help keep your blood sugars stable so you feel satisfied and energized. The more fiber you get, the more calories your body won’t absorb from the foods you eat!
5. Avoid eating after 7 p.m.: this will help you to avoid late-night munching that takes your daily caloric intake off the charts.

If all of these ideas seem overwhelming, then just pick one—just one—that you can do this week. Next week, add another, and then another the following week. Small shifts add up to big changes.

And just think: you’re killing two birds—no, make that a flock of birds—with one stone. Not only will you sleep better once the weight comes off, but you’ll feel better, kick obesity out, and say good-bye to a slew of health risks like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and obstructive sleep apnea.

Good night.

A thriving career. A house with 2.5 kids, the average. Time to exercise. A vibrant social life. A great romantic relationship, whether married or not. And you sleep like a baby at night for a full X-hours, whatever you need to feel like a million bucks the next day. Is this possible? Is this a total fantasy?

I’m not trying to state the obvious or beg the obvious answer. My gut feeling is that having it all, including sleep, is a tall order. And recent research proves it. A Canadian article I read online outlines researchers’ data about the relationship between sleep and lifestyle, which includes a number of things like employment status, gender, and marital status.

Do you commute a long way to work? Do you work full-time (i.e., long hours)? Do you have kids, especially ones under the age of 15? If yes, then chances are you don’t get as much sleep as someone who answers no to most of these questions. And I don’t think you have to be Canadian to fit the bill of what these researchers found. In fact, in America I think we tend to fare far worse.

There’s nothing very revolutionary about these results. Other interesting findings to note:

• The more money you make, the less sleep you get. (More money usually means more work, more stress, more of everything but sleep.)
• Men tend to get less sleep than women, but it’s the women who complain more of not being able to fall asleep easily.
• Men who exercise sleep better, but women who exercise don’t sleep as much as women who don’t. The reasoning behind this makes sense: a woman who carves out time to exercise could be taking time away from sleep. The payoff, though, is that the women who do make time for exercise don’t have as much trouble getting to sleep. This has a scientific explanation: exercise is a great promoter of restful sleep.

It’s hard to know what to do with a study like this. It points out the obvious, and I’m not about to tell someone to sacrifice having children, working full time, and making more money for sleep. But surely this kind of news helps call out what we can attempt to modify in our lives for the sake of restful Zs. After all, being well-rested is what makes our jobs easier, our quest to be fit more doable, and our capacity to parent and deal with the hassles of life, including stress, much bigger.

So with that in mind, here are some questions to ask yourself. Your answers may help you to see how you actually can have it all—or as much of “all” as possible:

• Can you create better boundaries at work so you aren’t over-working yourself every single day? (Yes.) Remember, it’s okay to pull long hours once in a while. But don’t make a habit of it.
• Can you make the need for exercise not infringe on your need for sleep? (Yes.) If fitting time to exercise means cutting back on sleep, try cutting back on something else in your life—go to bed a little earlier if you’re an AM exerciser or leave work earlier so you’re not watching the 11:00 news while on the Stairmaster.
• Can you equally share your parental duties with the other parent? (Yes.) Don’t feel like you’re the one who has to handle everything 24/7. Go 50/50. Each of you can pick days when one parent takes on a smaller percentage of the parental role so you can catch up with yourself and recharge your batteries. Then switch.
• Can you knock off two or three things that you had on your To Do list and move them to tomorrow? (Yes.)
• Can you think of at least ONE thing—just one—that you can push to next week so you can devote more time to sleep this week?  (Notice this should be a recurring question each week!)

I’ll leave you with this: can you imagine being rich, fit, and well-rested? Yes you can.