Tom Rath knows how to do research. He’s the author of the Gallup Organization’s landmark StrengthsFinder 2.0, which became the world’s bestselling non-fiction book in 2012. He’s just released his new work, Eat Move Sleep: How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes, and his findings on sleep might be particularly interesting to sleep-deprived high school students.
Rath’s research found that sacrificing an hour of sleep doesn’t equal an extra hour of work or fun. In fact, it does the opposite. When you lose an hour of sleep, it decreases your happiness, productivity and your ability to think.
If you don’t think you have time for that extra hour, here’s Rath’s tip about ditching the snooze button:
When you break your final hour of sleep into small half-awake chunks, studies show it does not count toward the total amount of deep restorative sleep. For the next few weeks, set your alarm at the latest possible time so hitting the snooze button is not an option. Force yourself to get up right away. Those extra minutes can give you enough sleep so you feel refreshed.