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Stop Fooling Yourself: You Need Your Sleep

Stop Fooling Yourself: You Need Your Sleep
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If there's one thing we've realized recently, it's that we aren't as super human as we once thought we were in the sleep department.

Meaning, we actually need it.

Traditionally, we've tried to cram every last second into each day in order to complete at least 80 per cent of that never-ending daily list of professional and personal tasks.

And along the way we've been strong proponents of the "who-needs-sleep anyway" mentality. Three hours? No problem. All-nighter? Cool, we got this.

Until now.

'Cause the bottom line is you'll have a better day if you're not trying to be a hero about getting your rest - and for more reasons than the ones your doctor tells you about.

Here are just seven of the many justifications from Notable.ca for setting your alarm a little later in the morning.

1. You won't risk looking puffy-faced when you wake up

No matter how much you've been working out or dieting, if you pull an all-nighter, you risk looking like a bloated, beer and Kraft Dinner-surviving university kid the next day. We recently discovered this after making the "wise" decision to stay up all night on an overseas flight -- and no amount of water consumption can help once the damage is done.

And don't get us started on those under-eye circles.

If you look like crap, you won't feel confident -- either professionally or personally.

2. You will be 'on' when you need to be

Whether you're entertaining clients, pitching potential new ones, working the room at a charity event, or trying to impress that potential love/fling/one-night stand -- it's quickly apparent if your eyes are vacant and your mind is scattered. As much as you may think that you're as sharp-witted and charming as ever, you're likely not. And yes, you may get called out on it.

3. You'll have better sex

We're sorry, but we're all too young to be legitimately too tired for sex. But it happens. By the time you finally get home, miraculously muster the energy to peel off those work shoes and constricting clothes, and collapse onto the couch after a long day (made longer by lack of sleep), it can take all the energy you have just to make it from the couch to the bedroom -- let alone for anything to happen once you get there.

4. You'll actually be able to contribute to office conversations about pop culture

Now that summer is a distant memory (silent tear), fall means the official return to TV and movie season. And if there's one thing young professionals with nothing else in common at the office like to talk about, it's TV and movies. It's not that you're not into it, it's that you can't contribute because you're unable to make it through a movie in the theatre without eventually losing the fight against your heavy eyelids. Same thing for TV.

Repeat after us: I am not a grandmother...

5. You'll stress less about deadlines, traffic, and relationship issues

Even if you clocked in an average of 8-10 hours of solid sleep a night (how dreamy), between the perpetual work grind, blurring of work/life lines, relationship (or lack there of) worries, and constant stimuli coming from all directions ... YP life in our cities would still be damn stressful. Add lack of sleep and frankly, you're likely heading for professional burnout. Lack of sleep causes more stress, irritability, and slower reaction times.

In what seems like a sick joke, high stress levels only lead to worse sleeping patterns. Sweet.

6. You'll remember the name of that sexy stranger at the bar, the laundry list of to-dos your boss threw at you, and your phone

That's because -- shocking, we know -- sleep improves your memory. And after frying it the way you did back in university, you need all the help you can get these days. And really, if you lose another cell phone you may just have to ties it on a string around your neck the way you wore your house key back in elementary school (minus the neon shoelace).

7. You'll save money

We're just going to say it -- it's absurd to spend more than $15 a day on caffeine. Wouldn't it be nice not to have to? And, to rub it in a little more, that $300 per month could be the difference between an "all right" place to live and one you actually fall in love with.

And just imagine how well you'd sleep in a place that you love.

#NOTABLE

For more on living the Notable lifestyle, click here, or visit them on Facebook here.

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