At the end of last year I ran a survey asking people what ‘thing’ they most wanted to improve in 2017. And the top three contenders were:

• Patience
• Self-control
• Discipline/Focus

But, as I sat down to map out how to help people achieve these things, I kept coming back to the same issue: sleep.

Now, like a lot of people, I believed what the media has been telling us for ages, and assumed we were all seriously sleep deprived. (And I wasn't game to try and get people who were sleeping for five hours a night to suddenly jump to eight.)

But, then I started doing some research.

And what I found was that while very few of us are getting the sleep we need, we're not that far off it either. In other words, we're only mildly sleep deprived.

Which means we're all highly functional. We all get through what needs to be done each day and then some.

Trouble is, there’s a big difference between being highly functional, and being the people we’d prefer to be – patient, focused and disciplined. What makes that difference is the gap between the sleep we need and the sleep we’re getting.

It’s a problem most of us face as adults. We know what time we should go to bed each night. But those evening hours are our ‘golden hours’ – the time when we can:

• Have an adult conversation with our partner without constant interjections from a tiny human.
• Indulge in our favourite Netflix shows.
• Spend time on our hobbies.
• Get our best work done (<< this one’s for you night owls).

The above is why night time is when we all suffer from 'Just one more' syndrome:

• Just one more chapter.
• Just one more episode.
• Just one more email.

THE GOOD NEWS

Here’s the good news for everyone who wants to be more patient, focused and disciplined in 2017 (including me): I reckon we can achieve that by getting just an extra 15 minutes sleep each night.

That’s right. A quarter of an hour – the length of an average commercial break on TV these days. 😉

How do we get that extra 15 minutes? By going to bed 15 minutes earlier, of course. But how do we overcome 'Just one more' syndrome and actually get to bed 15 minutes earlier?

BY BRINGING IT TO TOP OF MIND

That's where The World's Easiest Sleep Challenge comes in. Here's how it will work:

From Monday 30 January (after the Australian Open, because if Roger Federer’s playing I ain't going to bed), you’ll receive an email each day for 21 days with three questions:

1. How many hours of sleep do I need to be my best self?
2. How many hours of sleep did I get last night?
3. What time do I need to go to bed tonight to get the sleep I need?

And all you need to do is answer those three questions.

That's it.

This challenge isn't about setting sleep goals, providing accountability, then making you feeling bad because you didn’t meet them.

It's about showing you the power of stating an intention.

After a few days of answering those questions, you'll start adjusting your behaviour so you can get to sleep closer to the 'right' time. And instead of automatically falling into the 'Just one more' routine, you'll begin making an intentional choice.

By the end of the challenge you should be getting your 15 minutes (or more) of extra sleep each night without needing to call on any reserves of willpower (which don’t even exist at night).

That's why I feel pretty safe calling it The World's Easiest Sleep Challenge.

If you're keen to join in, click the link below.

http://i.swish.design/easiestsleep

The challenge costs $10, and if it's not the best $10 you've spent this year I'll give you your money back – no questions asked

And once you sign up, I'll see you in the Better than Yesterday group!

Kelly x