When I was younger, I would stay up until the sun rose playing the card game Magic: The Gathering. I attended graduate school at night from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. and then I’d go out with my friends.

I didn’t focus on the importance of sleep.

I’d go home and get 4 or 5 hours of sleep and then go about doing my school work and going to my job. I had a lot of work on my plate.

But I didn’t understand the importance of sleep.

Now that’s different now. I have prioritized sleep in my life. Just as I focus on the importance of exercise, eating healthy and practicing meditation.

How simple it is to focus on the restorative power of sleep, but for many years I did not make sleep a priority in my life.

I pushed and pushed myself to work harder and to get as much done as I possibly could each day. Without sleep, I can’t dream. Without sleep, I’m not able to have my unconscious mind be free to be creative and help me write the stories that I turn into books.

When my son was born, my wife and I did not sleep much during those first two years of my son’s life. He had many earaches as a baby and was up a lot. My wife and I tried to get as much sleep as we could, but those first two years were tough.

I still remember the first night when my son came home. He kept waking up crying every 45 minutes. As new parents, my wife and I had no idea what to do. He was breastfed, changed, held and loved, but he still kept crying nearly every hour. Over time he grew and after two years he began sleeping through the night.

Over the years, the lack of sleep affected me.

When I don’t get enough sleep, I have a difficult time concentrating and making decisions.

Time has passed and I’m in a different stage of my life, but still have problems with sleep.

I follow strict rules regarding sleep:

• I keep no phone by my bed.

• I drink no caffeine after 5 p.m.

• I make time to unwind before bed by reading a few pages of a book.

• When I can’t sleep, I’ll use visualization and anxiety-freeing meditations to help me.

• I take naps on the weekends when I can.

If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self to get more rest. Sleep helps both my body and mind.

But since I can’t time travel, I take getting my sleep seriously. I need my rest and have created a boundary around that time. Sleep is key to my health and I make certain I treat it as such.

Like what you’ve read? Be sure to check out my other posts in my Let Go and Be Free blog.