Backstory: Well, um, I need to get more and better sleep.

I keep hearing about how lack of sleep effects everything, including my ability to lose weight. I know I need to be better about this, but it always seems to be the easiest thing to cut when deadlines and to do lists and responsibilities are hanging over me.

It’s no coincidence that I recently finished reading the August issue of National Geographic, for which the theme is “The Science of Sleep.”

Did you know “anyone who regularly sleeps less than six hours has a higher risk of depression, psychosis, stroke, and obesity”?

Yikes.

So this week I’m going to walk away from the office, turn off the TV, ignore the phone, and catch some extra zzzzzs.

P.S. For inspiration and motivation, I recommend you read the book Thrive by Arianna Huffington. No spoilers, but she got a “wake-up call” when sleep deprivation became a real problem from her—then she took the steps to make a good night’s sleep a priority in her life.

What Happened: Here is a photo of my cozy nest, my new Happy Place:

I nailed this Nudge. Every night this week I was in bed, lights out, by 11:00. Most nights I was tucked in before 10. This is huge for me. And even though there were a couple of nights when I woke up in the wee hours, this week I was able to go back to sleep after a short break. (Typically I am wide awake and up for a few hours—hello, hormonal fluctuations!) My daily average: 8.33 hours.

I wish I could tell you how I managed to pull this off, but I didn’t do anything other than set an intention to go to bed at a “decent” hour and then do it. No reading one more chapter, no running one more load of laundry, no replying to one (or two or ten) more emails. Lights out!

The Ah-Hahs: To completely skew all scientific research on this Nudge, I also decided to make this a week of (almost) no online news. I didn’t read the stories about local crime on SFGate, check on our country’s standing on the international stage on BBC, like any postings from “friends” on Facebook, or keep up with the Kardashians on People.

I can’t tell you if all of the above or parts contributed to weight loss (didn’t weigh in this week) or helped me be more creative and productive in my work or made me less susceptible to serious health issues. But I can tell you I feel good today. I might even say I feel rested.

Wow.