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But there is more to it than a casual conversation starter. A 2012 US government study found that two-thirds of the adult population have a habit of sleep deprivation. So we are not talking about: “ I didn’t sleep enough last night”, but more of “I usually do not sleep well/enough, ever…”

According to a study by the US government, sufficient sleep is between 7-9 hours. Before you start saying how you only sleep 5 hours and do very well, let me point out that by now there are thousands of research results demonstrating that less than 7 hours sleep per night will eventually have consequences for your health.

Besides the obvious feeling of being groggy and grumpy during the day, there are serious consequences of not getting enough quality sleep: depression and anxiety, problems with memory and concentrating, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, and more…

But there is another consequence, probably the most life threatening of all. One that hasn’t yet been researched or at least I haven’t seen any study on it…

The habit of sleep deprivation slowly leads to exhaustion, both physical and mental. Exhaustion slowly robs you of the most important element in your life – You! The real You!

You are still alive, probably suffering daily from one or more of the ailments listed above. It may look like you, but after a while it is not really you, only a shadow of who you really are deep inside.

This is something very hard to explain, but if you have been exhausted for a long time – I am talking months and years on end – you “feel” what I am saying.

You have been asking yourself “What the h**** has happened to me?,” “Who is this woman using my body?”

You used to be cheerful and funny, daring and adventurous, creative and productive, ambitious and motivated, caring and expansive, relaxed and easy going.

Now you are serious and restrained. You’d rather stay home than try out that new place that just opened. You still have your pencils and colors but they are tucked on a shelf somewhere (for when you’ll have time again). You plan and choose your activities based on how much energy you’ll need to spend not based on the amount of fun they will provide. You are short-tempered and impatient. You curse at slow traffic and the old ladies in their cars.

Slowly but surely you have started to dissolve and transform into another you. And of course not the best you – the least fun, the least creative, the least enthusiastic. The least you.

You are now a sand dune. No matter how high it is, if the wind is constant and lasts long enough, the dune will shrink until all that is left from the mountain that stood there before is a little mound of sand.

That’s the real cost of exhaustion… Eventually all that is left of you – not the person you used to be but the one you still are inside, is a majestic mountain looking like a mound of sand… All on account of not sleeping enough, not taking breaks, not investing time in activities that help you refuel your energy and motivation.

Once you realize that, taking care of yourself doesn’t seem like such a waste of time anymore, does it?

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September 2013 Issue