There are many reasons why we have "meditation" in the number spot on our Eight Branches of Oriental Medicine. Here is an article from New Scientist that offer one reason of many to incorporate some meditation in our daily lives.
"Meditating does more than just feel good and calm you down, it makes you perform better – and alters the structure of your brain, researchers have found.
Follow this link to get the rest of the story: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8317
One of the best investments a person can make is to invest time in a good night's sleep. I can help you get better sleep through acupuncture, herbs, food recommendations, exercise etc. but only if you allot sufficient time at night to sleep.
Here is an abstract of a current article in the Harvard Business Review that provides a very practical rationale for investing time in sleep.
Sleep Deficit: The Performance Killer, A Conversation with Harvard Medical School Professor Charles A. Czeisler Charles A. Czeisler, Bronwyn Fryer
October 2006 Issue
Reprint # R0610B
Abstract:
Companies today glorify the executive who logs 100-hour workweeks, the road warrior who lives out of a suitcase in multiple time zones, and the negotiator who takes a red-eye to make an 8 a.m. meeting. But to Dr. Charles A. Czeisler, the Baldino Professor of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, this kind of corporate behavior is the antithesis of high performance. In fact, he says, it endangers employees and puts their companies at risk. In this interview, Czeisler describes four neurobiological functions that affect sleep duration and quality as well as individual performance. When these functions fall out of alignment because of sleep deprivation, people operate at a far lower level of performance than they would if they were well rested. Czeisler goes on to observe that corporations have all kinds of policies designed to protect employees--rules against smoking, sexual harassment, and so on--but they push people to the brink of self-destruction by expecting them to work too hard, too long, and with too little sleep. The negative effects on cognitive performance, Czeisler says, can be similar to those that occur after drinking too much alcohol: "We now know that 24 hours without sleep or a week of sleeping four or five hours a night induces an impairment equivalent to a blood alcohol level of .1%. We would never say, 'This person is a great worker! He's drunk all the time!' yet we continue to celebrate people who sacrifice sleep for work." Czeisler recommends that companies institute corporate sleep policies that discourage scheduled work beyond 16 consecutive hours as well as working or driving immediately after late-night or overnight flights. A sidebar to this article summarizes the latest developments in sleep research.
