Ever wonder the cost of a good night’s rest?

Let’s talk numbers..

• The first, $14 billion.

• The second, $18 billion.

The two add up to an annual average spending of $32 billion (yes, billion with a B), in America each year.

Next, let’s put $32 billion into our modern day perspective..

• If evenly distributed, that’s like handing out roughly $102 to each American or $4.60 to every single human being on earth today.

• 333,500 songs can fit on a terabyte if the average song is about 3 minutes and 30 seconds. If you were to buy $32 billion worth of music off iTunes, you would fill up just over of 95,952 terabytes full of strictly music. If you were to put those into a playlist and hit shuffle, you would not hear the same song for over 213,013 years.

• In the United States, bottled water costs range between $0.25 and $2 per bottle. We could fully supply 3rd world countries with between 16 and 128 billion bottles of water, each year.

I could elaborate on the severity of the wasted $32 billion for days. But, you probably want to know where I got such an outrageous number from in the first place.

What if I told you that this $32 billion was spent on two things that are each smaller than your thumbnail in size.

Okay, enough already, huh? What is it?

If you swear that Ambien works like a dream or fall asleep on the wings of Lunesta, then you’re one of the millions of Americans popping sleeping pills to have a good nights rest. Yes, the first number of $14 billion is the annual spending of Americans each year on sleeping pills alone.

Of course, we cannot forget that after you’re knocked out into dreamland you need something to yank you back to reality, right? (Drumroll please). The second number of $18 billion spent is none-other than on the famous coffee bean.

Now, I’m not saying these things are bad; they obviously serve their purpose. What I am worried about though is our nations vast dependency on an outside source, to help us fulfill something as simple as a good nights rest. This new age Hypochondriac society throws around the term ‘Insomnia’ like it’s the new A.D.D. epidemic. Why can’t we fix the underlying problem instead of just masking it with a pill? Maybe those ‘sick’ kids just needed to go outside and play, you know, like kids should. Could it be the malnutrition induced by a sugar laden breakfast, school pizza for lunch, and a protein lacking dinner. Or maybe, (dare I say it) get a spanking from a parent. Nope, must be the lack of drugs in their system that caused them to act up.

Makes sense.

You can probably see where I’m going with this. Our ancestors didn’t need sleeping pills to pass out. They worked hard and long hours while the sun was up, then they shut down as the sun set. That’s how our bodies are designed to work. Up with the sun, down with the sun or, our Circadian Rhythm.

The underlying problem isn’t during the day, or even while we are at work. It’s right about the time you get home. You artificially provoke your body to go into overdrive as you walk through your house, flicking on lights, surfing the web, watching your favorite late night shows, etc.

While technology has many worthwhile purposes, it demands a high price from us. Studies have shown that our increasing media dependency is crippling our attention spans, wounding our ability to create meaningful relationships, and generating a false expectation that we should be able to be contacted at every hour of the day.

If you didn’t know, melatonin is your primary sleep hormone (induced by darkness). Cortisol is your primary wake up hormone (induced by light). Think ‘fight or flight.’

The red line represents cortisol or stress hormone release. The blue line represents melatonin and growth and repair hormones.

As you sit in your bedroom with your ceiling fan light full on, T.V. flashing, iPod music playing, and typing away a new Facebook status at 3:30AM of ‘Curse you again, Insomnia!!!!!’ You are a self sabotaging time bomb set on a course for Adrenal Fatigue, especially if you depend on coffee every single morning like it’s food. (Getting off track. I’ll discuss more on this in a later blog.)

But, again we’ll blame it on our horrible hormonal imbalances passed down by some great aunt who once also couldn’t sleep right. Just like we blame our big fat stomachs on our poor metabolism passed down from our fat parents. Maybe, it’s the poor habits passed down, not hormones. Could it be that maybe WE are the root causes?

Nah. We’re never to blame.

If I were to face-palm myself based off the strength of outright stupidity people have, I would be in a coma.

Yet, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know. Heck, I’m guilty of it!

All I ask is that you learn to become unplugged.

But getting away from technology is easier said than done. Many of us couldn’t do our jobs if it weren’t for computers, cell phones, and PDAs. But here’s the problem—when we leave work, technology is following close behind us in a constant stream of text messages, Facebook posts, and emails. We’ve become addicts.

When the whole world is within easy reach, you can do your best to ignore it, but it won’t go away. It comes down to this: We’re all busier. Much, much busier. It’s a lot of work managing all this connectedness. The e-mails, texts, and voicemails; the pokes, prods, and tweets; the alerts and comments; the links, tags, and posts; the photos and videos; the blogs and vlogs; the searches, downloads, uploads, files, and folders; feeds and filters; walls and widgets; tags and clouds; the usernames and passcodes; pop-ups and banners; ringtones and vibrations. That’s just a small sample of what you can navigate through each night, as you curse that darn Insomnia again. And that’s just on your computer..

Try this experiment:

• Dim the lights gradually starting a couple of hours before bedtime.

• Put away laptops, iPads, cell phones and turn off the TV at least an hour before you go to sleep.

• Don’t have a TV in your bedroom, and banish laptops from bed.

• Read in bed, instead. Books are great, of course, but if you prefer tech, choose a basic Kindle, which doesn’t have a backlit screen.

• Use the smallest clip-on reading light you can get away with and direct the light onto the pages — or the device — and away from your eyes.

• Are there streetlights outside your windows? Use blackout curtains or shades and make sure they fit the windows tightly so no light seeps in around the edge.

• Charge laptops, phones, cameras, and other devices in another room.

• Banish night lights, even from the bathroom.

• Use an alarm clock without a lighted dial, or turn it to face the wall.

• Need to get up during the night? Keep a flashlight next to your bed and use it to go to the bathroom or let the dog out. (Point it away from yourself so you don’t look into the beam.)

I know these seem crazy, but you cannot argue with the body and what it wants. It is, what it is.

Basically, for that last hour before bed, pretend you’re camping.

Remember how well you slept last time you were off the grid?

It won’t happen easily. Trust me, your addicted. But like anything worthwhile, taking a break from technology takes practice and patience.

Unplug, please.

Remember, Insomnia is a symptom. Your sleep environment and health habits are the main root cause. Is it really worth $32 billion just to bypass something as simple as unplugging yourself for 1/4 of the day?

Ah, the value of disconnection..

Suggested Reading Material:

1. Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome.
2. Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival.