If you sleep less, you eat more. You remember less. You get sick more often. You look bad. And poor sleep also leads to high blood pressure, missed workouts, irritability, poor decision making, and greatly impaired well-being.

These statistics, compiled by Online Psychology Degree, are startling:

1 in 3 smartphone owners would rather give up sex than their phones.

95% of people said that they regularly: browse the web, text or watch TV before trying to sleep.

90% of 18-29 year olds say they sleep with their phone in or right next to bed.

1 in 4 people don’t silence their cell phones before bed.

1 in 10 say they are awakened at least a few times a week by phone calls, texts or emails.

1 in 2 say if they wake in the night for no reason, they’ll check their phone right away.

In a study of people who use gadgets before bedtime:

63% of participants said that their sleep needs were not met during the week.
This is because a two-hour exposure to light from electronic displays suppressed melatonin by about 22% (melatonin is the chemical in your body that promotes sleep).
Regular late-night computer use isn’t just associated with sleep disorders but also with stress and depressing symptoms.

Sleep deprivation takes a toll:

1 in 5 car accidents are a result of drowsy driving.

3 in 10 workers will fall asleep at their desks this month.

Sleeping an average of less than 6 hours per night raises lifetime heart attack risk by 50%.

Prioritize eight hours of high-quality sleep ahead of all else. You will be more likely to have a good workout, get more done at your job, and treat your loved ones better when you put sleep first. Remember, every extra hour of sleep is a positive investment. It is not an expense.

Previous research has shown us that the lunar cycle does not contribute to erratic human behavior, including transforming people into wolves, or causing inexplicable chest pains. But that doesn’t mean the moon has no effect at all.

As part of a routine study, scientists analyzed aspects of test participants’ sleep patterns – time it took to fall asleep, length of full night’s sleep, etc. Five years later they decided to revisit the data and analyze it in a new context: the lunar cycle.

The findings were surprising. During the full moon, test subjects took 5 minutes longer to fall asleep, slept for 20 minutes less per night and suffered a 30% decrease in deep sleep.

Carl Sandburg said:

The moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to.

Perhaps he meant insomniacs.

It has become increasingly rare to find oneself in silence. Even when we are alone or in the country, phones beep, televisions blare, and iPods beckon. Wherever we go, a constant drone surrounds us. Noise is pervasive and has become the soundtrack of our lives, so much so that it is not unusual for patients to tell me that silence scares them.

Research shows that constant noise is what we should be worried about. As a recent report highlights, in addition to hearing loss, sleep, cardiovascular function, anxiety, and even a patient’s ability to heal in a hospital after surgery are all affected by noise:

In our 24/7 society, noise is pervasive and the availability of quiet places is decreasing.  We need to better understand how this constant exposure to noise is impacting our overall health. From ear buds blasting music during subway commutes to the constant drone of traffic heard by those who live or work near congested highways to the beeping of monitors that makes up the soundtrack heard by hospital patients and staff, what we hear all day impacts many parts of our bodies.

A quiet environment allows for internal quiet and is a space for reflection. Seek out silent sacred spaces like galleries or museums. Consider “running naked” and by that I mean technologically naked, without your phone, music or any gadgets. Or go for a swim to hear the sweet sound of solitude:

As the world, with its escalating rings and pings, gets ever more hysterical, suspending yourself in water becomes ever more appealing.

As Michael Phelps points out, a pool can be the ultimate “safe haven.”  It’s hot outside. Dive in for some peace and quiet.

French philosopher Blaise Pascal said:

All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit in a quiet room alone.

How hard is it to sit alone in an empty room with absolutely nothing to do for 15 minutes? No distractions. No cellphone. No magazines. No window to gaze out of. It couldn’t be that hard, right?

According to the results of a recent study, participants found being alone with their thoughts surprisingly challenging. In fact, some found it so difficult that they resorted to giving themselves electric shocks to interrupt the boredom. Before the alone time began, the researchers administered a brief electric shock to demonstrate what it would feel like. Most participants described it as unpleasant. Some even said that they would pay money not to be shocked again.

That changed once the experiment was underway. In the 15 minutes of solitude, 67% of the men and 25% of the women zapped themselves. Even the researchers were shocked by the shocks. “I’m still just puzzled by that,” commented one.

It is tempting to blame the overuse of devices to provide non-stop entertainment and distraction. Interestingly, however, difficulty being alone was unrelated to age or use of technology. A grandmother was as miserable as a college freshman when forced to entertain herself.

Perhaps the best explanation for this “shocking” behavior is the “scanner hypothesis” which posits that mammals have evolved to monitor their environment for change and to scan for danger and opportunities. As the lead researcher describes:

It would be a little odd to see a chimpanzee posed like Rodin’s thinker for extended periods of time.

In other words, there may be an evolutionary explanation for being hyper-vigilant and feeling restless when left alone with one’s thoughts. Forcing oneself to focus internally may feel uncomfortable and unnatural.

That said, there is also an advantage to being alone with one’s thoughts. In fact, studies show that solitude is crucial for the development of the self. As highlighted in a study entitled, Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone, solitude is associated with freedom, creativity, intimacy, and spirituality.

Spending time alone means growing spiritually, discovering your identity without outside distractions, having the freedom to do what you want without needing to cater to other people’s wants and thriving creatively.

Meditation and other relaxation techniques are useful ways to make downtime more tolerable and also productive. By gaining control over our thoughts, the little annoyances like traffic jams and waiting rooms become less stressful and the big questions become less daunting.

Why is it that so many of the people who have provided us with technology are also the ones wisest about limiting its use? Many top Silicon Valley executives choose to send their children to decidedly low-tech schools that emphasize play-based learning and hands-on experiences. Instead of using iPads to teach fractions, they chop up food.

In a wonderful TED talk by the travel writer Pico Iver on the “Art of Stillness,” he describes how Kevin Kelly, the founder of Wired magazine, observes an Internet Sabbath every week. By going offline, Kelly, like many other tech gurus, gathers the strength and perspective he needs for his online life.

There is value in sitting still and contrary to what many believe, it can actually enhance productivity. The benefits of pressing pause were recently documented in a Harvard Business School study, Learning by Thinking: How Reflection Improve Performance. Quoting John Dewey, the authors conclude:

We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience.

Google takes employee down time very seriously. They have a scientific approach to creativity, productivity, happiness, and yes, free time. In addition to providing playful spaces, yoga, organic meals and free dry-cleaning, Google allows employees to use 20 percent of their time to pursue their own interests.

Google is also studying how employees balance work demands with their personal lives. According to their data, only 31 percent are successful at drawing a line between work stress and their private lives. They call them “Segmentors.” Segmentors don’t fret at night about work. They sleep like babies. In comparison, the majority of employees—the “Integators”—have trouble delineating where work ends. For Integrators, work looms and email beckons all evening long.

Google has a plan to help Integrators become better Segmentors. They recognize that simply wishing to be a better Segmentor isn’t enough so they are taking action to facilitate downtime for employees:

We hope that Google can design environments that make it easier for employees to disconnect. Our Dublin office, for example, ran a program called “Dublin Goes Dark” which asked people to drop off their devices at the front desk before going home for the night. Googlers reported blissful, stressless evenings. Similarly, nudging Segmentors to ignore off-hour emails and use all their vacation days might improve well-being over time.

It’s a win-win. By disconnecting, they enhance their ability to connect. As Google knows all too well and Iver reminds us:

In an age of acceleration, nothing can be more exhilarating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing is so luxurious as paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is so urgent as sitting still.

When was the last time something took your breath away? I polled a few friends to explore this question and got a range of responses: gazing at the night sky, attending the Broadway show Hamilton, witnessing a baby’s first steps, being caught in a thunder storm, visiting the Grand Canyon, listening to Ave Maria, watching the Williams sisters hug after Venus defeated Serena at the US Open and beholding the beauty of the Tribute in Light, the twin beams that invoke the Twin Towers. Of note, not one person said they experienced awe reading email.

The sensation of awe is universal but hard to describe—“jaw-dropping,” “goose bump giving,” and “spine tingling” are often used to capture that sense of wonder that awe inspires. Indeed, the experience of awe occurs in the body as much as it does in the mind.

Psychologists are beginning to explore the benefits of awe and how these experiences are life-enhancing.

Studies show that awe makes people feel:

1. Less rushed for time.

2. More ethical when making decisions.

3. More patient.

4. Less materialistic.

5. More willing to volunteer to help others.

6. More generous.

In the words of one researcher:

Shifting your focus toward something vast is bound to put your problems in perspective and open you to the greater world.

Of course, in order to experience awe one must be open to it. As life speeds by it is easy to miss those jaw-dropping moments. A sunset won’t take your breath away if you are staring at your iPhone.

So look up once in a while – there’s a chance you’ll find yourself in awe.

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

–Albert Einstein