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" Recently, I spent a year test-driving the simplest and most effective ways to be happier. If I finally took the time to do the things I&amp;#039;d always promised myself to do someday \u2014 to clean my closets, to read more, to stop yelling at my daughters in the morning \u2014 would I actually become happier? Yes. I learned that I really could make myself happier, with a series of small, easy steps. One of the first resolutions I made was to get more sleep. I knew that the more energy I had, the easier it would be to do the things that made me happy \u2014 and one of the most crucial factors influencing my energy was sleep. Just the other night, in fact, my husband and I went to sleep at 9:30 P.M. This seemed preposterously early, but we were both very tired. I woke up the next morning before the alarm rang, feeling unusually cheerful and energetic.  Sleep feels good, so why is it so hard to turn off the light? It&amp;#039;s because those last hours of the day are precious. TV addicts squeeze in one more show. Workaholics finish just a few more e-mails. Parents relish the peace and quiet after the kids are finally tucked into bed. Readers \u2014 and this is my temptation \u2014 want to finish just one more chapter. I&amp;#039;m happier, though, when I get enough sleep.  One study showed that an insufficient night&amp;#039;s sleep was one of the top two reasons for being in a bad mood at work. (The other reason: tight work deadlines.) Another study suggested that getting one extra hour of sleep each night would do more for your daily happiness than getting a $60,000 raise.  But here&amp;#039;s another reason why I think sleep matters so much for happiness: Exhaustion makes the mornings tougher. And the morning is a challenging time for many people, including me. First, if I don&amp;#039;t get enough sleep, I try to stay in bed a little longer in the morning. If I get up at 6:45 A.M., we all have a calm, relaxed morning; if I get up at 6:55 A.M., we all have a frantic, chaotic morning. And a bad morning sets a course for a bad day.  Like a lot of people, I have to get my daughters off to school first thing in the morning. Every single morning tries my patience to the utmost. If my big one isn&amp;#039;t complaining, my little one is whining, or I&amp;#039;m yelling. Remembering to put everything in the backpacks, picking out clothes, finding the right mittens, leaving on time...it&amp;#039;s a struggle, every day. Feeling sleepy and slow means I have even less patience than usual. That&amp;#039;s unpleasant for everyone. Plus, I feel guilty for being snappish, which makes me all the more ill-tempered. So I behave even worse.  Another bad effect of being sleepy is that it makes me feel less like exercising. As studies have demonstrated over and over, exercise is extraordinarily important to happiness. So I don&amp;#039;t want to do anything that keeps me from going to the gym. And even though you&amp;#039;d think that sitting in front of a laptop typing isn&amp;#039;t a very strenuous way to spend your day, it takes a surprising amount of energy. When I don&amp;#039;t get enough sleep, I find myself putting my head down on my desk like a little kid in grade school.  It&amp;#039;s strange that turning off the light is so hard. You&amp;#039;d think What could take less effort than going to sleep? and yet I find it takes a lot of effort to put myself to bed. It&amp;#039;s just so much fun to stay up \u2014 I want to read, or call my sister in Los Angeles (the time difference makes it hard for us to talk during the day). But I know that turning off the light will really boost my happiness, so I call my sister on the weekends, and I find other times to read during my day. Sleep is just too important. I&amp;#039;ve also resolved to get up at 6:00 A.M., so I have an hour to get myself organized before the rest of my family wakes up. And what does this mean? It means I have to go to sleep earlier.  After I wake up following a good night&amp;#039;s sleep, I take steps to keep my morning heading in the right direction. A caffeine addict like me needs to get the coffee I need. I sing in the morning, because it&amp;#039;s hard to sing and stay grouchy. And sometimes I just jump up and down a few times. A few jumps make me feel silly and energetic \u2014 a great way to start the day.  How about you? Have you found that getting enough sleep has a big influence on your happiness and energy \u2014 or not? Have you found any good strategies to make sure that you get the sleep you need? E-mail me at gretchen@goodhousekeeping.com and share your ideas! I love to hear from readers. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/advice/a18465/happiness-project-sleep-well/>