With the seemingly endless todo lists most of us have, getting enough sleep can end up being pushed all the way to the bottom. Whilst staying up late and working provides a bit more time, it's rarely worth it in the long run. The potential risks of reduced sleep are numerous, including:

• Impaired judgement.
• Increased weight gain.
• Higher risk of depression.
• Worse skin.
• Decrease in memory capability.
• Reduced cognitive processes. 
• Increase risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and more.
• Reduced sex drive.

As should be clear from the above list, staying up late simply isn't worth it in terms of long term health, both physically and mentally. In fact, a Whitehall II study found that decreasing hours slept per night from seven to five (or less) almost doubled the overall risk of death. 

Of course, we all need different amounts of sleep, and are more productive at different times of the day. For example, I tend to go to bed early and wake up early, as I am more productive before work than after. My partner sleeps longer, so goes to bed at the same time and wakes up later. Finding the optimal amount required is easy, just spend a week or two going to bed early, and seeing when your body wakes you up in the morning. This will let you discover how long your body actually wants to sleep for, and the results may be surprising!

I personally found the affect of increased sleep on my mental state to be the most startling. My happiness improved, as did my productivity and motivation. The cause behind this is not waking up to a loud, abrasive alarm, and instead waking up when my body was ready. Whilst it's easy to claim to be too busy to live without an alarm, the increased motivation and work capability will more than make up for any lost time.

Happy sleeping!

We all make mistakes. Unfortunately most of us don't have infallible willpower, so we occasionally slip on our diet or exercise goals. Whilst these mistakes aren't the end of the world, avoiding their impact is still an achievable goal.

One of the most destructive mindsets is the idea of a "cheat day", a day where your usual positive lifestyle improvements can be ignored. These days consist of pizza, alcohol, sitting around all day, and generally ignoring any diet or exercise commitments. The dangerous part of these days is the "I've already had 3 slices of pizza, 1 more won't make any difference" mentality.

That 4th slice is just as unhealthy as the 1st slice on a normal day! It's important to keep this in mind, so that mistakes can be treated more as "cheat incidents" instead of developing into "cheat days".

For example, today I had a small packet of sweets. This then snowballed into thinking I should have pizza for dinner, maybe some ice cream, etc. Realising that this was the cheat day mindset in full effect let me get rid of these urges, and continue with my planned healthy meal.

Good luck sticking to your plans!

The ability to make small talk is an essential one for modern life, and can help improve your life in many ways. In addition talking with others often improves general happiness, as well as reducing loneliness.

At work, being able to have conversations with any colleague you happen to get stuck in the kitchen / lift with can drastically improve your career. Being friendly with any superiors will also ensure they feel more positively towards you, a factor which will be impossible to ignore the next time a promotion opens up. Additionally, having friends / acquaintances all around the workplace helps maintain workplace happiness for both you and your colleagues. 

Making friends with those in nearby shops is also a good way to build up future opportunities the next time you're job hunting. For example, chatting a little bit to the corner shop owner every day or two ensures that if you ever need a job and there's an opening you're likely to get it. Not to mention the ability to be just short of purchasing something, and having the shopkeeper let you pay them back the next time you're in. 

These mini conversations will drastically improve general communication skills, and also provide a constant fodder of small talk material. Any of us who have been in an awkward silence know the advantage of always having something to talk about! Whether it's some sporting event, the latest episode of a TV program, or the weather, being able to talk about these at length with an almost total stranger is without doubt a vital skill.

Finally, being nice to others isn't entirely a selfish activity. Having all of these acquaintances, or even friends, ensures that if you ever need a favour you'll probably be able to find someone happy to help! For example, next time you need help moving house the moving van companies won't be getting your business.