Sleep seems to slip by as a sort of luxury that ambitious people (for instance, trumpeters wanting to win a job) have to do without. And yet, study after study points to the importance of getting good sleep, so that you can perform BETTER. Athletes have been shown to perform 6%-9% better with one more hour of sleep than normal. Students perform better and doctors make better decisions with more sleep. Did you know that about 65% of Americans do not get the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep per day? Sleep–especially the REM cycle in the early hours of the morning–rejuvenates the body and mind.

What is the mind doing during sleep? It is encoding the experiences of your day, including your practice sessions, lessons, rehearsals and concerts, that you experienced during the day. Your mind on sleep is doing the big job of transferring these experiences into long-term memories. Do you want to memorize better? Get your sleep. Do you want to finger a tricky passage with more confidence? Get more sleep. Do you want to be a stronger trumpeter with more high notes? Get your sleep.

Do you want to be a happier trumpeter? Get your sleep!