Recently, we came across an Irish Proverb that stated, “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.”

We like this.

First, sleep is underrated as our first tool. It helps fight disease, improve our mental health, gain more energy, pack on more muscle, control our stress, and generally improve our health. So much good happens in the body while we are asleep, especially quality sleep. We take sleep for granted, often pushing it only after we’re done with our to-do list.

It should be the to-do list.

Instead, we let everything from the food we eat to the alcohol we drink to the busyness we take on steal from our zzz’s. If you’re feeling burnt out, fatigued in the middle of the day, not losing the weight you want, not recovering from illness or injury as fast as you’d expected…focus on sleep. It is truly your first line of recovery and immune defense.

Second, laughter seems like something more difficult to fabricate. However, in this context, we’d urge you to think about finding “joy” in place of laughter. Let laughter follow as a consequence. Surround yourself with funny and joyful people, watch your favorite movie, find a new comedian, go out into nature…simply find a way to smile.

It’s incredible how powerful a big, present laugh can feel in our body and brain. Our stresses are momentarily put on hold, allowing us to gain some momentum in our day.

Both of these are as much environmental as anything else; it’s about the setup, not necessarily the result. We want to give ourselves the best opportunity for sleep (get into bed on time, keep the temperature controlled, make the room dark, control your sleep sounds, have a PM routine) and we want to give ourselves the best opportunity for laughter (good people, good food, good vibe).

Unsurprisingly, these are two of our ingredients for the “best day ever.”

When in doubt, sleep (and laugh!) it off.