We have long heard the positive benefits of getting more rest, yet many of us still get much less than we need. Trying to capitalize on this “reality”, Sealy Posturepedic, the well known mattress company, has a new print and media campaign urging you to “Get a Better 6.” Watch The Better 6 TV spots.

The idea behind the campaign is that if you can only get 6 hours of sleep a night, you should get the most restful sleep possible, presumably on one of their new mattresses. While I can’t fault them for marketing to people who have given up hope, their ads are akin to saying, “since I can’t give up fast food, I’ll try to eat at the healthiest fast food restaurant.” While that is better than the alternative, it detracts from the actual solution to the problem, eating healthy food (or getting sufficient rest).

You may wonder why I’d cover getting enough sleep on a personal finance blog. First of all, I often cover advertisements that are deceptive, or as in this case, misguided. Second, the amount that you sleep has an enormous effect on your career, family life, and propensity for success. Lastly, managing your time to reach a desired goal takes many of the same skills as managing your money.

If you want to rest more, the solution is not to go buy a new (presumably expensive) mattress. You need to make sleep a priority. Too often we treat time like we treat our money: we spend as much as we can, and then make due with what’s left over. If you only sleep with the hours left over, or save with the money left over, neither situation will be ideal. If you really want more rest, you need to plan it in and make it a priority. Our bedtime is usually flexible, whereas when we rise is not. So if you really want more rest, you’ll need to set a bedtime accordingly. It may seem strange to have a bedtime as an adult, but if rest is really that important, a bedtime can help you to achieve your goal. Any tasks not completed by a certain time will have to wait until after your priority towards sleep is satisfied.

Paying yourself first, in sleep or in savings, has far reaching rewards. Instead of trying to make the best of a bad situation, make changes to improve your situation altogether. You’ll probably find that by eliminating waste you can make the time for the things that are important to you, and getting sufficient sleep should be near the top of that list. You may think that you can never make enough time to get 8 or 9 hours of sleep, but giving up will never allow you to see just how possible it is. For those resigned to “sleep when they’re dead”, getting only 6 hours a night (even “a better 6″) will probably give you that opportunity sooner than you’d like.