SLEEP BETTER, WORK BETTER AND LIVE BETTER
More and more people around the world are experiencing some sort of sleep deprivation. Whereas it is due to work, the most common of all, newly parenthood or the endemic dependancy on entertainment that consumes most of people’s night hours with TV or Social Media. So bad has the situation grown that last year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US called the insufficient sleep problem a Public Health Epidemic.
The World Sleep Society has emphasised how important it is a healthy sleeping habit with various points that will make you take your sleep very seriously if you haven’t done so.
The Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine found that good sleeping reduces the risk of a long list of health problems—including obesity, hypertension, depression, and Alzheimer’s.
There are around 71,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths due to sleep-related accidents annually.
46% of individuals with frequent sleep disturbances miss work or events, or make errors at work, compared to a rate of 15% for healthy sleepers.
Having a good sleep is critical to a good performance and healthy life.
Naz Beheshti, a mindfulnes, wellness coach and Forbes magazine wellness writer has developed some key techniques to achieve a healthy sleeping habit and they consist on:
Setting a regular bedtime and rise time.
Avoid alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and spicy foods 4-6 hours before bedtime.
Include exercise in your daily routine, but not right before bedtime.
Refrain from using digital devices as you approach sleep.
Eliminate distractions, noise and excess light from your sleep area.
Do not use your bed as a work station; use it for sleep and sex only.
In many cases, those called workaholics are those suffering sleep deprivation and that is why they never have enough hours of the day to achieve work related goals. If you are one of them, by changing the way you sleep you will also change the way you work. As Tony Schwartz from Harvard Business Review says, it is not the total number of hours we log that counts, but the energy we bring and value we add to the hours we work. We are most effective when we alternate short bursts of intensive focus with periodic breaks.
A key factor to achieve better sleep should be to incorporate rest and renewal into your daily routine. Organise your days in a way that ensures the opportunity to focus on important tasks and also build frequent breaks to give our minds and bodies a chance to reset and focus.
Find those activities that allow you to renew and recharge your batteries. Some people choose Yoga, others meditation , reading a book or simply go for a walk. Add that ingredient into your day and make it a priority.
With these changes we can make sleep a priority and build healthy routines that feed our energy rather than depleting it. By doing this we create a sustainable way of productivity, and in doing so we exude success and wellness.