This is part 2 of a three part series on staying healthy. The second topic is sleep. Lack of sleep can negative impact your mental and physical wellbeing. This seems to be occurring to young and old in our society. It has become second nature to utilize outside stimulants to replace the energy provided by sleep. Often coffee and various other, legal or non-legal, stimulants are used to reduce the hours needed for sleep.
Are you feeling sleepy? The answer is “Yes” for most people. The loss of productivity to businesses is $63 billion per year. The cost to the individual can be even more significant. With sleep deprivation comes more stress. When stress is increased, memory and cognitive impairment can occur. This may also increase the chance of physical injury. Adequate sleep increases not only productivity, but positive work attitudes and decreases absenteeism. Innovative companies such as Zappos, Google, and HubSpot have created “nap rooms” for the staff to catch a short nap.
Why is sleep so important? Our brain produces toxic proteins during the day. These toxics stay in our system until they are removed by sleep. The amount of sleep required for most individuals is seven to nine hours per night. Today less than 50% of people get seven hours of sleep. This lack of sleep speeds up the aging process due to increasing the production of cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Other physical ailments can occur. These include obesity, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and heart attack.
Napping can become the second best solution to sleep deprivation. A NASA study indicated that a 26 minute nap increased alertness by 54% and increased productivity by 34%. Focus and motivation are also increased. Physical health is improved in order to avoid diabetes, stroke and heart disease, which can lead to heart attacks. A 2008 study indicated that naps are more powerful that caffeine.
It is important to utilize the body’s natural circadian rhythm that slows between 1 and 3 PM. It is important to limit any nap to a minimum of 20 minutes to a maximum of 30 minutes. Twenty minutes allows the body to refocus and increase productivity. Any time beyond thirty minutes and the body thinks it is going into a sleep mode.
Eight ways to maximize your sleeping experience:
- Stop using coffee or other stimulants by lunch time. Allow your body to cleanse itself of artificial stimulants by the time you go to bed.
- Decide on the amount of sleep that your body needs and make a schedule. The same schedule should apply to the week and the weekend. Don’t use any day to make up for the lack of sleep on a previous day.
- Try to stop working several hours before bedtime.
- Avoid sleeping pills or other sleeping aids.
- Relax or mediate prior bedtime.
- Read a book or magazine. No electronic versions.
- Shut off all electronics one hour prior bedtime. No TV, tablets, or cell phones.
- If possible, take a nap in the early afternoon, as discussed above, to maintain your maximum functioning levels.
To assist with further research in the topic of sleep, the following is offered as possible resources:
Sleep Deprivation Is Killing You and Your Career – http://www.inc.com/travis-bradberry/sleep-deprivation-is-killing-you-and-your-career.html
Add Sleep To Your Development Plan – http://www.clomedia.com/articles/print/6117-add-sleep-to-your-development-plan
