We spend an average of 25 years of our lives sleeping. While there is still debate about how much sleep you need daily, how much sleep affects your ability to remain productive and at your best is still under investigation.
That being said, we do have some answers! Answers to common sleep-related questions such as how much sleep do we need daily? How does insomnia affect us? How many hours of sleep should we get on average per day? How about quality sleep? The short answer is that all have a role to play in sleep hygiene, read on to find out how and why.
A common view is that a person should sleep at least 8 hours. But there is no absolute validity to this. Daniel Kripke, one of the best-known experts on sleep, says that people who sleep 7-8 hours a night live a healthier, happier, and more productive life.
However, at the same time, he explains that too much sleep can cause physical and mental fatigue. According to some, the need for sleep may vary from person to person. For example, a person working in a physically strenuous job may need more rest, while a person with a quieter work-life may be able to work with less sleep.
What Happens If You Don’t Have Enough Sleep?
You may have seen some of these people around you, those who usually sleep 4-5 hours on average and go to work every day and work energetically.
4-5 hours of sleep can give enough energy to meet your needs, but you may not be working at your best.
This is because while you sleep, your cells are renewing themsleves and need to be given enough time to complete this task before you wake up. If you do not sleep enough, the cell renewal cycle is not complete, leaving you with low energy, loss of focus and difficulty keeping momentum.
For example, even if a person has a good night's sleep suddenly loses focus while working on a project, thier brain can return return to the present and resume focus much easier than a tired and restless brain can.
Sleeping Your Way to Success
Not meeting your daily need for adequate sleep can turn your life into chaos. Good sleep is one of the most important factors when travelling the road to success.
Some sleep techniques have been developed for better and quality sleep and provide additional health benefits for people to wish to be successful both in their social and business lives. Here are some of the most popular sleep techniques:
Start Napping Every Day – Here is Why and How
You may have heard that most successful people in business take short naps during the day. Michael Hyatt, one of the New York Times bestselling authors, focused on this subject throughout his working life.
According to his research, taking a short nap when productivity declines is the best way to increase productivity 100/100. Michael also states that naps during the day increase serotonin and dopamine.
If you are worried about napping int he office, you can explain to your boss and colleagues about how it canl improve your performance and productivity. It is recommended to napfor no longer than 30 minutes, as driving off into deep REM sleep my make you sluggish upon waking.
30 minutes is long enough to relax your brain and callm any nerves. If you make a habit of taking naps on a daily basis, your daily performance and efficiency will increase and you will be more productive for both yourself and the company.
Make sure to take the nap at the same time every day. Thus, your biological clock will adjust itself accordingly.
Tire Yourself Out
In order to have quality sleep, you must be physically and mentally tired. If both of these conditions are not present, you may not be able to sleep soundly.
In addition, sleep disorders, bad sleep habits and a lack of routine can also contribute to poor sleep.
People who engage in physically and mentally demanding work often sleep deeper when they go to bed because they are tired.
In such situations, instead of fighting the thoughts and tossing and turning throughout the night, pick a time throughout the day to do something active or that requires intense focus, for one hour.
An untired mind will do its best to stay awake, no matter how much you want to sleep. Therefore, reading before you go to bed, doing a word puzzle or other kind of brain teaser will help you to refocus and tire your mind for rest.
You may also need to increase your daily physical activities. Apart from that,you may also try going to sleep at the same time every night, your body will get used to it biologically and you will have a better quality of sleep as your brain gets used to ‘shutting down’ at the same time very day.
This is especially common for people to have trouble sleeping, or suffer with insomnia. Poor performance is on the horizon for the sleepless, and an overall dip in life satisfaction can be another side effect of a sleep deprived brain. With a little change in routine and keeping moving throughou the day, you can not only improve your sleep but your job performance aswell!
