During my first semester in college I met a fine-arts major named Beth who believed sleep was a waste of time. She slept in 20 minute chunks diligently working on art projects in between several naps a day. She was perpetually fatigued, lethargic and lived in a dream-like fog that many of her friends took for being “cool.”
Beth was an extreme case but her story typifies a common American mistake: When it comes to sleep, we have better things to do. Consequently, many of us are sleep deprived and sleep disorders are increasingly common.
Advertising media bombard us with commercials for both prescription and over the counter sleep aids. We see as many commercials and advertisements for mattresses promising better rest. How many of us haven’t walked into a store at the mall to find out what our sleep number is and who can resist finding out what the Tempur-Pedic mattress feels like?
Convenience store shelves are stocked with vitamin packs and energy drinks. Coffee is now an American obsession, commonly consumed even among teenagers. ($18 Billion worth of coffee a year is consumed in the US.)
Just twenty years ago, it would have been difficult to find someone who had undergone a sleep test. Back then, anyone who had undergone a sleep test probably had to travel quite a distance, perhaps even by air, to be tested at a sleep center. Now, a simple count of the directory on sleepcenters.org reveals that there are at least 945 sleep test centers across the country. According to Sleep Centers of America, more than 70 million Americans have a sleep disorder and more than 10 million people a year consult their physicians regarding sleep-related issues.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving in America kills more than 1,500 people a year and causes 71,000 injuries in an estimated 100,000 sleep-related crashes a year.
If you ask me, America could use a nap.
Winston Churchill put it eloquently when he wrote, “Nature had not intended mankind to work from 8 in the morning until midnight without the refreshment of blessed oblivion which, even if it lasts only 20 minutes, is sufficient to renew all vital forces.”
Research has validated his observation demonstrating that even a brief nap of between 20 to 45 minutes, will rejuvenate you, and increase your ability to concentrate making you more productive.
Until a few years ago, I pushed myself as hard as any other baby-boomer in the work force. I got up early, went into the office, worked late, came home and had trouble sleeping because I was so wound up. One day, I arrived an hour early for a meeting and I waited in my car.
The next time I glanced at the clock, it was 20 minutes later, a snore and awakened me. Apart from the slight, self-conscious embarrassment of the snore, I felt terrific and my meeting went really well. I had recently scoffed at an article on power naps and companies putting power-nap facilities in their offices. Who in their right mind was going to pay someone to take a nap?
I was so impressed with by my own experience; I tried it again on purpose. The difference in my day was amazing. I began planning my appointments so that I could find just half an hour a day for a nap. I purchased a sleep mask and a small travel pillow and kept them in the car. Since then, napping has become part of my regular routine. While others are socializing in the lunchroom, you can find me reclined in my car taking the 20 minute nap Winston Churchill recommended.
There are lots of people who do this. They do not talk about it. It is a secret. On some level, I think it embarrasses them. After all, napping is for kids, isn’t it? I admit, I nap in my car because I doubt I could stand the ribbing I would get if someone were to hear snoring behind my office door. I’ve met quite a number of people who say that they could never nap for just twenty minutes because they would be out for hours. Well, that just makes a stronger argument for the fact they, like many of us, are probably sleep deprived.
Sleep researchers have discovered that sleep deprivation makes it difficult for us to learn and concentrate. Sleep deprived people are less productive, more forgetful and more prone to both error and accidents. It also causes weight gain, impairs our immune system, reduces our ability to handle stress and can make us cranky.
Any one of these side-effects can set our work-life balance off kilter. By not getting enough sleep; we increase our exposure to all of them. Getting enough sleep is one of the most effective steps we can take to improving the quality of our lives. Here are ten simple things you can do to improve your sleep:
1.Save time to unwind. Give yourself more than an hour of mindless activity at the end of the day so that you do not spend half the night reliving the events of the day or rehearsing what might happen the next day. Read something frivolous. Watch TV, pray or meditate.
2.Avoid eating late. In sleep, you body wants to heal and rejuvenate. If it is spending half the night digesting food, you are not reaping the full benefit of your sleep. Don’t eat less than two or three hours before going to sleep.
3.Avoid drinking a lot of fluids right before bedtime. If night visits to the restroom are a frequent problem, consult a physician.
4.Avoid caffeine after 2 pm. I know this may go against everything you hold dear and Starbucks stockholders may scoff, but the effects of caffeine can last a long time. If you need a picker-upper in the afternoon, rather than reaching for a cup of coffee or an energy drink, consider the humble nap or some physical exercise to get your energy flowing.
5.Consider non-chemical sleep aids. Buy a sleep mask and/or ear-plugs if you are a light sleeper. Pull the drapes closed. Cover LED lights. And if you live on a busy street or in a noisy building, white background noise may help--a recording of waves or rain or even the hum of a fan. (My dishwasher, which I can hear from my bedroom, puts me right under.)
6.Invest in a good mattress. You spend a third of your life in bed, you should have a high-quality mattress that meets your needs.
7.Regulate your internal clock. Try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day whether you are working or not. You will know you are successful when you wake up right before your alarm feeling refreshed and ready for the day.
8.Limit your alcohol consumption. While alcohol can relax you, it also has a dehydrating effect and reduces the quality of your sleep.
9.Consider power napping in the middle of the day but more than 8 hours before you go to bed. Napping later may make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.
10.Get more physical exercise during the day. If our work is not physically taxing, chances are, we aren’t working our bodies as hard as we work our minds. A little exercise can set things right.
Joseph Onesta is a speaker, trainer and consultant at Integrity HPI—Human Performance Improvement. He works with companies bridging the gap between the vision of top management and the rank and file work experience developing an “employer of choice” work environment. To learn more about Joseph Onesta and his work at Integrity HPI, please visit their website at: http:www.integrityhpi.com.
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