The Link Between Sleep and Productivity
Did you know there is a magic potion for promoting higher levels of productivity? The answer is restorative sleep. Seems too simple, but due to our work climate where many people are working from home and putting in longer hours, with fewer boundaries between home life and work, our sleep is suffering. Depriving ourselves of quality rest can leave us feeling fatigued and less creative, leading to lower accomplishments. How can we improve our sleep habits to be more productive during our working hours?
Prioritize Sleep Habits
Research reveals that a continuous span of extended-sleep allows our brain to experience the sleep cycles that it needs for quality, health-promoting rest. Going to bed late and short-changing the hours our body needs to recharge can lead to inflammation in our body, which can be the basis for chronic health issues. Setting a consistent bedtime and wake schedule will create an established routine to promote energy for a more productive day.
Can’t sleep if you go to bed early? Poor sleeping routines lead to higher stress levels, which impact our ability to go to sleep and often stay asleep at night. Turning off blue light technology that stimulates the brain, at least two hours before sleep, along with enjoying slower-paced activities before bed, has been proven to reduce stress and allow our body and brain to get into a relaxed frame of mind for bedtime. If you’re currently struggling with a poor sleep routine and desire to make a change, consider waking at the same time every day, even on weekends. Your body will eventually adjust to how much sleep it needs and you’ll begin to wake up fully rested and refreshed, ready to successfully use your recharged brain for creativity and goal accomplishments.
Set Yourself Up For Success
The National Sleep Foundation recommends a bedroom temperature of between 66 to 70 degrees F for comfortable, sound sleep. A bedroom that is too hot or too cold can affect the quality of sleep, so set your thermometer to automatically cool down at bedtime for optimum rest.
Morning sunlight on our skin can restore proper circadian rhythms, which positively impact your sleep-wake cycle. You can experience this by getting daily, morning sunlight exposure or by using red-light therapy, as an effective tool to increase the production of melatonin in the brain, which regulates circadian rhythms. Go here to learn more: https://thesleepdoctor.com/circadian-rhythm/.