It’s a known fact that getting a good night’s sleep will help you to feel less stressed. Exercise, prayer, and meditation are great ways to destress, too. But did you know that one of the most effective ways to destress is sleeping? Getting enough sleep can also make you more productive and get more stuff done.
We all get twenty-four hours in a day. But when our days are filled with too many things, we feel like we can’t get everything done that we need to do. We tend to cut back on sleep to make more time for work, which defeats the purpose. It’s hard to believe that sleeping can make you more productive and get more work done, but it’s true!
Living The Stressed Life
Think about how much harder your job is, and how awful you feel when you were up late with the kids. Or you were up until 2:00 a.m. working on a project and didn’t get enough sleep. You feel irritable, sluggish, and it’s hard to focus. Every little problem suddenly seems insurmountable and you feel like you can’t take it anymore. You feel more stressed throughout the day. And if you have a few days in a row with inadequate sleep, you may even feel as if you are losing your mind. So what can you do to stop the cycle of this stress-filled life?
The Sleep Factor
The average person doesn’t get the optimal amount of sleep at night. When we do get enough sleep, the quality of sleep isn’t always there. Too often our sleep is interrupted through the night, even if we don’t fully wake up. Most of us also have trouble falling asleep.
One of the most common causes of insomnia is stress. Concerns about work, school, finances, health issues, or family problems can keep your mind active at night. This makes it difficult to fall asleep. Stressful and traumatic events in life such as the death of a loved one, job loss, and divorce may lead to insomnia and even nightmares that impact the quality of sleep.
Thankfully, there are many things you can do to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep. Before you tell yourself that you can’t afford to sleep more, realize that not getting enough sleep will cause you to be less focused and productive. When you take the time to sleep, you will actually get more done.
Improve Your Sleep Routine
Picture yourself waking up after a good night’s sleep. You won’t feel as groggy and sluggish in the morning. You will move through your morning routine faster, not snap at your kids, and feel less hectic. If you commute to work, perhaps you will have less irritation at aggressive drivers and a more peaceful drive. Your workday may not always go smoothly, but your attitude and how you handle work issues will be much improved. You will feel more able to tackle the issues that come. You will be more focused and get more work done. When you finish your work for the day, you will have a better attitude and enjoy your family time more. You will feel more relaxed and not tense from running around with high-stress levels all day. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? You can achieve this! It really is possible.
If you want days and nights like this, you will need to develop a healthy sleep routine and make it a consistent habit. Think of your new healthy sleep habit like you would think about a healthy diet and exercise routine. Not only will you feel better, but sleep can do wonders for your physical health. Here are some tips for developing a healthy sleep habit:
- Start a bedtime routine. Just like when you were a child, it’s important to have a calming bedtime routine to relax your mind and body. Maybe have a cup of non-caffeinated herbal tea or a cup of warm milk. Take a warm shower or bubble bath. Do something to relax your mind, like reading (as long as it’s not a page-turner that keeps you awake all night!). Prayer and meditation before bedtime may help ease your concerns or worries that keep you awake at night. You could also try journaling to get those worries out of your mind and onto paper instead. Do a “brain dump” by writing down all of the things you want to remember the next day or anything that keeps you awake with worry.
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including the weekends. This may be a difficult habit to develop, especially for “night owls” or people who are not “morning people.” While it’s tempting to sleep in on weekends, this can mess with your body’s internal clock. A consistent bedtime and wake time will help you fall asleep better at night and wake up easier in the mornings.
- Remove distractions from your bedroom. Leave your cell phone in another room. You can use an alarm clock if needed. Or, at the very least, if you must have your phone in your room, turn off the alerts and notifications, so your sleep is not interrupted. Most cell phones have a “do not disturb” feature that will allow you to silence calls, texts, and notifications. You should also look around your room when it’s dark to ensure there are no bright or flashing lights that may keep you awake. Do you hear any beeping sounds from a nearby watch or electronic device? Silence it or remove it from your bedroom.
- Cut out your screen time before your bedtime. One of the worst habits most of us have developed is to look at our phones before falling asleep. It’s recommended you turn off all electronic devices at least thirty minutes before bedtime. Devices like cell phones, tablets, and readers emit blue light, which can slow the nighttime hormone melatonin, keeping us from falling asleep quickly. Some believe that this blue light can actually mimic the light of a sunrise, confusing your body into believing it’s morning and time to wake up. Instead, it can cause your body to release cortisol, the hormone that causes you to wake and be alert. If you really enjoy reading at night before bed that requires you to use one of these devices, you could invest in blue light filtered glasses. Another thing you can do is install an app that changes your display at night. Many tablets and e-readers have a feature in settings that allows you to turn the screen to “night mode.”
After establishing this bedtime routine and making quality sleep a healthy habit, you should notice how much better you feel and be more productive and alert during the day. Your stress levels will stay lower, and your energy and stamina higher. You can experience this by getting more sleep. What a great way to achieve these results!