If you feel like crap, take a good look at your sleep
Hopefully this is a good morning for you. When was the last time you had a good morning? If you can’t remember, it might be a good idea to take stock of how often you have good mornings. How do you typically feel when you wake up in the morning?
This week’s topic might sound so basic that you think to yourself: “Really, is this even worth talking about?” But, in our conversations with people we find that at least 8 out of 10 people tell us that they don’t sleep as well as they could, they don’t think they get enough sleep or wake up feeling tired in the mornings. Now that’s worth paying attention to in our book.
So ask yourself: “On a scale from 0 to 10, how good has your sleep been over the past month?” And then this follow up question: “On a scale from 0 to 10, how would I rate my sense of wellbeing over the past month?“
Chances are, your scores would be very similar. The obvious (or not so obvious) reason being that these two things are VERY closely related.
So what we’ll be talking about over the next couple of weeks is the basics of quality sleep and what we can do to get more of it. Let’s jump right in with a couple of foundational questions:
- How much sleep do I really need? Adults need between 7 and 9 hours each night. That includes you. You might have gotten by on less in the past, but the fact of the matter is less than 7 hours is not enough. If you sleep less than the minimum required amount you will not be as mentally and physically capable as you could be, period.
- Does it matter when I sleep? Yes. The amount of sleep you get before midnight plays a dramatic role in your ability to recover, replenish and restore your mental and physical capabilities each night. This is linked to your circadian rhythm which runs on a 24-hour cycle and is very much influenced by the rising and the setting of the sun. Getting to bed too late will have an impact on your wellbeing, even if you get up later in the morning (which is explained in the following point).
- Is sleep just sleep? No, we go through different phases of sleep during the night which all play very different roles in our mental and physical recovery. Check out this real-life example from a Garmin sleep-tracker that shows the different sleep phases we go through each night:
Deep sleep: That’s the dark blue block you see earlier in the evening. This is where we have the lowest level of brain activity and is associated with the renewal and repair of your body. Growth hormones are released, muscles are replenished and your immune system recovery takes place during this time. If you get sick often, it can be because you are not getting enough deep sleep, which happens earlier during your sleep cycle.
Light sleep: These are the repeated light blue blocks that happen throughout the night. During this phase metabolic waste is being flushed from your brain that needs to be cleaned as a result of mental activity that happens when you are awake. When we don’t sleep enough and this waste builds up, over time it is associated with a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s as we age.
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep: The purple blocks that also repeat throughout the night. During this phase our brains are almost as active as when we are awake. This is when we dream and when our brain is going through our experiences to store the useful things in long-term memory and throwing out all those things that are not useful. This is also when neural growth, new neural connections and learning takes place.
Just by taking a very quick glance at the things that happen when we sleep, it becomes apparent that we will be greatly sabotaging ourselves if we don’t commit to getting the required amount of sleep as nature intended. This is not something we can ignore, side-step or wish away if we are to live close to our potential. High quality sleep is the single biggest life hack there is.
So in the coming week, starting tonight, pay attention to how much sleep you are getting. Make it your aim to get as close to 8 hours as possible and see what you feel like in seven days time.
Next week we’ll share some practical tips on how you can enhance the quality of your sleep. So until we meet again:
Lekker slaap!
At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.
