A more serious part 2 of my sleep rant.
Consider, in October of 2012 Felix Baumgartner floated 24 miles up into the atmosphere. He proceeded to jump out of his space ship to get back to earth. His top speed reached Mach 1.25, he broke the sound barrier by just falling. Guinness World Records accepted Felix’s jump as a world record but they won’t recognize sleep deprivation because it is too dangerous.
Increasingly medical research shows correlations between prolonged sleep deprivation and deterioration in brain and heart health. Thousands of studies show decreased cognitive ability from a lack of sleep–something you probably don’t need a study to tell you.
Many of us have forgone sleep to finish a task, glued ourselves to our phones, or just disrupted our sleep via travel. In 2020 my New Years Resolution is to prioritize sleep. I have struggled with insomnia for 14 years and the many miles on the road have not helped. Fortunately there is a cure, it just takes discipline. Here are a few tips I’ve gathered from books and articles on sleep. In the one month since I implemented this practice I have dramatically increased my sleep efficiency while at home. We’ll see how it holds up on the road.
Give yourself plenty of sleep opportunity.
Give yourself the opportunity to sleep for 8 hours by being in bed for 8.5 hours. Most people need 7-9 hours. It is possible that you need less than 7 but it’s pretty unlikely. It is safer to assume you need 8 than convince yourself you only need 6.
Maintain a strict sleep routine.
Probably the single most important tip. A regular routine will fine tune your circadian rhythm. Morning people are not better, they just happen to have the morning person gene. The population roughly divides into thirds 1/3 morning people, 1/3 night watchmen, 1/3 somewhere in the middle. Your biology trumps your routine, know what you are and build your routine around it.
Rarely put off sleep to finish work.
if you regularly can’t get your work done, talk to your supervisor about changing your work load. Chronic sleep deprivation is unhealthy and unproductive. From time to time it’s ok.
Book travel around your sleep schedule
We road warriors should be cognizant of sleep when we book our travel. Regularly booking flights in the early hours, red-eyes, or late flights, will wear us down. I know my performance deteriorates so much that it is more valuable for me to stay in a hotel an extra day–especially when I am facilitating or speaking.
LED lights are an environmentalist plot to reduce the population.
Those darn environmentalist progressives are literally killing us with these LED mandates. LED Light is the most potent melatonin suppressant we know of. The Sleep experts suggest reducing your light intake 1-2 hours before bed. I’ve implemented this practice and it is very effective.
65ish degrees is good for sleep.
The enviros strike again, shaming us for jacking up the AC. Temperature is the second most potent melatonin suppressant, behind light. So save money in the winter by turning off the furnace, then spend that money in the summer running the AC.
Stay out of your bed until you are sleepy
This practice creates an association in your brain between your bed and sleep. It can be as powerful as a dose of melatonin.
To learn more I recommend the book Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams-ebook/dp/B06ZZ1YGJ5