Sleep your way to being more effective

The American National Sleep Foundation publishes annual reports on USA citizen’s sleeping habits in relation to several aspects, one of which is how effective people perceive themselves to be.

In their report from 2018, they found that 89% of the adults answering the questionnaire and who had “excellent sleep health”, perceive themselves as being very effective or more (in the survey you could also rank yourself as being “highly effective” or “extremely effective”) when it comes to getting things done in their everyday lives. Amongst the people who did not sleep well or enough, the corresponding number was 46%. The authors of the report interpret this to mean that people who sleep well feel more effective than people who do not.

For you who prefer listening to reading, this post is also available as an episode of the “Done!” podcast:

Much, much too little

A somewhat disheartening fact was that the same institute concluded in another report that only 27% of Americans sleep between 7 – 9 hours per night, which is the recommended amount of sleep for adults between 25 and 65 years of age.

The survey reflects American conditions, but if you also sleep less than the recommended amount on a regular basis, it might be a good idea to try to get some more sleep from now on.

Do this

There are of course numerous reasons why you could be getting poor or too little sleep, but to some of us it quite simply comes down to going to bed too late.

If that is the case, decide to go to bed earlier for the next few months to come.

Count backward 7 – 9 hours from the time you need to get up in the morning and set a reminder on your phone that will tell you to go to bed. Add half an hour or so if you need some time to “just do this one last thing” before climbing into bed.

If you have an iPhone, the very pleasant “Night Shift”-function will help you both count backward from your wake-up call and remind you to go to bed after letting it know how many hours of sleep you wish to get.

In the ninth version of the Android operating system called Pie, there is something called a “Wind Down”-function that will shift the screen from colorful to a dull grey at the time you have asked it to do so, as to signal that “fun’s over and you might as well go to bed.”

Energized and effective

If the report mentioned above holds true you will feel significantly more effective once you have slept the hours your body really needs — in addition to all other benefits that come from a good night’s rest. Worth the while, wouldn’t you say?

What’s your way?

How do you make sure you get the sleep you need to feel good and function well in your everyday life? All good ideas are welcome and sharing them might really help someone else. Feel free to email me!

(By the way, did you know that your to-do list can be a real sleeping pill?)

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