Like any busy business owner or employee, you want to be successful. You push yourself to work harder, work longer, and normally, this ends up meaning you sacrifice quality sleep. 5pm turns into 9pm, 9pm into midnight, and soon enough, you’re not getting to sleep until the early hours of the morning.
Though you might think this “work now, sleep later” mentality is what it takes to succeed in business, did you know that this lack of sleep is actually harming both you and your business in the long run?
Like you, we’re no stranger to sleepless nights and tired days. But we’ve learned about the negative effects the hard way, and we’re here to save you. In this blog, you’ll find the top reasons why you should be prioritizing quality sleep at night to help you remain productive and focused.
Make better decisions
Many studies have shown that sleep deprivation is known to decrease decision making and problem solving abilities.
When you come to work without a good night’s sleep, you make more mistakes. Whether it be an overlooked typo or an incorrectly added budget, your tired brain struggles to produce work that meets your expectations. This creates a pretty tough cycle to get out of – you’re pushing yourself to get work done, so you sacrifice sleep, but then you’re making mistakes that you’ll have to go back later and fix, which means you’ll lose more sleep.
A lack of good sleep also affects your problem solving abilities. When you’re tired, you’ll find yourself staring for hours at the same problem, unsure of how to solve it, even though it’s something that could be easily fixed in minutes if you were well rested.
Improve your mood
I’m sure we’re all no stranger to the emotional toll that a lack of good sleep has on us. You might find yourself overwhelmed more easily, picking more fights with your partner, or getting sassy with the barista when they mess up your much-needed coffee order. At the end of the day, you might look back and cringe at your own behaviour.
But sleep is the answer! When you’re well rested, you have better emotional control and you’re able to approach tasks with a more positive mindset. The difference between approaching a huge project when you’re well rested versus not is astronomical. Getting a good night’s rest helps you look at yourself and the world more optimistically. You’ll feel more capable about the work you have to do, which helps you produce work you’re proud of.
Prioritize quality sleep
The thing about sleep, though, is that it’s not all the same. It’s important to prioritize quality sleep, not just sleep in general. We all know those days where even if you’ve slept 12 hours, you keep hitting snooze. By prioritizing quality sleep and making changes in our daily routine, we can feel well rested in a shorter amount of time.
There are a few important things you can do during your daily routine to make sure you get quality sleep at night.
First, watch what you’re eating and drinking before bed. As much as we love a good glass of wine at the end of the day and a sugary treat, try to avoid alcohol and carbohydrates before you sleep. Even though it might seem like alcohol helps you fall asleep more easily, it actually makes you get less REM sleep (which is what we want to aim for). And too many carbohydrates before bed takes more energy to digest while we sleep, which means less quality sleep.
Next, you should also try to avoid screens for at least an hour or two before you go to bed. Screens like our laptops, phones, and TVs emit blue light, which makes you less sleepy. This is why you might find that no matter how many hours you’re scrolling on TikTok in bed, you simply can’t fall asleep. Instead of scrolling aimlessly on your phone, try reading a book or listening to a podcast to relax your brain and fall into a deeper rest.
On that note, one of the best things you can do to help you achieve quality sleep is establishing a bedtime routine. Similar to how you follow a morning routine to set you up for a good day, make yourself a bedtime routine to set yourself up for a good sleep. Put away your screens, take a long shower, meditate, maybe do some light yoga, and you’ll find yourself waking up feeling fresh and rejuvenated.
Getting a good night’s rest is one of the most important things you can do to protect your mental health and make sure you’re focused and productive during the day. We hope you enjoyed this blog!
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