Calm in the Chaos - Tips for a Better Life
Who Has Time to Sleep? You Do!
Think cutting back on sleep will help you get more done in your day? Think again.
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by Jamie Spannhake
February 16, 2021
For the first 35 years of my life, I lived by the motto, "I'll sleep when I'm dead." I understand what it's like to have too many things to do and not enough time. The easiest place to cut is often sleep. But keep in mind that, when you cut sleep, you may be decreasing your effectiveness and productivity to a point where getting more sleep would be a better solution.
One of my coaching clients has been working on ways to increase focus at work in order to increase productivity. This productivity will result in more time for other non-work activities, like spending time with family and exercising.
In a recent session, I learned that this client is only getting 4-5 hours of sleep each night. This is a problem for someone who wants to increase focus and productivity. Sleep-deprived people cannot function at their highest ability. Specifically, sleep deprivation decreases the ability to remember and process information, and decreases the ability to focus.
The truth is: The quantity of our time asleep affects the quality of our time awake. While sleep can feel like a waste of time, it’s not.
A good night’s sleep can give us up to a threefold advantage in complex problem-solving. Also, cutting your sleep short by even an hour or two reduces the effectiveness of your immune system by about 25 percent, leading to more illness and disease.
And did you know that lack of sleep increases the release of one of the hunger hormones that causes cravings for carbohydrates and sugars, making it much more difficult to eat a healthy diet?
It's also important to set a regular sleep schedule and stick to it, not altering bedtime or awake time by more than one hour, if possible.
Related content: 3 Ways to Get a Better Night's Sleep
To stay healthy, you must give your body time to recover and refresh. Sleep provides this opportunity. The average adult requires seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Remember to get your zzzz's. It could change your life, for the better!
Let's Connect!
I want to hear how you handle your competing obligations, especially the undesirable tasks, and where you could use support! Email me or schedule a 30 minute call if you'd like a cheerleader, accountability partner, and guide to help you on the way.
I coach busy professionals so they can achieve more while doing less; so they can create the lives they truly want, lives that include time and space to work the way they want, to spend time with their kids, to laugh with friends, and to exercise every day: Time and space to do all the things I was told I couldn’t do as a successful lawyer. My work with clients is based upon the principles in my book, The Lawyer, the Lion, & the Laundry: Three Hours to Finding Your Calm in the Chaos, available at www.JamieSpannhake.com. Learn more about how we can transform your every day, and apply for my coaching program here.
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