March 2, 2016
What if changing just one habit could increase your productivity levels by nearly one-third? It turns out that reducing sleep by as little as 1.5 hours for just one night reduces daytime alertness by 32 percent. In our over-connected world, somehow the thought that a good night’s rest is for slackers has taken hold and it turns out just the opposite is true. In fact, your brain cells need sleep to remove harmful toxins.
Forbes reported this in Sleep Deprivation Is Killing You and Your Career: “New research from the University of Rochester provides the first direct evidence for why your brain cells need you to sleep. The study found that when you sleep your brain removes toxic proteins from its neurons that are by-products of neural activity when you’re awake. Unfortunately, your brain can remove them adequately only while you’re asleep. So when you don’t get enough sleep, the toxic proteins remain in your brain cells, wreaking havoc by impairing your ability to think—something no amount of caffeine can fix.”
Being “anti” sleep can lead to poor productivity at work and home and affect the following areas: thinking memory, difficulty learning new things, mood, low energy, depression, and anxiety. (This list barely scratches the surface of the health risks associated with being sleep deprived.) It is true that not everyone needs the same amount of sleep to operate at top function, but health risks are minimized at eight hours per night. Given this information, it is important to recognize if you need more sleep.
Five Simple Signs You Need More Sleep
- You often feel sluggish or drowsy.
- You rely on caffeine to feel alert.
- You have difficulty concentrating.
- You lose control of your emotions easily.
- You feel hungry all the time.
Recently, Exos offered these great Tips to improve sleep. If you are into technology, there are apps like Sleep Rate and Sleep Cycle that help you track and optimize your rest. Wearable technology can give you feedback. The same items that you use to monitor your fitness and daily activity can track your sleep as well and so much more.
