Get Productive – Wake Up Productive (and stay that way)

While researching our latest book I interviewed thought leader Karen Roy who shared what she learned about sleep and productivity from her years of working with researchers in the field of sleep medicine. Karen is crazy smart and I asked her how we could wake up productive, here are the strategies she shared with me.

‘You can wake up productive and know how to manage your circadian sleep-wake cycle and stay that way!’ says Karen Roy.

A great day starts with a great night’s sleep; ensure you get the right amount of quality sleep.  We refer to Sleep Hygiene, a series of habits to encourage the best night’s sleep possible.

Sleep Hygiene (more than clean sheets, but that’s not a bad idea either).

Create the ideal sleep environment   Make sure that the environment is pleasant and relaxing. The bed should be comfortable, the room not be too hot or cold, or too bright.  Black out lining on curtains is a great idea to block out light, especially if you live in an urban environment where streetlights and traffic mean it never gets truly dark outside.

Associate your bed with sleep   Experts will tell you the only activities that belong in bed are sleep and sex.  It’s not a good idea to use your bed to watch TV, listen to the radio, or read excessively.   Do not bring work to bed.

Try to avoid too much technology in the bedroom.  It’s not only bad feng shui, but there is an emerging field of research on the negative effects of smartphones etc. in the bedroom – the electrical signals they send out even while on a standby mode, may disturb sleep.

Did you know the use of smartphones late at night can delay the onset of sleep simply because you have not switched off from the day’s events?

Prepare for sleep In Karen’s house, she calls it “windy downy time” and it is just that – winding down from the day to prepare for restful, restorative sleep.

Establishing a regular relaxing bedtime routine can make a huge difference.  If watching TV (ideally not in bed), be sure to lower the lights and sound and don’t watch something too stimulating.  Try to avoid emotionally upsetting conversations and activities before trying to go to sleep.  Try not to dwell on, or bring your problems to bed.

Preparing for sleep starts earlier than you might think.  We need to avoid stimulants and stimulating behaviors hours before sleep time to stack the odds in favor of sleeping well.

Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol too close to bedtime. While alcohol is well known to speed the onset of sleep, it disrupts sleep in the second half of the night as the body begins to break down the alcohol, causing arousal.

Timing your exercise routine is important. Exercise can promote good sleep and is recommended. However, vigorous exercise should be taken in the morning or late afternoon at the latest to avoid delaying sleep onset. A relaxing exercise, like yoga, however, can be done before bed to help initiate a restful night’s sleep.

Food can be disruptive right before sleep too, so try to avoid heavy meals close to bedtime. Also, try to remember the caffeine content in certain foods can be stimulating and avoid those late in the evening.

Now that you have laid the foundations for sleep, the most important thing to do is Make time for sleep.

In today’s 24/7 society, it is too easy and tempting to curtail our sleep time in favor of doing something else.  We have been led to believe it is a sign of strength to be able to function without sleep (Margaret Thatcher famously claimed to function on 4 hours a night) but the data now emerging on sleep restriction tell us that this scenario is unlikely for the vast majority of us and that there are also a number of consequences of sleep restriction beyond feeling tired the next day.

It is recommended that healthy adults sleep 7-9 hours each day.

What is your number?

In 2010, 30% of civilian employed US adults (40.6 million workers) reported getting less than 6 hours on average. Night / shift workers fare even worse, with 44% reporting short sleep duration.

In recognition of the importance of adequate sleep to public health Healthy people 202 includes an objective to ”Increase the proportion of adults who get sufficient sleep”.

So what are the potential effects of sleep restriction?

• Impaired cognitive function
• Loss of productivity at work
• Increased chances of road traffic accidents
• Increase weight gain
• Lower sex drive
• Negative impact on emotional well-being

It is important to be consistent and develop a regular sleep schedule as far as possible. The negative effects of sleep restriction on performance can be cumulative.

Burning the candle at both ends in the working week, can mean that by the time your day off rolls around, you are impaired as if you have stayed up all night!  It is important to note that we can’t necessarily “catch up” and that reduced performance may linger after a night of recovery sleep.

We also know that more is not always better when it comes to sleep.

People who sleep more than the seven to eight-hour average have a significant reduction in lifespan.

Excess sleep may be associated with “sleep drunkenness” or “sleep inertia” that impairs performance upon awakening. This can be an important issue in situations that demand continuous alertness or when you need to be up and running quickly.

Understanding a little about the natural sleep-wake cycle can help plan to be most productive throughout the day.  We naturally have 2 “dips”, or times when our drive to wakefulness is at it’s lowest.  One is in the middle of the night, and you will know the second as “the afternoon slump”.

So, how do we manage our wakefulness during the day, especially to remain productive in the slump hours?  

Use stimulants strategically!  Caffeinated beverages can help here (but be careful not to extend this too far into evening –caffeine has a long half-life, meaning it can have lasting effects).  If you are a coffee junkie, know how much caffeine you are consuming.  The amount of coffee in any high street coffee house can vary enormously.  If you are not a coffee lover, there are also caffeinated soft drinks easily available and even caffeine gum is available now.

However, one of the most natural ways to stimulate the brain is light.  Getting outside in daylight, and walking around for a few minutes can be a powerful countermeasure to the slump.  If you can’t get outside, make sure you have decent, bright lighting where you work.  Just as blocking light at night can help us sleep better, enhancing light when we want to be productive, is beneficial.

We also found this great short video from surprisingly funny, Arianna Huffington TED talk: How to succeed: get more sleep.

Thanks for sharing Karen. How do you wake up productive? Share your ideas with us here on our blog.

P.S. If you want to connect with Karen – you can chat with her here