As the clocks go back, now is the time to reboot your sleep
The City is on the verge of a sleeplessness epidemic. Every week we work with top London business professionals who are permanently rundown and operating on empty due to neglecting their sleep. Whether this is because they are negotiating unmanageable workloads, their ambition, or their inability to switch off their phone (recent research by Deloitte revealed that one in three of us check our smartphones at night), the upshot is that we have a city of workers selling themselves short, not just when it comes to their energy levels, but also when it comes to their mental performance.
Those of you about to turn over because you don’t think you need more than five hours a night should seriously consider rebooting your sleep routine to ensure you perform better and achieve more at work. The clocks going back provides an opportunity to reboot your sleep routine.
Again and again, studies have shown that the performance of our pre-frontal cortex is the first thing to fall down after inadequate sleep (and for the majority of the population that is between seven and eight hours). This area of the brain is our “executive powerhouse” responsible for our most advanced mental processes and which sets the essential foundation of concentration.
We undertook a sleep deprivation study using store managers at Bensons For Beds to measure the impact of sleep deprivation on their performance. The managers were asked to have 25 per cent less sleep for four nights, compared to their normal eight hours.
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Getting 75 per cent of their usual sleep, the equivalent of around six hours a night, may not seem that bad but the performance impact was significant; a 38 per cent decrease in problem solving ability, 29 per cent drop in communication skills and 26 per cent decrease in multi-tasking. The only increase was for negative mood which rose a whopping 281 per cent. The most worrying aspect is that the more sleep deprived we become the less aware we are of its negative impact on our performance.
Here’s how you can help yourself.
Keep your old bedtime
Go to bed at the same time as you did during British Summer Time. So if you used to go to bed at midnight you will actually now be going to bed at 11pm, sustaining the effects of the extra hour.
Set a work curfew
As much as possible, set a time at night which marks the end of thinking about or doing anything related to work. Switch all work devices off at this time and move them out of the bedroom. Blue-light emitted from phones and laptops will interrupt your body’s natural ability to fall asleep so turn them off at least two hours before bed.
Build resilience to stress
Stress is the enemy of sleep, so take a stand against its build-up during the day. Try and intercept stressful thoughts or situations as they arise. Some effective techniques include mindfulness and acceptance. If your boss suddenly surprises you with a huge, last-minute project, try not to panic.
Tap into what you are doing at that moment such as noticing where you can feel your chair in contact with your body. Where is the pressure strongest and weakest? This can mindfully ground you in the present moment, helping you to notice any stressful thoughts, but not get trapped by them.
Don’t fight sleeplessness
If you do suffer from insomnia or find yourself struggling to get off to sleep, the key is to do nothing. The more you try to sleep the more your body reacts with wakefulness. This is especially the case when worrying thoughts get your adrenaline going.
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Try not to get up, and calmly accept the situation. Recognise your thoughts as thoughts, and not the reality of this particular night or next day.
Seven to eight hours
Aim to set yourself up to sleep from seven to eight hours a night. As you do this you should find that when you wake you will feel refreshed. If you are waking earlier and still feel rejuvenated you may need slightly less sleep – it is different for everyone. However, use seven to eight hours as a baseline and then assess how you feel, and of course how you perform.
Dr Guy Meadows is Clinical Director of Sleep To Perform, a programme for businesses which boosts performance through sleep.