How Much Sleep Do You Need To Excel At Work?

SPM2We’d all like to think that we could deliver our peak performance during 100% of our time at work. In reality, however, this isn’t possible and nor is it a realistic goal that we should ever set for ourselves. We can however, strive to excel in all that we do at work, and a major factor in doing this is getting the right amount of sleep.

Sleep By Age Group

There have been countless studies into sleep, in particular, the right amount of sleep to maintain health and wellbeing. As reported in a blog post on Entrepreneur.com, the National Sleep Foundation has compiled the results of over 300 of these sleep studies to agree an amount of sleep that we can use as a recommended daily amount. 

Split into age categories, the results are as follows. Age 18-25yrs, seven to nine hours sleep; Age 26-64, seven to nine hours and for 65’s and over, seven to eight hours.

These figures are obviously averaged out and there will be a small number of people who thrive on more or less sleep than those amounts stated above.

 

What Happens When We Don’t Sleep Enough?

Lack of sleep makes us:

  • Prone to accidents.
  • Have an impaired concentration, reasoning and cognitive ability.
  • Prone to depression / mood disorders.
  • Have an impaired memory

None of these issues are going to help us excel at work, so how do we avoid them?

 

I Just Can’t Sleep

From time to time, an occasional night of not sleeping is normal and no real cause for concern. If however, your nights of not being able to sleep become frequent you should try and identify what is causing the issue. Most sleep problems are reactionary, that is, they are a response to some form of worry or stressful life event. In time these often sort themselves out, but if they don’t you should identify what the problem is and take steps to address it. 

 

Other reasons for not being able to sleep or waking up tired can be down to worn out pillows. Our pillow plays a massively important role in our quality of sleep. We need our neck, head and shoulders to be supported in order to be comfortable and to keep our airway open. If it is time your pillow was replaced, typically if it is above 3 years old, you can choose from a great range of memory foam pillows and hollowfibre pillows online here at Sleepy People. 

 

Get The Work / Play Balance Right

Some time to let your hair down is necessary in order to prevent us from becoming fatigued and getting the ‘stuck in a rut’ feeling. However, socialising and particularly drinking on work nights can be a bad idea. Instead of socialising, physical activity is a great way to keep in shape and also helps ensure you’re tired enough for a good sleep 

 

Rise and Shine

Identifying that you need a good night’s sleep for a good days work performance is an important step. To put it into practice you need to set a bedtime that allows for the recommended amount of sleep you need and also for you to be fully functional before heading out to work. If you’re not a morning person, like me, a little more time might be required to be firing on all cylinders and ready to go out and excel at work.