Sacrificing your sleep, but at what cost?

Last Friday we celebrated a crucial event, one that has a massive impact on not only our physiological health but also our mental state. I am talking about World Sleep Day.

This might not catch the attention of many at the first glance, but once we go deep into the importance of sleep and the threats of the lack of it, it becomes relevant for everyone.

As an entrepreneur, thriving in one of the biggest tech hubs, I’ve seen fellow creative builders get caught up in the sleep deprivation culture, bragging about favoring sleeping fewer hours to get more work done - a big red flag - and with 32.6% reported sleeping six or fewer hours per night in 2017-2018 it’s no surprise to learn that seventy million American’s have some type of sleep disorder according to the For healthcare business health report.

Insufficient sleep comes at a high cost, as high as $411B each year of estimated economic impact . But that’s not the only problem here.

How insufficient sleep affects our health and daily performance

The picture that those advocating for the “fewer sleep hours for boosted productivity” culture is not all rainbow and sunshine. The hard pill to swallow is that as much as our bodies lack more sleep, our attitude is immensely impacted. We don’t exactly wake up “ready to take on the world” with high drive and great energy. If anything, the opposite is true.

Sleep-deprived individuals are more likely to be moody and less open to discussions and debates.

They have higher chances of displaying anger outbursts and other destructive behavior. And we are only touching on the tip of the iceberg.

With insufficient sleep comes difficulty in concentrating and reduction in alertness. In fact, reducing your nighttime sleep by as little as 1.5 hours for just one night could result in a reduction of daytime alertness by as much as 32 percent. This goes hand in hand with drowsiness during the daytime, impaired memory, and unfortunately huge potential for work-related accidents.

Work performance and relationship problems are not the sole things to worry about. Your health is another victim here.

Sleep deprivation is the root of many of the modern diseases that we turn a blind eye to.

Starting with heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes to obesity, and lowered immunity system.

The list is long enough for you to take a nap while reading it.

Anxiety, depression, and PTSD are some of the consequences of a consistent lack of sleep.

Psychological disorders are on the list too. According to the Sleep Foundation, 40% of people with insomnia are believed to also be affected by a mental health disorder.

Why we need sleep and how to encourage it

In a short answer to the question above, I quote the great Benjamin Franklin:

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise

Heal your mind and body

Getting enough sleep helps keep your mind and body healthy. Most adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. That means during that time, your body will have the opportunity to recover, heal, rejuvenate, and prevent excess weight gain.

As for the mind, it’s more of a therapy session where the brain power-washes away waste, enhances reaction time, and boosts our emotional wellbeing. This is all done mostly during the REM sleep phase, where all emotional processing, memory consolidation, and brain development take place.

Age slower

If you need more temptation to get to bed early, well how about knowing that with less sleep you age faster. A study done by UCLA researchers discovered that just a single night of insufficient sleep can make older adults' cells age quickly.

So with sufficient sleep, you are only doing a favor to your brain and body but also supporting that young spirit and skin of yours. But first, it’s important to have a healthy active day to ensure a healthy sleep. Getting enough light exposure and moving the body are imperative to good sleep quality.

Get Started

The next step will be building a routine that sets your body up for a deep healing sleep. This can include limiting blue light exposure an hour before going to bed, setting the right temperature, refraining from caffeine induces drinks in the evening, and so on. This will put you on the right track for ensuring your needed hours of sleep.

Emna Ghariani is a multi-time entrepreneur and digital wellbeing activist who spent years building solutions to fight the hustle work culture and find real ways to get to work-life balance. If you want to get on this journey, start by reclaiming?your time? using to Veamly analytics app, your Swiss army knife to fighting burnout and decision fatigue.