Are you tired and feel lack of focus? Do you find it hard to concentrate on your tasks?
This could be because of lack of sleep. I know that when I’m tired enough, I’m not capable of doing anything productive. In those situations I rather give up on the task and work on it on another time, rather than trying to complete it forcefully.
Why you need to sleep?
Sleep is essential for our well-being. You get your batteries reloaded after a (hard) day. It affects to your body and your brain as well.
Sleep helps us to recover, heal and renew ourselves from our busy schedules. However, it is still as important for someone, whose calendar is not filled with gazillion of tasks to be done every day.
“Sleep is our own built-in mechanism that takes care of our physical and mental well-being on a regular basis.
How much sleep do you need?
It has been said, that the typical amount of sleep for a healthy adult is 7-8 hours per night.
Naturally this figure depends on the person. Some might cope with less sleep, where some adults need more than 7-8 hours.
The amount of sleeping hours depend on age. When I was a baby, I was pretty much sleeping (and eating) all the time.
As an adult, the amount of sleep required to keep me fresh and active is somewhere between 7 to 8 hours.
Whereas the quantity of the sleep may be one indicator for an average adult (how much sleep is needed), the quality of the sleep plays a very important role as well.
For example, sometimes I have slept 6 hours in a very deep sleep and have woken up feeling just marvelous, whereas sometimes I have slept 9 hours and I have still felt myself sleepy.
“One way to realize the amount of sleep you need is to go to bed and see when you naturally wake up (without an alarm clock). Your body will tell you when it has had enough rest.
How does sleeping improve your productivity?
I have noticed that I’m able to focus so much better on my tasks than with lack of sleep. If I’m tired, I can not concentrate on anything and doing something – even simple things – may take much more time than what it takes when I’m fully rested.
For example, reading a chapter from a technical book may take me much more time, since I have to read a certain sentences (or even chapters) over and over again, until I fully understand the concept that I’m trying to learn.
My creativity is on a different level after I have had a good sleep. Also, my problem solving capabilities are so much better, when I have had enough sleep. The amount of sleep affects also how well I’m able to remember things.
When you think of all these things – productivity, focusing, creativity, problem solving capabilities or remembering things – they are very essential traits for every online entrepreneur.
It’s really up to you to decide, if you want to spend 30 minutes or 1 hour 30 minutes on a task. The latter option is very much possible when you are haven’t slept enough, the former when you have.
“Good sleeping habits are essential to every online entrepreneur’s success
What about napping?
There are different opinions when it comes to napping – some are for and some against it. I can only speak about my personal experiences and they are all positive when it comes to napping.
However, in order to make napping to work for you, I would recommend you learn to do the power napping technique.
What it means is that you take a very quick nap during the afternoon hours – 20 minutes long the maximum. Even if the amount of time may seem too short, I have to say that this thing works!
Earlier when I used to take longer naps, like 1 hour or so, I was so “stuck” when I woke up, that it took me an hour or so to get back to normal groove of things. Now I only do power naps and it’s like one pushed a reset button on my head. I wake fully rested and I’m like a different person than before napping.
I would recommend that you take nap in the afternoon, but before 5 PM. If your napping goes after that, you may have difficulties of getting sleep in the evening.
How can I improve my sleeping conditions?
Now you have learned that sleeping is indeed a good thing, if you want to improve your productivity. If you are wondering if there is anything to improve the quality of your sleep, try these tips.
- Buy a new quality bed and linens
- Have a room that is dark enough – buy new darkening curtains if necessary
- Quiet your sleeping environment (even with earplugs)
- The temperature of the room should be right (not too cold, not too hot – this depends on your preference)
- Ventilate your bedroom before going to bed
- Read a book before going to sleep
- Dedicate the bedroom only for sleeping (and other activities if you live in a relationship ;) )
- Have only the essential furniture in your bedroom – keep the room decluttered
- Try to avoid working in your bedroom – instead, have a separate space for your work-related matters
- Keep the air flowing to your bedroom through the night (for example, we have the door open to entrance hall all night, rather than keeping the bedroom door completely closed)
- Do not drink coffee before going to bed (If I do this, it keeps me awake)
- Avoid eating heavy meals before going to bed – however a light snack is OK
- Avoid exercising just before going to sleep (I’m full of energy if I do this)
- Try to find regular sleeping times
- Turn down your computer early enough before going to bed
- Some chamomile tea will relax you – this is something I drink every night before going to bed
With these tips you can improve the quality of your sleep and wake up on the morning fully rested.
Conclusion
I think you now realize the importance of sleep and how it affects your productivity. It is essential to get enough sleep. Otherwise you will be spending your time on matters that normally would be accomplished by just snapping your fingers.
It’s your turn now!
- Do you have any tips for improving the quality of sleep?
- Do you know how much sleep you need on a nightly basis?
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