One in three Americans reports that they don’t get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. This is alarming! This means that there are a lot of tired people showing up to work. This undermines productivity and it sets people up for work-related stress. A prolonged state of little sleep ultimately increases stress which then starts a chain reaction of health problems including mental health issues, heart problems, high blood pressure and obesity. Here’s the bottom line: being stressed leads to even more sleepless nights. It’s a vicious cycle. So how do you get more sleep so you can reduce your stress at work?
In this post, we will talk about how you can get more sleep, be better rested and experience less stress at work.
Go to bed early
Early to bed, early to rise. You might have heard this saying when you were growing up. It still holds true today. Hitting your bed early means that your body will be better rested before you start a brand new day.
Most of the time, when you are not well-rested and/or sleep late, a chain of events similar to the sequence below happens.
- You wake up late to the sound of a blaring alarm after hitting the “snooze” button ten times.
- You rush out of bed and quickly try to cram taking a shower, getting dressed and eating breakfast into a 5-minute time span.
- Before you get out of the door, your stress levels are already sky-high.
- You rush into work only to realize a deadline you were supposed to meet is just an hour away.
- Your boss is angry because your work is late again. This only adds more stress.
The details may be different. However the truth is that, if you start the day badly, chances are the rest of the day will go badly as well. This ultimately increases your stress level. Get a better start to your day by sleeping earlier so you can start on a better note.
Don’t take your work home
Taking your work home means you will likely stay up late at night to work on projects that should have been completed at work. This can impede your sleep. Instead of bringing your work home, plan to get more of your work done at work.
Cut out distractions
Achieving the above usually comes down to this point- cutting out distractions. This will be hard if you are a social butterfly. We are not saying that you don’t have to socialize at all. Relationships built at work can be some of the best if handled properly. However, they can also be the reason why you are not as productive as you want to be.
Thus, to get more work done (which will eventually mean you don’t have to take work home and disrupt your sleep), it is important that you communicate that during a certain time period, you are focused on work and not on interpersonal relationships/conversations.
Change your mattress
If you are not falling asleep as quickly as you would like to, chances are your mattress is getting in the way. Changing your mattress might help you sleep better.
Prepare your brain and body for sleep
You can prepare your brain and body for sleep by adopting a night-time/bed-time routine. When you do this, you help your body wind down for the day so you can get better sleep.
Engage in a relaxing activity before bed
Reading a book, listening to soft music or taking a dip in the hot-tub are all effective ways to relax your body before bed.
Stay away from food and drinks that keep you up
Here’s the biggest culprit: stay away from caffeine just before bed!
Create an atmosphere conducive for sleep
- Draw curtains are blinds to simulate the darkness at night if you tend to work at night.
- Switch off any screens- TV, tablets, cell phones. It is advisable if you don’t have any of these devices in your bedroom at all.
- Switch off lights that interrupt your sleep.
See a sleep professional
If none of these help you get better sleep at night, seeing a sleep professional might be in order. There are doctors trained in sleep medicine who can help you identify the barriers that are keeping you from getting the sleep you need.
Did You Learn How To Reduce Your Stress At Work?
Getting the sleep you need is key to helping you reduce work-related stress. In this post, we went over different strategies to help you get the sleep you need. Which of these resonates with you the most?
If you found this helpful, share this post with someone else who needs to get more sleep.
