I was thinking about stress, balance and how sleep impacts your life. Thanks to the world of electronics, you can track your sleep now. I started using an app on my iPhone called Sleep Cycle to track my sleep. (you can try the free trial version.) I can see how much sleep I am getting, how often I wake up in the night and how that compares to averages and trends. It also has an alarm on the app that will wake you up with different sounds or light so you aren’t hearing a blaring alarm to jar you out of sleep. I fall below the average as far as the number of hours of sleep a night which is not a surprise. I do see a definite correlation between the quality of my sleep and what time I go to bed.
What I am learning is that it really is imperative to get enough sleep. We live in a world today where we are being asked to do more with less, come up with big ideas or innovations and sift through massive amounts of information that is coming at us faster than we can possibly digest it. So why is this important? If you don’t get enough sleep it can impact your decision making, attention, creativity, ability to concentrate and retain information. Getting enough sleep has been proven to minimize your stress, anger, mood changes and impulsivity.
See if you agree after you watch the following TED Talk Playlist on Sleep: There are 5 different videos in the playlist. Some more scientific and some more inspirational. I found it to be completely fascinating and worth the time to watch. It made me see how important sleep is to your memory, physical health and mental health. Studies about sleep and the myths that you think you know are discussed. It will challenge what you think you know about sleep.
So what am I doing differently? I can absolutely tell a difference when I go to bed earlier and I actually wake up before my alarm clock. I feel much more refreshed and I can think more clearly. I am calmer, not as stressed and can actually be much more present in conversations. As you watch the videos, you will see Arianna Huffington throw out the idea that “in order for women to generate the big ideas, they should sleep their way to the top.” She means literally sleep! Do you believe that getting more sleep would change your life, your career and your health?
Joining the ReVISION program would help you to focus on yourself and what you want in 2017. Building in time for yourself is not always at the top of the list, but should to be your priority. The first session will be held on January 31st. If you would like more information, please click on this link.
