We are a week into Daylight Savings Time and I still don’t feel adjusted. “Spring forward” is always a bit of a killer for me, and from what I have been reading on Twitter, I’m not the only one feeling the pain. In times like this, it can be tempting to push through the sleep deprivation and add a few extra cups of coffee, but unfortunately that won’t work in the long term.
According to the Division of Sleep Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, the short-term productivity gains from skipping sleep to work are quickly washed away by the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation on your mood, ability to focus, and access to higher-level brain functions for days to come. The negative effects of sleep deprivation are so great that people who are drunk outperform those lacking sleep.
The latest research states we need at least 7-9 hours of sleep a night to be productive. And some of the most likely culprits that inhibit our sleep are the things we love the most – coffee, weekend binge sleeping, and watching tv or playing on an electronic device before bedtime. Between that the chaos of a usual day, no wonder most Americans complain about being tired! Do you want to make some major headway on that big project? Put it away for the night. You’ll do better and be more productive on it tomorrow, after a nice long sleep.
