Sleep disorders and sleep deprivation are common problems that can have lasting consequences – affecting your personal and work life. According to Johns Hopkins Carey Business School Professor and Associate Dean Brian Gunia, “Poor or insufficient sleep can lead to a variety of problematic behaviors, mental and affective health problems, cognitive deficits, and physical ailments. Each of these problems can damage the organizations in which they work in many ways. For example, unhealthy sleep can lead to distractions that prevent employees from achieving organizational goals, or present the potential for mistakes and even physical injuries. Alternatively, it could impair employees' ability to communicate productively and professionally with co-workers, customers or others."
And a large portion of the population probably experiences problems when it comes to sleep. A recent study concluded that nearly one-third of the population has symptoms of insomnia—roughly 26% have excessive sleepiness and 4% suffer from obstructive sleep apnea.
PROMOTED
Better sleep is something that anyone can work on and improve with the right kind of support and care.
Here's how sleep affects your career and tips for better sleep.
Sleep phase
According to the Sleep Foundation, normal sleep times include four to five naps
MORE DONE FROMFORBES
The best women's perfumes in every scent - floral, citrus, musk and more
Staff Jennifer Ford Forbes
15 Best Cameras for Everyone - From Beginners to Professional Photographers
By Dave Johnson Forbes Staff
stages. These stages are divided into Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and
Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep.
Stage One: Generally short and includes the transition time from wakefulness to sleep.
Stage Two: Your body and mind slow down and settle into sleep. You can still be easily awakened – this stage can be considered light sleep.
Phase Three: The body slows down and goes into recovery mode, often referred to as "rest and digest." At this stage you may find it more difficult to be aroused. This stage is often called deep sleep because breathing and brain activity are generally very slow.
Stage Four: Brain activity increases in patterns as if you were awake; however, you are not. Your breathing and heart rate will increase and your muscles will remain relaxed. This is the stage where you can have intense dreams.
To be successful, believe in yourself and perform
The way the stages come together during a period of sleep is called sleep architecture. Typically, you should go through four or five different sleep cycles during a given night, with each cycle lasting from 90 minutes to two hours. Some cycles will contain all three stages of NREM sleep and REM sleep, but not all contain each stage.
Benefits of sleep
Researchers believe that healthy REM patterns help the brain focus and erase unnecessary information. This is why you can make decisions or do tasks faster after a good night's sleep.
It is important to note that there is a difference between sleep disorders and disordered sleep.
Sleep disorders include apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia, sleepwalking, and restless legs syndrome.
Sleep disorders include fatigue, restlessness, daytime sleepiness, lack of energy, pain, and insomnia within your chronotype.
Adequate sleep supports healthy hormonal function and emotional regulation. Specifically, sleep regulates levels of cortisol—a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands—also known as the stress hormone, and cortisol helps regulate other hormones in the body. "Poor sleep causes you to fall off the hormonal ladder," said Sara Gottfried, MD, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University. "When you relax and sleep well and wake up feeling refreshed, your cortisol peaks within 30 minutes of waking up." This peak triggers all your other hormones, including thyroid and estrogen.
Getting enough sleep will help you:
Get sick less often.
Maintain a healthy weight.
Reduce your risk of serious health problems such as diabetes and heart disease.
Reduce stress and improve mood.
Think more clearly and do better at work.
Get along better with people.
Sleep And Mental Health
Poor sleep contributes to the onset, recurrence and maintenance of mental health problems, among other risk factors for your overall health and well-being. For example, people with insomnia are 17 times more likely than those without to experience clinically significant levels of depression and anxiety. "Sleep affects almost every tissue in your body. It affects growth and stress hormones, your immune system, appetite, breathing, blood pressure and cardiovascular health," said Dr. Michael Twery, consultant in public health and biomedical research and previous sleep expert. at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "Lack of sleep and sleep disorders can also cause problems in people's personal lives, especially in their families. It can affect people's performance at work or school."
Although research most often studies the link between insomnia and depression and anxiety, there is also evidence that sleep problems are linked to a variety of mental health conditions. For example, poor sleep is also associated with post-traumatic stress, eating disorders, and psychotic spectrum experiences such as delusions and hallucinations. In addition, studies have found that specific sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, excessive daytime sleepiness, and narcolepsy are more common in those with mental health problems.
Photo-Get Better Sleep-unsplash-Brooke Cagle
A better sleep pattern helps with your performance at work. UNSPLASH-BROOKE CAGLE
Sleep and career vitality
Lack of sleep leads to reduced work performance, productivity, career progression and satisfaction, and to increased work-related injuries, absenteeism and counterproductive work behaviour. Conversely, better sleep improves memory, knowledge acquisition and learning.
Specifically, there are several consequences of poor sleep on your career.
Decision-making: Sleep loss lowers cerebral metabolism in the prefrontal cortex—the area of the brain responsible for cognitive processes such as judgment and decision-making.
Risk-taking: A sleep study showed that sleep-deprived participants tended to choose greater monetary risk.
Mood and Memory: One night of sleep loss increases hostility and anxiety, as well as increased tension, confusion, and fatigue.
Performance: Creativity and complex thinking are stifled by sleep deprivation, which contributes to poor performance and threatens your company in the long run.
Less Motivational: Sleep-deprived leaders will have more difficulty inspiring their workforce.
Circadian Rhythm Disorders: Circadian Rhythm – Physical, Mental, and Behavioral
You must be logged in to post a comment.