Day 10: How Do You Get Out of Stress? Let’s Start With Sleep and Rest!

It is very important to understand that quality sleep is vital to stress management, resiliency and leadership presence! Making sleep a priority, could help you become a more successful leader with improved brain health. A mindset of thinking that rest and relaxation is proving to be a leadership strategy!

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a great deal of disruption in our lives.  Children are not able to go to school while people are interacting online and adapting to new habits! 

Your sleep schedule may have been interrupted and the constant worry about the world around you can lead to changes in mood or a lack of motivation.

Getting the proper amount of sleep during a crisis is essential. During the night, our bodies process all of the information that happened during the day!

Sleep also helps our immune systems and our mental health. It consolidates your short-term memory to your long-term memory and it helps prevent Dementia & Alzheimer’s.  

The amount of sleep needed per night varies across ages and is greatly affected by the persons lifestyle and physical/mental health.

Here are some tips to help YOU get a better night’s sleep:

No digital devices 2 hours before bed. The blue light emitted from phone/tablet screens has been proven to keep you awake. Try to establish a relaxing (non-digital) bedtime routine.   A regular nightly routine helps the body recognize that it is bedtime. This routine could include taking a warm shower or bath, reading a book, light stretching, yoga or mindfulness. When possible, try to avoid emotionally upsetting conversations and activities before going to sleep.

Keep your room as dark as possible for better sleep, but during the day, ensure you get adequate exposure to natural light. This is very important for individuals who may not venture outside frequently. Exposure to sunlight during the day, as well as darkness at night helps to maintain a healthy sleep cycle.

Try to make sure that the sleep environment is pleasant. Mattress and pillows should be as comfortable as possible. The bedroom should be cool: (between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius for optimal sleep).  Also, bright lights from lamps, cell phones and TV screens can make it difficult to fall asleep, so turn those light off or adjust them when possible. Consider using blackout curtains, eye shades, “white noise” machines, fans, or any other devices that can make the bedroom more relaxing.

 Exercise daily!  Try to exercise first thing in the morning if your schedule allows it. Exercising is the key to promote good quality sleep.  As little as 10 minutes of aerobic exercise can drastically improve your sleep quality.  For the best night’s sleep, most people should avoid strenuous workouts close to bedtime. However, the effect of intense exercise on sleep differs from person to person, so find out what works best for you. Tiring your body through workouts helps relax the body and makes it require more sleep to recover. During a time when we are supposed to stay inside and do not have many reasons to leave the house, making sure that you take some time to get moving is very important for your sleep schedule!

Thank you to these sources below. I suspect that these articles will be very useful for your journey to improving your sleep patterns. Check out https://hbr.org/2018/09/sleep-well-lead-be

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/shift-work-disorder/what-shift-work/sleep-and-circadian-system