March 2011 - The Energy Project

Sleep or Die

Greetings!

How much sleep did you get last night? How about in the last week? If you're averaging 7-8 hours a night, you're golden. The chances are, though, that this isn't the case. Of the 16,000 people who have taken The Energy Audit over the past year, only 35% regularly get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. This is first and foremost because so many of us are buying into the pervasive myth that an hour less of sleep provides an extra hour of productivity. In fact, numerous studies of great performers suggest that they sleep more than the rest of us, not less.

Physical energy is the foundation of all dimensions of energy, and sleep is the foundation of physical energy. There is no single behavior that more fundamentally influences our effectiveness in waking life. Sleep deprivation takes a powerful toll on our health, our emotional well-being, and our cognitive functioning. Find some great tips and ideas below for slowing down and getting enough sleep both at night and during the day.

The Energy Project Team

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PS. Don't miss your chance to sign up the last webinar in our Fueling Energy and Engagement series! Sign up for the FREE WEBINAR, Sleep or Die, presented by bestelling author and performance expert Tony Schwartz on Tuesday, March 15 at 1pm EST. Register now!

Sleep or Die

Let's cut to the chase.

Say you decide to go on a fast, and so you effectively starve yourself for a week. At the end of seven days, how would you be feeling? You'd probably be hungry, perhaps a little weak, and almost certainly somewhat thinner. But basically you'd be fine.

Now let's say you deprive yourself of sleep for a week. Not so good. After several days, you'd be almost completely unable to function.

Top Tips for Getting Enough Sleep

Make getting 7-8 hours of sleep your highest priority. Sleep is often the first thing we’re willing to give up in an effort to get more done. Even small amounts of sleep deprivation make us vastly less efficient.
Begin powering down at least 30 minutes before you go to sleep. Avoid anything stimulating, such as the Internet, mystery novels, and intense conversations. Instead, look for ways to relax and quiet down.
Especially in periods of high demand, try to find time for a 10-minute nap in the middle of the day. It will have a remarkable impact on your ability to focus later in the afternoon.

"Lack of sleep makes us more inefficient at work and more dangerous behind the wheel of a car. It undermines the quality of our lives and makes us more vulnerable to illness. It is also responsible for making us less able to respond creatively to problems and opportunities, and less original, flexible, and divergent in our thinking."

- Charles Leadbeater,
Author, Dream On: Sleep in the 24/7 Society