Management Training – Maximising Productivity Through a Healthy Sleep Pattern

Sleep is something that we all need and that many of us feel we don’t get enough of. But how much are we really affected by the amount of sleep we get each night, and can it really have such a big impact on our effectiveness in work situations?
Well, the simple answer is yes, it really can!
And not all bosses are as understanding as Richard Branson was recently, when he was pictured posing with a tired Virgin Australia employee as he caught 40 winks at work!
It is recommended that around 7-9 hours is what we should be aiming for each night, with many of us not achieving this. If you are tired when you are at work, your judgement may be effected altering your communication skills, time management abilities and will consequently impact on your ability to achieve your objectives. We’ve all seen the signs on the motorway “Don’t Drive Tired, Take a Break”, and are aware that we are not as efficient when we haven’t had enough sleep. We simply do not function to the best of our ability when we are tired, which can therefore impact on our lives in terms of safety, performance, productivity and effectiveness in all areas of our lives, whether we are driving a car, or making an important work-related decision or judgement.
Over the last few years, many of us have become much more conscious and aware of the fact that we are not getting enough shut-eye and are looking into ways of improving on this. There are many gadgets on the market that enable us to monitor our sleep patterns and we are generally doing more to ensure that we do achieve the sleep that we need.
With this in mind, here are our 5 Top Tips on making sure you get enough sleep…
- Write it down - If you have things on your mind and you find it difficult to switch your brain off at bedtime, write them down. Once they are on paper, you don’t have to remember them or think about them until the next day.
- Clockwork - Try to make sure you have a consistent bedtime. If you can go to bed at a similar time each night, your body clock will naturally programme itself to sleep better.
- No Electronics - It’s been said before but it really is true. You should really switch off the TV, iPad, mobile phones and not look at them for at least half an hour before you go to bed. If you are engaging in these activities your brain is being stimulated before sleep, which will often make it harder for you to “wind down” into a place of calm and sleepiness.
- Cut the Caffeine - We are all aware that caffeine is a stimulant. We wake up tired in the morning and reach for the coffee to perk us up a little, continuing through the day, until it is time to sleep but you can’t because of the caffeine! It’s a vicious cycle. Caffeinated drinks should be avoided at night, as they can interfere with deep sleep. Switching to a warm, milky drink instead or fruit tea is a better option at that time.
- Exercise Regularly - Incorporating regular exercise into your routine not only reduces stress levels and improves wellbeing, but can also positively impact on your sleep pattern and energy levels. Engaging in some sort of physical activity can improve the quality of sleep that you are getting, as well as increasing the amount of sleep you are getting. It is possible to achieve a better quality and quantity of sleep if you make small changes to your life.
These changes will enable you to be as effective as you can be in your workplace, ensuring that your decision making abilities are not compromised, your performance is kept to a high standard and your productivity is still effective, which in turn will make sure that your duties can be undertaken in the most efficient manner, consequently helping you to achieve your objectives each day.
For more tips on how to maximise productivity or to learn more about our other services, please call us on 01295 675506 for a free consultation.
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