How a Simple Sleeping Routine Increased My Productivity
It’s about doing what works for you
After a year of sleeping with a schedule, I began to notice some real benefits. I went from lazy and unmotivated to being energized and focused.
My sleeping routine is simple but I find it very effective. My sleep schedule is from 10 PM to 6 AM. That’s what’s worked for me over the past year, but it doesn’t work for everyone. You need to find a routine that works for you and stick to it.
Here are the 3 most significant improvements I could see in myself after having a bedtime routine for a year.
Sleep Can Make You Smarter
Getting enough improves the quality of your work. Since you are more attentive and vigilant, it’s possible to think of more creative ways to solve problems. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this scientific study, which shows that Students who got a good night of sleep before taking a physics test, got higher scores than those who were cramming all night. Creating good sleep habits will bring great things to your life; as seen in the example above.
Keep in mind this will not make you into a walking Einstein overnight. It just means you’ll be more alert to your options. Your thinking speed and creativity will improve — which is a great thing. But, the truth is, not many will see the benefits of having a bedtime routine, because most of the population is sleep deprived. People are walking with foggy brains and is making them miss opportunities in life.
Kindly consider this:
- Lack of sleep puts a bump on your thinking. Healthy sleep is like a repellant of many unwanted thing; like brain fog. You may not believe it, but you probably have a foggy brain because you don’t have a sleep pattern. As an illustration, imagine forcing your car to go faster when it’s trapped in quicksand. No matter how hard you press on the pedal, you will be stuck. It’s the same thing with your brain, but a good night’s sleep can take you out of that slump.
- Sleep deprivation makes it harder to remember things. You can say goodbye to a lot of your creative ideas if you are running low on energy. It’s like going to a well but your bucket has a bunch of holes in it. You try hard to get some water, but you barely get anything. When you get enough a good night’s sleep, you are patching many of those holes in your ‘bucket’. Life would be easier for everyone if they had the healthy habit of getting enough sleep.
Good sleep quality can also protect you from mental-related problems like Alzheimer’s and dementia. A study estimated that around 15% of people with Alzheimer’s disease in the population, could be attributed to poor sleep. I think it’s crazy how restless nights can harm us.
Your Sense Of Meaning Increases
Right now, millions of people are searching for meaning in their lives. But little do they realize how much power a sleeping routine can help in respect to that. According to science, we are healthier and feel more connected with life when we get quality sleep. To test this, scientists set to investigate, and these were the results:
“In a series of hierarchical multiple linear regressions controlling for the demographic covariates of age, sex, race, and education, higher levels of purpose in life were associated with better sleep quality at baseline. […] These findings provide support for the hypothesis that a higher level of meaning and purpose in life among older adults is related to better sleep quality and appears to be protective against symptoms of sleep apnea and RLS [Restless Leg Syndrome].”
The above idea show that you need to do things that you find enjoyable. Since better sleep is deeply correlated with purpose in life, we can improve one to improve the other. If you are sleeping like a baby at night, chances are you already have a strong purpose in life.
Sleep has has become something sacred to me. I have my little pre sleep routine before I head into the dream world. When I lay my head on bed, I remind myself sleep is a way to look forward to tomorrow; so I need to have energy!
It Can Help You With Stress
Let’s be honest and face it, we all have stress, but if you think about it, stress isn’t bad. It’s just a biological tool that helps us do things that we should already be doing. If we use it right, it can help us be productive individuals in society. Heck! You probably wouldn’t be here if your parents didn’t feel the urge to make babies!
But we can all agree that too much stress is indeed bad. Most problems in life come and go, but some are here to stay. That is why good sleep is such an important function to take advantage of! It can make us feel more relax and helps us get back to our agendas.
Please, also consider this phrase:
Brains need cleaning.
We can’t party 24/7, right? (Nope, it’s not a challenge). Well, our brains can’t work all the time either. Just like we need to clean our house after a party, we need to do some housekeeping to clean our brains after an exhausting day.
One of the best ways to clean your brain from stress is through deep sleep. Not taking care of your thinking machine can have serious consequences to your health. Chronic stress is one of them. We don’t want that, right?
From personal experience, my mood is so much better after a going to bed early for a year. I just wish I had done it sooner!
Final Thoughts
Do you need to buy something expensive? No. Do you need to do some crazy drugs to feel better? No. That’s the best part about this; sleep is free. Allow sleep be that stepping stone for a happier life. Don’t think about it too much, just do it. Don’t underestimate its power.
This night, I want you to create a good bedtime routine. Something that you will enjoy doing each night before hitting your pillow. Do whatever works for you, as long as you have a consistent sleep schedule, it should work. For me, it’s reading fiction books and playing chess 30 minutes before I knock out.
Keep in mind your routine will look different than mine, but the important thing is to have one. Sketch your routine out. Make a contract with yourself, sign it, and stick up to it — no matter what. Don’t make it hard, make it easy and enjoyable. Why not give it a shot? It’s free.
