HOW TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE BY SLEEPING RIGHT
Read the Danish version here: Pas din søvn og arbejd mere effektivt
 
Do you sleep enough or are you always tired? This is a very important question to ask yourself. Many forget how important sleep really is. New entrepreneurs are especially in severe sleep deprivation. In periods I have been sleeping when others were at work. I have been sleeping too little, too much and not at all. The last one resulted in nosebleeds and a sleeping time on 15-17 hours because of my brain getting way too stressed.

You may think that was pretty stupid of me, but do you not know the feeling of when you are so passionate about something that you just have to do? All the ideas are there right now. If you sleep, you will forget everything! It has to be now! I need to finish! Your brain is under high pressure. And you just need to do one more thing…

Notebook


For that there is a very good solution. You just need a small notebook beside your bed. In that way every time you get an idea before bed or after waking up, you can write it down, so you will not forget the idea. In that way you will be able to relax more and let go of things.

Caffeine
Stop excessive consumption of coffee and energy drinks. It is alright to drink it occasionally but replacing or partly replacing sleep with caffeine is just wrong. Stop it!

Adults sleeping hours
Do you know how many hours you are supposed to sleep a day? It is not six hours… it is actually seven to eight hours. If you are a teenager you are supposed to sleep nine hours a day. If you would like to know how harmful it is for your body to have sleep deprivation, read Chris MacDonalds article, on sleep.

And no, it is not just another article. I tested this on myself. Six hours are just not enough, seven hours are not enough either and eight hours are too much. I have to sleep seven and a half hours before I can function. If I am very tiered after a busy day I will just take a power nap.

Power naps 
Power naps also called ”a grandfather” in Danish, is just genius. Power naps are not just taken by small children but also by successful adults. Down under you will find three types of power naps:
  • 15-30 minutes: If you just need a small boost, this one is really good.
  • 45-60 minutes: This one reboots your memory.
  • One hour and 15 minutes – One hour and a half hour: Rebooting creativity, memory and feelings.
It it different for each person how long we each need. In my case I need: 17 minutes, 50 minutes and one hour and 15 minutes.
 
Remember to put your mobile far away and set a timer on. This way you will not oversleep or just check another mail. 😉  
 
Sleeping times
It is important to put down a fixed sleeping pattern. What time you should sleep and what time you should wake up. Are you going to do something that you do not usually do you can only move your sleeping hours one hour and no more! It takes a person’s body two whole weeks to get used to a routine. So if you change your sleeping pattern on the 15th day it will not be so smart, will it?  
 
Alarm clock
Once you get used to your sleeping pattern, you can stop using the alarm clock or just set it to ring 15 or 30 minutes after you are supposed to wake up. When your body has gotten used to your sleeping pattern, you will wake up on you own. It is better to wake up on your own than to be woken up by you alarm clock, as the ringing interrupts your sleep.
 
Some more advices
Ever wondered why you cannot fall asleep when you are trying?
  • Put your mobile and other electronics away an hour before bedtime.
  • Dim all the lights an hour before bedtime.
  • Do not be hungry, I know I cannot fall asleep if I am hungry.
  • Your bed is for sleeping only, do not use it as your workplace. 
 
Remember to sleep on time and take a power nap! 😉

 

Are you on Google+? If so, you can connect with me here: Hafsa Farooq.