Ordinary people will spend at least 20 years of their lives are sleeping peacefully.
That is, of course, if you get enough sleep – something many of us fail to do.
One in three people struggle with a sleep disorder at some point in their lives, the American Sleep Association reports. And a bad night’s sleep can have serious consequences over time: Sleep deprivation has been linked to increased blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline, among other health problems.
There is a hidden culprit that is sabotaging our sleep: our work. “What you do during the day and at work can really affect how well you sleep at night and how you wake up the next morning,” says Dr. in sleep and assistant medical director at the Johns Hopkins Center. for Sleep and Health, said CNBC Make It.
Dr Ilene Rosen, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital who studies sleep, says poor sleep can also affect your performance at work, leaving you “irritable and less productive.” more capacity”.
Here are three ways our work lives are killing the quality of our sleep — and how to wake up happier and more refreshed instead, according to experts:
Drink caffeine in the afternoon
Your late-afternoon coffee (or tea) habit can get you through a meeting day and deadline, but odds are, you’ll pay for it later.
Caffeine stimulates the body’s central nervous system, keeping you awake and alert — and such effects can last for four hours or longer, making it harder to fall asleep before bed. Phyllis Zee, chair of the department of sleep medicine and professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Salas recommends cutting back on caffeine by 4 p.m. or noon, if you’re more sensitive to its effects. Instead, replace your afternoon cup with carbonated water, juice, or another caffeine-free beverage; take a brisk walk outside; or stretch to raise.
Log more hours
Sometimes, working overtime is inevitable – but recording more hours means spending less time on activities that help you fall asleep or do them too late at night.
Exercising after dark “can sabotage your sleep,” says Rosen. That’s because cardiovascular exercise raises core body temperature for one to two hours even after a workout, interrupting the body’s natural “cooling” process that helps us fall asleep. sleep, she explained. Rosen recommends avoiding exercise within three hours of bedtime.
The same rule applies to late dinners or happy hour after work, because eating a large meal or drinking within two hours of bedtime can disrupt your sleep, says Zee.
Eating too close to bedtime can cause indigestion and acid reflux, while alcohol, although initially sedative, can stimulate the brain as it metabolizes, preventing you from falling into a deeper sleep. and make you feel groggy in the morning.
Working late can also cut into your bedtime routine – those habits, whether it’s taking a hot bath or reading a book, are important because they signal to your brain that it’s time to go to bed and help you get going. fall asleep faster, Rosen points out.
To sleep better even after a late night at work, save your workout for the next morning or afternoon and take a break for dinner at least two hours before bed.
‘Catch up’ going to bed on the weekend
The secret to a good night’s sleep isn’t how much sleep you get – it’s the time in your sleep schedule.
While it’s entirely possible to recover from the heavy sleep debt accumulated during a busy work week by sleeping more on the weekends, if you do it regularly, “you’ll never really ‘catch up’, you’re just sleep deprived,” says Salas.
It can be a challenge if you have to stick to the same bedtime and wake-up time with an unpredictable work schedule, but the more consistent you are, “the more you improve the quality of your sleep” , said Salas.
You still want to set an 8-hour goal and follow your body’s circadian rhythm (natural sleep pattern) as closely as possible. You can figure out your circadian rhythm by observing your body’s natural wake-up time, going without alarms for a few days, and making adjustments in 30 minutes if needed.
Paying attention to how you’re sleeping will not only help you wake up more refreshed, but it can also help reduce anxiety, increase productivity, and improve focus.
“Sleep is a basic human need, and a lot is at stake if we don’t get enough of it: our cognition, our memory, our digestion.” Salas said. “I can’t think of a thing where sleep isn’t important.”
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