Sleep & health

Good sleep is necessary for optimal health and can affect hormone levels, mood and weight.

Some tome lifestyle daily, routine, and business affects your sleep.

restless and sleep-deprived entrepreneur who has been burning the midnight oil more often than not.

Entrepreneurs frequently suffer from this type of ailment aptly called the entrepreneur insomnia. Businessmen can experience this kind of insomnia due to their competitive nature, hyperactive minds and/or just plainly being a workaholic.

Having a home-business job inflicts a serious demand on time, competence and a sense of accomplishment. Not to mention, working from your home-office can never mean really leaving your work behind. Conventional hours spent on work is about 12-16 hours per day, which means about 8-12 hours for you to rush through the ‘other things’ that are important for us to live. Talk about sleep, rest and leisure.

Studies have shown that lack of sleep will result in poor functioning of your brain, thus making you less effective and reduced work performance.

As a matter of fact, it is linked to a growing list of mental and other health risks. Just to name a few examples are anger, 

depression, diseases of the heart, diabetes, and obesity. Inadequate sleep not only affects your job but also your personal life and your mental and physical health.

Here’s a list to help you break free from this disorder and help you relish life.

Stick to your business hours

Map out your day and delegate time to be spent on each undertaking. Give yourself buffer time for unexpected tasks. A precise time for opening and reading emails should be also part of this list as this could consume time if done throughout the day.

Prioritize

Accomplish each task in order of priority. Complete the most important things first down to the less urgent matters.

Reward yourself

Reward yourself for every accomplishment you make by having a vacation, full weekend off or a massage.

Learn time management skills.

There are plenty of websites and books that can help you learn how to manage your time effectively. Make a list of things you should do and keep a time diary to note how long each task takes. Find the unnecessary things you can delegate. By managing your time effectively, you’ll be able to finish your work early and have time to sleep. You’ll also have time to spend with your spouse a children.

Fortunately, a good night’s sleep is not a random event; it’s a trainable skill. Here are a few guidelines that will help you.

Catch the melatonin wave.

 Go to bed when you’re just starting to feel drowsy (usually between 10 PM and 11 PM). Melatonin, a natural hormone released from the pineal gland, deep inside your brain, makes you relax, feel drowsy, and ultimately fall asleep. If you learn to notice it and go with its flow, you’ll enjoy falling asleep and have better-quality sleep during the night.

Avoid screens. 

Turn off TVs, smartphones, and laptops at least 60 minutes before bed. Why? Each of those screens emits high levels of blue light rays. That blue light suppresses your pineal gland, and in turn, the production of melatonin. It’s almost like your brain reads the blue light as if the sun is still up, when in reality the sun has probably been down for hours and you should be sleeping.

Enjoy only perceptual activities 60 minutes before bed. 

Too much thinking is another enemy of late-evening drowsiness. Conceptual activities like intense conversations, replying to emails, working, or reading can arouse your attention and suppress your natural sleepiness. In contrast, perceptual activities like doing the dishes, going for a walk, or listening to music can help you better catch the wave of melatonin as it rises.

Avoid eating two hours before bed.

 Most people know to avoid caffeine in the hours before going to bed, but in fact, eating anything can negatively impact your ability to get good sleep. Eating activates the flow of blood and sugar in the body, keeping your body and mind alert and awake. Not the ideal state for a good night’s rest.

Practice five minutes of mindfulness when you go to bed.

 Practicing mindfulness has proven to enhance sleep quality. Do five minutes of it sitting on your bed before you go to sleep, as the last thing of the day. You can find simple instructions here