You're lying to yourself if you think that you function well on less than 6-7 hours of sleep... Image: Pinterest "I Function Really Well on a Few Hours of Sleep"No, you really don't... I'm sure we have all tried to convince ourselves of this at some point or another, almost trying to brag to our friends about how productive we are because we don't need as much sleep. For whatever reason, it is almost a "flex" in todays day and age to be able to claim that you can be just as productive with less sleep, allowing you to learn more and get more work done. The key word in that sentence is "claim." Why? Because even though you might feel like you are getting just enough sleep, your brain might say otherwise. The recommded 7-9 hours of sleep per night is not just some random number they came up with to fit our work schedules way back when Henry Ford created the 9-5 workday. There has actually been research done to show that less than 5% of the population can effectively sleep 6 hours per night and still be fully rested and functioning at optimal brain function. I would not bet on yourself being part of that small group of people with a rare genetic condition that allows them to do so. Here is What You Are Missing Out On When You Sleep Deprive YourselfWhy would I not bet on ourselves being part of that very small percent of people that can function on less than 7 hours per night? Because the downsides, if we happen to be wrong, just don't outweigh the upsides to being right. While sleep deprived our body experiences the following:
... and how that starts to impact your day to day life.When you start to decrease your mental function in any way, shape or form, it impacts your day to day drastically. Why? Because your mind is at the foundation of every single action that you take from the time you wake up to the time you lay your head down to sleep at night. Let's paint a picture of what your day might look like after a few nights of sub par sleep schedules... Instead of having the power to stick to your diet, you might feel hungrier than usual and with your decreased decision making, maybe you decide to not follow the diet at all that day. Then, the next day rolls around, and still low on sleep, you decide that another day not following the diet won't hurt you and before you know it you have some powerful negative momentum. Or... Instead of waking up and crushing the work you have to/ want to get done, you find yourself getting more distracted than usual during the work day and end up getting nothing done during the day. Or, if you do get anything done, it is usually the easy tasks, not the hard tasks that get you closer to your goals, those just get pushed off until "some other time." The worst part of all of this is that some people get so used to getting very little sleep that they think that their sub par brain function is just "normal" and they don't even know what it is like to think at their normal level anymore. Those Extra Hours Staying Up Might Hurt You More Than They Are Helping YouYes, even if you THINK you are getting more work done. Sure, maybe you get a few more social media posts created, or you start to do that project that you have been pushing off for a while, but is it really worth you getting just a few hours of sleep to do so? I get it if it's a one night thing where you have a deadline to meet, but if this turns into a consistent pattern, you are likely hurting yourself more than your are helping yourself. When this starts becoming a habit, you start getting lazy during the day and then staying up later to get the work done, that you pushed off during the day, forcing yourself to get stuck in a constant feedback loop. The best thing when you are behind on sleep is to actually get sleep, not push it off to get a few things done that really aren't as important as your sleep. If you start mastering your sleep, the increased brain function will help you get more done during the day, making it not even a thought to stay up late to get things done because you don't need to. When in doubt, try not to mess up your sleep schedule for extended periods of time (more than a couple of days in a row), it can really throw off your positive momentum. The Foundation to Your Mindset: SleepAnd your mindset is the foundation to everything else in your life. If you have read the MMNTM Blog before, you know that I constantly stress about the importance of mindset as it is at the foundation of everything else that we do. From our confidence that drives our relationships to our work ethic that drives the meaningful work in our lives, mindset is at the foundation of everything. With that being said, I'm sure you can guess what the foundation of our mindset is after reading this article, I wouldn't just switch up topics on you now, would I? You got it, sleep is one of the biggest foundations of our mindset. Our mindsets are dramatically based around brain function and sleep either makes or breaks how well your brain is functioning each day, as you have read above. If our brain isn't functioning well, this is going to be a domino effect causing our mindsets to fall and us to fall into bad habits or not take action towards our goals that day. Start the day right, the night before. Get enough sleep and stop lying to yourself that you can function on less sleep. It is not something to "flex" as you are likely not able to function on less sleep and ultimately hurting your own results. Time to Stop Lying To Yourself and Improve Your SleepYour mind workout for today, brought to you by MMNTM: The Gym For Your Mind Exercise #1: Shower Before Bed (but not within 90 minutes of when you want to fall asleep) Notes: Taking a warm shower and then getting out into cold air actually helps lower the body temperature and helps you fall asleep better. Much like a cold bed is ideal for your sleep, just instead of your bed, it's the slightly decreased body temperature. Exercise #2: Get off of Your Phone Duration: 1 hour before bed Notes: Focus this time on reading, meditating or just thinking, instead of stimulating your brain with white and blue lights from your screen. Exercise #3: Get Rid of White and Blue Light at Night Notes: Whether that be LED lights in your house or light coming from your computer, phone or TV, get rid of these lights as they stimulate the brain and replicate day light. When you switch them out for "warmer" lights, or just use warmer red and orange lights at night, you replicate sunsets and trigger the release of melatonin in your brain. Exercise #4: Journal at Night Duration: 20 minutes Notes: What better way to use the time when you are not on your phone. You can journal about what you are grateful that happened during the day, what you learned and what you could improve on. Exercise #5: Meditate Duration: 20-30 minutes Notes: There are plenty of free guided sleep meditations on YouTube, and honestly one of the best ways to get ready for bed. Just like that another day on the blog is in the books! Thanks for all the support and if you enjoyed this or learned anything I just ask one thing: bring a friend back tomorrow! Time to make personal development more "normal" because it is at the foundation of every area of our lives. Stop back with a friend tomorrow-- yourmmntm.com/blog -Taylor As Always, I Would Never Want You To Stop Learning After One Article. Learn More Here:
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