Getting Enough Sleep for High Performance Living

Are you getting enough sleep?

As I’m sure you know, we must spend a certain amount of time sleeping in order to be productive and perform our best.

But could you benefit from hearing how beneficial it is to your high performance living, and how insufficient sleep can have a range of negative impacts on your performance?

Here are a few of these negative impacts:

• Impaired problem solving
• General mental fatigue
• Increased stress
• Lack of creativity
• Decreased ability to focus
• Memory issues
• Feelings of depression
• Premature aging
• Many other adverse health effects

It is essential to get enough quality sleep in order to be able to perform at our best.

Tom Brady, who many would consider the greatest quarterback of all time and played at a high level in the NFL until age 45, certainly understands how important sleep is in relation to his performance.

He goes to sleep by 9:00 pm, ensuring he gets the best 9 hours of sleep possible.

As important as nutrition, exercise, preparation and mindset are, nothing can replace the value of high quality and a sufficient quantity of sleep.

It has a direct correlation with both our physical and mental performance, making it one of the most important aspects of overall wellbeing.

The amount of sleep a person needs does vary from individual to individual, but most adults should get between 7-9 hours of sleep per night in order to function optimally.

The quality of one’s sleep is just as important as the quantity, so don’t overlook this important factor as well.

Quality sleep is characterized by a restful sleep with minimal interruptions.

Here’s some tips to maximize your quality sleep:

• Work with your body's circadian rhythm by going to bed at the same time each night (as much as practically possible).
• Avoid caffeine, within 8 hours of bedtime. Even if you drink caffeine later in the day, and can fall asleep that night, it could still be negatively impacting your sleep stages at night without you realizing it.
• Avoid alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime, if not altogether. It may seem to help you fall asleep, but it can interfere with the much needed phases of restful sleep.
• No food 3 hours before bedtime leaves nothing in your stomach to digest, allowing your sleep will be of higher quality and more restful.
• No liquid (or very little) within 2 hours of bedtime leaves your bladder empty, avoiding waking you at night and disturbing sleep.
• No screens within 1 hour of bedtime allows the body to better prepare for a restful night’s sleep.

In conclusion, sleep is essential for optimal physical and mental performance. A lack of quality sleep can have serious implications on one’s performance and wellbeing, so it is important to make sure to get the right amount of quality sleep in order to be able to function and perform at your best.

If you’d like to hear the most recent interview with Dr. Darin Wilson on my “Life's Hard, Succeed Anyway” podcast, you can listen and subscribe here.