How to Be a Champion of Sleep – Because Sleep Isn’t Just a Luxury

If you are working in a cutthroat industry populated mostly by yuppies, it’s not unusual to hear people rushing in the morning saying how little sleep they had because of work (or partying, maybe). If you are one of these people, you need to understand that a dose of caffeine cannot compensate your lack of sleep. A couple of all-nighters a week can turn into a serious sleeping disorder, which will be detrimental to your health. According to this article published on Business Insider, some of the negative effects of sleep deprivation include short term memory problem, increased risk of heart disease, distractedness and irritability, and weight gain – I bet that last bit got your attention. So if you want to lose the muffin top, stop treating sleep as a luxury that you can only indulge in during the weekends.

Now if you have been operating on less than 5 hours of sleep for the longest time, trying to get more and better sleep can be challenging. But here are some ways on how you can champion sleep.

1. Make your room gadget-free during bedtime. Okay, I know it’s easier said than done. But you need to resist the urge to check your messages or your Facebook. Work can also wait until morning, so unless you are actually saving lives, skip it. If your excuse is that you are using your phone as your alarm, then go and buy a real alarm clock.

2. Explore the different sleep apps available. If you cannot afford to leave your phone outside your room, might as well use it to your advantage. There are different mobile apps invented to help improve your sleep. Others require you to log in your ideal sleeping time and prompt you to get ready to bed as it nears your bedtime, but then again, it can also be as useless as the snooze button. Other sleep apps that you can try are those that helps you meditate at night or apps that filter out your gadget’s blue light, like f.lux or LightMeter, which is known to prevent the production of melatonin.

3. Place a humidifier in your bedroom. If you are still not sure what exactly a humidifier does, it controls the flow of air in the room, helping you to breathe easier. It’s also a bonus that it can put a stop on your snoring. Do yourself and your partner a favor.

4. Enjoy nightly rituals. Don’t mistake routine from rituals. Routine sounds like practical yet boring. Ritual, on the other hand, is not just something that you do so you don’t get out of sync. It must be nourishing, enriching, and enjoyable too. As for me, I noticed that practicing yoga and meditation every night has helped me sleep sore soundly. Yoga every night? Sure, some nights, I just do several rounds of sun salutations or 5 minutes of quiet meditation, so don’t fret.

During my first years of working, I looked up to girlbosses whose favorite accessory is a pair of shades. You know why! Behind those are dark circles and puffy eyes brought by sleep deprivation. I thought the only way a woman can work her way to the top is to lose some sleep, too. Turns out it’s the other way around. Now, I am a champion of sleep, and as a result, I am more alert at work, and my ideas stick. It’s not easy to suddenly want to change your mindset and routine to accommodate better sleep, but the tips I listed will surely help.