This past week I traveled for work and somewhat disrupted my regular sleep and work schedule. I ended up staying up a little later but still getting up at the same time.
To cap it off, Friday I stayed up until about 1 A.M. and then got up at 6 A.M. to drive home. On Monday when it was time to go back to work, I was feeling exhausted all day and had significant trouble getting work done for my job and got zero writing and programming done for myself.
Thankfully by Tuesday, I was feeling much more rested (in spite of getting up at 5:15 A.M.).
Some People Don’t Do Well Because They Don’t Feel Well
If you are tired and not feeling 100%, you usually do not do your best work.
You probably do not feeling like working either.
It is hard to be creative and solve problems if you are exhausted.
Sleep Tips
Here are a few tips that are likely to be relevant to you, especially if you are into programming and/or video games like me.
You might already know some of these, but a reminder is always good.
- Exercise: Getting some exercise in everyday will help you sleep better at night.
- Get Sunlight: Going outside and allowing your eyes to have natural lighting will help you sleep better at night. In some places and for some professions that don’t get sunlight much, a special kind of light for therapy is often used to help.
- Avoid Screen Time Near Bed Time: Many studies have shown that we have trouble falling asleep and getting good quality of sleep if we are using screens that shine light directly into our eyes before we try to sleep.
- Mind the Caffeine: Personally I usually try to avoid caffeine because I can be a little sensitive to its effects and I am not a big fan of the crash that comes a day or two later. Even if you only start the day with coffee or some other caffeinated beverage, it can still effect your sleep that evening.
- Cool It Down: Cooling the temperature in the room will help your body relax and fall asleep easier.
How Do You Feel?
One of the key indicators for whether or not you are getting enough high quality sleep is how you feel in the morning.
Do you wake up ready to get out of bed or are you hitting the snooze button 7 times?
If its the later, try some of the tips above and even search for other ways to get the sleep you need.