The Top 8 tips for sleeping less and still feeling great
By Jim Estill
Some people find that sleeping less makes them less productive or lowers their energy levels. I find that the less I sleep, the more energy I have. You might find this tip works for you; you might find it does not. Try monitoring your sleep and your energy levels to see what works for you.
If you cut your sleep just one hour a night, you’ll gain 7 hours in your week, and you will increase your productive time between 14% and 15% depending on how much you sleep. Most people don’t need the amount of sleep that they get. This is not true of everybody; as with all of these tips, use your judgment to determine how it will best work in your life. I find that I am more productive when I am getting less sleep rather than more.
Below are some tips on how to increase your productivity by sleeping less. This is reprinted from my CEO blog, available at jimestill.com. Visit the blog for more articles on sleep and increasing productivity.
1 - Be inspired. If you truly are passionate about life, you will naturally function well on less sleep. You also will not want to miss anything so will sleep less.
2 - Avoid drugs. Caffeine and alcohol are two bad ones that come to mind. Both impact sleep negatively.
3 - Wake up at the same time each day (I am not perfect at this but it helps).
4 - Sleep well when you sleep. This means a quiet, cool, dark room. Relax well before going to bed. Clear your mind.
5 - Exercise. This helps you to sleep better. It also helps you to be more alert during the day.
6 - Eat well. Healthy eating leads to healthy sleeping.
7 - Just do it. Like any habit, it is easy to get used to less sleep (to a limit). I do think it varies from person to person.
8 - Catnap if you can. Learn to nap for only 20 minutes (a trick stolen from polyphasic sleep). I have begun to master this one and it works well.
Given that you are not over sleeping, perhaps the idea should be to be more productive with the time we are awake. And you know if you follow my blog that I spend a lot of time and focus on being productive.
About the Author
Jim Estill is the CEO of SYNNEX Canada. His time management expertise is available in his ebook, Time Leadership. To read a sample chapter of his ebook, and to check out his highly acclaimed CEO blog, visit www.jimestill.com.
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