Four tips for better sleep
Every day, three out of four people in Finland are drunk at work. Or at least their work efficiency is the equivalent of someone with 0.05% blood alcohol level. As a nation, we do not get enough sleep. More than half of Finnish people of working age feel tired every day. Young adults are the most tired of us all.
A researcher specialized in the human brain told one of Odum’s reporters a story that makes you think. She meets a lot of top leaders and politicians through work, and often hears them brag about how they make do with just a few hours of sleep per night.
– You wouldn’t believe how often I’ve wanted to say “I can tell! Imagine how much better decisions you could make, if only you slept enough!” For now, I’ve been able to control myself, she continued.
We’re not all responsible for nation wide decision-making, but sleep deprivation takes its toll on us too. When we’re tired we eat junk food, skip exercise and any other tasks that feel too strenuous, snap at our families and start looking like languished eels.
Denying ourselves the needed sleep makes us susceptible to burnout. In the worst case we start medicating our exhaustion with alcohol or other substances, and thus create a vicious circle.
Sleep does not make the stressful things in our lives disappear, but it’s easier to think of solutions and possibilities when you’re not tired.
Neither will you be able to snap your fingers and get rid of all your harmful habits, but you can try these useful ones for a start:
1. Put down your cellphone, and other devices that expose you to blue light, in time before you go to sleep. Read a book or a magazine instead.
2. Light exercise and fresh air (both, preferably!) a few hours before it’s time for bed make you sleep better.
3. Do not drink caffeinated drinks late in the day!
4. Write down the things you worry about before you go to sleep. You can pick up on your worries in the morning, after a good night’s sleep.
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