Receive the NEWS: You will live longer (and better) with sleep

I’m not a tell-it-all writer, and I don’t like to talk about my personal experiences unless I think it will help my readers and clients… but boy, did I have an amazing nightlife last night.

I must have slept, what, nine hours!

I have counseled several clients (consultants, entrepreneurs, and leaders in all kinds of jobs) who are stressed. Some have been close to breaking point. They always want to talk about the “stressors” their jobs put on them, but before we have that discussion, I always ask about the client’s health habits. And often I find that they have been neglected. Many stressed people behave as if they expect to be what one colleague calls “a brain on a stick,” able to function well mentally without taking care of their bodies.

A host of new research confirms what we’ve known all along: You must take care of your physical vitality if you expect to perform at your best. In fact, several new studies speak to the importance of an often-neglected health habit: a good night’s sleep.

Have you ever felt depressed? It could be sleep deprivation. The August journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine reported that people who sleep 6 to 9 hours a night had higher self-reported scores for their quality of life and lower scores for depression (and its severity) than those who they did not sleep at least six hours of sleep per night. (The report also says you can overdo it: The same scores were associated with those who averaged more than nine hours a night, though I wonder if depression caused some people to fall asleep rather than the other way around.)

If you own a business or run a high-performing organization, you don’t want depression in your life. A BMC Medicine report last July noted that depression has definite effects on a person’s ability to work (as well as form relationships and have a good quality of life). The report also said that women are twice as likely to experience depression as men, and that the loss of a life partner (through separation or death) was a major contributing factor. But, perhaps surprisingly, the researchers found that you are slightly more likely to experience depression in a high-income country (where fifteen percent of the population is likely to become depressed at some point) than in a low- or middle-income country. . (where that figure is eleven percent). Hard work and resistance to stress can build wealth, but they can also hurt you if you don’t protect yourself.

Finally, what about that “brain on a stick”? The July Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that you can’t think your best if you don’t get enough sleep. Interrupted sleep masses with his memory, according to the report; a minimal amount of continuous sleep is critical for memory consolidation. Academy researchers found that “perfect sleep” isn’t necessary for the brain to function well: memory isn’t affected if a person’s average sleep duration stays at a minimum of 62 to 73 percent of the normal.

Sleep is one of the five key health habits I call The NEWS: You need to exercise at least some minimal discipline in the areas of Nutrition (getting rid of junk and eating fresh food), Exercise (increasing your heart rate 3-6 times a week), Water (get your two liters every day), Sleep (get your eight hours, for all the reasons discussed here), and Supplements (take at least one good multinutrient daily to give your body what it can). t otherwise get these days).

Don’t try to be a brain on a stick. Your brain needs you to pay attention to your health habits, and if you’re not getting enough sleep, re-disciplining your “nightlife” might be the best place to start.

by Michael D. Hume, M.S.