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How to Sleep Better for Productivity

As a maker of standing desks and ergonomic office products, the team at Stand Up Desk Store spends a lot of time discussing ways to improve productivity at work.

However, one of the best opportunities to increase output occurs nowhere near your office. Naturally, we are talking about the time you spend sleeping.

Contrary to popular belief, quality sleep accomplishes a lot more than merely making you feel “not tired.” In fact, research is showing that sleep plays a vital role in learning, processing of information, retention of memories, and ultimately our ability to think on our feet.

As the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School writes, the basics of learning include the three steps: “acquisition,” “consolidation,” and “recall.” For these processes to execute properly, a person must get quality rest.

“Inadequate sleep negatively affects all three learning processes. Acquisition and recall suffer in the most recognizable way. It is simply more difficult to concentrate when we are sleep deprived; this affects our ability to focus on and gather information presented to us, and our ability to remember even those things we know we have learned in the past. The less obvious—but possibly more profound—impact of sleep deprivation on learning is the effect that many sleep researchers think it has on memory consolidation.”

In another sleep-related article, Harvard Magazine discusses the link between sleep and critical thinking.

“If you are just trying to remember simple facts—listing all the kings of England, say—cramming all night works,” he explains. “That’s because it’s a different memory system, the declarative memory system. But if you expect to be hit with a question like ‘Relate the French Revolution to the Industrial Revolution,’ where you have to synthesize connections between facts, then missing that night of sleep can be disastrous. Your ability to do critical thinking takes a massive hit—just as with alcohol, you’re knocking out the frontal-cortex functions.”

Considering how important these functions are to success at work, making time for quality sleep is really an investment in your career. Therefore, to help you learn how to sleep better, we’ve assembled these easy steps.

How to Get Better Sleep

1. Set your Temperature

If you’ve held the belief that you sleep better when it’s cool, you’re on the right track. Sleep experts generally recommend a bedroom temperature around 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

As WebMD notes, however, the ideal temperature should ultimately be determined by where you’re most comfortable…which for most sleepers could be anywhere between 65 and 72 degrees. As such, experiment a bit with the thermostat. When you find yourself waking up fewer times during the night, you’ve probably found the right setting.

2. Maintain Proper Humidity

In addition to improving comfort, keeping excess humidity in check will curb the growth of allergy-inducing mold and dust mites. Why? Anything that makes you cough or sneeze is going to make it harder to sleep well. Conversely, if air is too dry, that can lead to sinus issues, and itchy, cracked skin.

The EPA recommends maintaining indoor conditions between 30% and 50% RH (relative humidity). During the summer, this can be accomplished with your central air conditioning, and/or a dehumidifier. During the winter, running a humidifier can help keep your bedroom in the right range.

For best results, invest in an inexpensive digital humidity meter. It can help you know if your bedroom is too dry, too, moist, or just right.

 

3. Minimize Bedroom Allergens

In addition to maintaining the correct humidity, you can keep allergens at bay through regular dusting, sweeping and mopping of hard floors, changing HVAC filters, as well as frequent vacuuming with a HEPA filter-equipped vacuum. When vacuuming, don’t forget the upholstery and the drapes. Regularly laundering the bedding is important as well.

 

4. Adjust Lighting

As with temperature, ideal lighting for better sleep can come down to a matter of preference. That said, artificial light is generally considered disruptive of our circadian rhythm (the body’s natural 24-hour sleep/wake cycle). So unless you must have a night light, or enjoy the street lamps glaring through your window, make your room as devoid of artificial light as possible. This can include your phone flashing when you get a text message, and that big LED alarm clock you’ve had since college.

 

5. Optimize Your Sleep Ergonomics

Just like a properly adjusted sit stand desk is vital to comfort and reduced pain during the work day, your bed needs to be fine-tuned for pain free sleep.

Most people know that a quality mattress with proper spine support (and your preferred level of firmness) is important. What people may not know is that the pillow is a crucial part of the equation, too.

That’s why higher-end pillows are available in a variety of thicknesses to provide the correct neck alignment for different body types. There are also specific models created for side sleepers, stomach sleepers, and even special designs for people who snore.

Instead of going for the cheapest mattress and pillow you can find, a knowledgeable salesperson at a reputable bedding store will match you to the right bedding for your body type and sleep habits. You might pay a few dollars more, but the investment can pay big dividends in terms of sleep quality and productivity.

 

In conclusion, with some easy steps, you can optimize your bedroom for quality sleep, helping to maximize productivity during the day!