The 6 most dangerous sleeping habits for professionals

The 6 most dangerous sleeping habits for professionalsThe 6 most dangerous sleeping habits for professionalsAs every seasoned professional knows, routines bedrngnis only become comfortable, but habitual. Especially when it comes to your workflow, following the saatkorn (ish) steps to success helps you work mora productively and efficiently. This is a positive way to function, as long as the rituals youre developing are healthy and notlage detrimental. So when a poor nights sleep - thanks to a last-minute deadline - becomes less random and more frequent, your performance may departure to suffer.And while a few raised eyebrows during a busy season from your manager isnt cause to worry, when your sleeping hygiene impacts your health, its time to fret. During a time when working hours are around-the-clock and smartphones make email accessible 24/7, prioritizing your need for Zzzs might be difficult. Even so? Its necessary to stay in the game.FollowLadders on FlipboardFollow Ladders mag azines on Flipboard coveringHappiness,Productivity,Job Satisfaction,Neuroscience, andmoreSleep is a time for cell regeneration, hormonal regulation, memory consolidation, and psychological regrouping. Lack of sleep or poor quality sleep can have severe consequences both in and out of the workplace, says sleep expert Dr. Sabrina Magid-Katz. Not getting the sleep you need can make it harder to learn and focus. In fact, studies show that sleep deficiency alters brain function in a way that hinders ones ability to make decisions and solve problems, she says. It will affect your ability to multi-task, think creatively, react quickly, and remember facts. It has also been shown to affect relationships and how one reacts to conflict.Here, a look at the most dangerous bedtime habits professionals develop - and how to get that shut-eye prontoYou work right until lights-offFrom the time you physically leave the office to the time it takes to wrangle children (or your friends together for dinn er), zulauf an errand and finally settle into bed, youre likely tempted to give your e-mail a once-over - ya know, just in case you missed something urgent.Though constant connectivity may be beneficial when conducting business across the world, if you want to sleep in your own timezone, workplace expert Amy Cooper Hakim, Ph.D. says signing off at least an hour or so before you want to sleep is essential.Working before sleeping can cause you to become more alert, which will negatively impact your ability to sache asleep. If you have something on your mind, write it down on a piece of paper and tell yourself that you will focus on it the next day. When you transfer your worries to that piece of paper, you free your mind to relax and to rest, she says.You exercise close to bedtimeNot everyone has the ability to happily wake up before the sun does to run a few miles or take an indoor cycling class. And sure, schedules and certain working environments dont offer as much flexibility wit h a mid-day yoga class between meetings. But to get the most restorative benefits out of your 8-hour snooze fest, Hakim says sweating right before bedtime is a poor choice.The key is to make sure you work out at least four hours before you want to rest. Because any sort of cardiovascular exertion causes your heart rate to skyrocket, asking it to calm down a mere hour later is near impossible.You dont go to sleep at the same time every nightSorry, but your mom probably isnt available to call you at 10 p.m. every night to tell you to get to bed already. Even if you wont get grounded if you stay up past midnight, career expert Cheryl Palmer says youll deflate your creativity and cognitive function if you dont practice being consistent with your bedtime.If you go to bed at the same time every night, your body will be accustomed to the routine, and you will find it relatively easy to thema asleep, she says.The more off-kilter you are, your body will respond negatively, causing more tossi ng and turning and producing a lower-quality sleep. When you follow a dependable schedule, your will feel better rested - and ready to tackle whatever your manager throws on your plate.You pull all-nightersSure, you might have double-fisted cappuccinos to cram for biology exams in college and still managed to down a six-pack the next night. Now that youre - ahem - older, your body isnt quite as equipped to handle sleeplessness.As Magid explains, studies show that staying awake for 24 hours can have the same effect as a .10 blood alcohol content, thus throwing off your sleep-wake cycle. And even if you think you can make it up on the weekend, Magid says that much like jeg lag, catching up on sleep isnt quite as easy-peasy.Though its not always conceivable to dictate your work cycle and role within a company, Hakim suggests spacing out bigger work projects so you dont run into an unavoidable time crunch. Stay at work an hour later for a week, or start work an hour earlier. But, don t compromise your sleep, if at all possible, she says.You booze before bedYour manager had negative feedback on everything you said or wrote today, your best friend from college is passively-aggressively texting you with how youre lacking, and that doughnut you downed out of stress has you feeling drowsy. Stressful days call for ways to release the tension, but a big ol glass of red wine or a stiff cocktail isnt the solution, according to Magid. That is if you plan to sleep well at night.In fact, even one drink can have a negative impact on your sleeping. A drink may put you to bed, but will make the hours you spend there less effective. Alcohol hinders the sleep cycle and promotes obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that not only robs you of quality sleep but has other serious medical consequences, she says.For when you truly want - and need - to rest, Magid says to skip the booze and turn to other effective ways to zen out reading a book, taking a bath, snuggling with your numb er one, or practicing meditation techniques.You ignore snoringIf your loud roars in the wee hours of the morning are a constant point of contention with your partner, or anyone who shares a bed with you, why havent you done something about it yet? You might blame a stuffy cold or being tipsy on the reason you snore, but Magid says its not a habit to ignore since it can be a sign of a sleep apnea - a serious medical condition that not only impacts your work performance, but your overall health.Sleep apnea is when the jaw and soft tissues block the airway while sleeping. The persons body reacts much like choking. The blood pressure and heart rate go up and they wake up just enough to regain control of the muscles needed to open the airway and breath again, she says. While there will likely be no recollection of behauptung events in the morning, these mini-arousals will disrupt the sleep cycle so that the deep, reparative stages are missed.She adds that many medical conditions, includ ing heart attack, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, impotence, and depression can result from ignoring this illness.Diagnosis can be as simple as a home sleep test. Treatment can range from a CPAP machine to a specially designed mouth guard made by a dentist who is trained in sleep, she says.The 6 most dangerous sleeping habits for professionalsAs every seasoned professional knows, routines not only become comfortable, but habitual. Especially when it comes to your workflow, following the same (ish) steps to success helps you work more productively and efficiently. This is a positive way to function, as long as the rituals youre developing are healthy and not detrimental. So when a poor nights sleep - thanks to a last-minute deadline - becomes less random and more frequent, your performance may start to suffer.And while a few raised eyebrows during a busy season from your manager isnt cause to worry, when your sleeping hygiene impacts your health, its time to fret. During a t ime when working hours are around-the-clock and smartphones make email accessible 24/7, prioritizing your need for Zzzs might be difficult. Even so? Its necessary to stay in the game.Sleep is a time for cell regeneration, hormonal regulation, memory consolidation, and psychological regrouping. Lack of sleep or poor quality sleep can have severe consequences both in and out of the workplace, says sleep expert Dr. Sabrina Magid-Katz. Not getting the sleep you need can make it harder to learn and focus. In fact, studies show that sleep deficiency alters brain function in a way that hinders ones ability to make decisions and solve problems, she says. It will affect your ability to multi-task, think creatively, react quickly, and remember facts. It has also been shown to affect relationships and how one reacts to conflict.Here, a look at the most dangerous bedtime habits professionals develop - and how to get that shut-eye prontoYou work right until lights-offFrom the time you physicall y leave the office to the time it takes to wrangle children (or your friends together for dinner), run an errand and finally settle into bed, youre likely tempted to give your e-mail a once-over - ya know, just in case you missed something urgent.Though constant connectivity may be beneficial when conducting business across the world, if you want to sleep in your own timezone, workplace expert Amy Cooper Hakim, Ph.D. says signing off at least an hour or so before you want to sleep is essential.Working before sleeping can cause you to become more alert, which will negatively impact your ability to fall asleep. If you have something on your mind, write it down on a piece of paper and tell yourself that you will focus on it the next day. When you transfer your worries to that piece of paper, you free your mind to relax and to rest, she says.You exercise close to bedtimeNot everyone has the ability to happily wake up before the sun does to run a few miles or take an indoor cycling clas s. And sure, schedules and certain working environments dont offer as much flexibility with a mid-day yoga class between meetings. But to get the most restorative benefits out of your 8-hour snooze fest, Hakim says sweating right before bedtime is a poor choice.The key is to make sure you work out at least four hours before you want to rest. Because any sort of cardiovascular exertion causes your heart rate to skyrocket, asking it to calm down a mere hour later is near impossible.You dont go to sleep at the same time every nightSorry, but your mom probably isnt available to call you at 10 p.m. every night to tell you to get to bed already. Even if you wont get grounded if you stay up past midnight, career expert Cheryl Palmer says youll deflate your creativity and cognitive function if you dont practice being consistent with your bedtime.If you go to bed at the same time every night, your body will be accustomed to the routine, and you will find it relatively easy to fall asleep, sh e says.The more off-kilter you are, your body will respond negatively, causing more tossing and turning and producing a lower-quality sleep. When you follow a dependable schedule, your will feel better rested - and ready to tackle whatever your manager throws on your plate.You pull all-nightersSure, you might have double-fisted cappuccinos to cram for biology exams in college and still managed to down a six-pack the next night. Now that youre - ahem - older, your body isnt quite as equipped to handle sleeplessness.As Magid explains, studies show that staying awake for 24 hours can have the same effect as a .10 blood alcohol content, thus throwing off your sleep-wake cycle. And even if you think you can make it up on the weekend, Magid says that much like jeg lag, catching up on sleep isnt quite as easy-peasy.Though its not always conceivable to dictate your work cycle and role within a company, Hakim suggests spacing out bigger work projects so you dont run into an unavoidable ti me crunch. Stay at work an hour later for a week, or start work an hour earlier. But, dont compromise your sleep, if at all possible, she says.You booze before bedYour manager had negative feedback on everything you said or wrote today, your best friend from college is passively-aggressively texting you with how youre lacking, and that doughnut you downed out of stress has you feeling drowsy. Stressful days call for ways to release the tension, but a big ol glass of red wine or a stiff cocktail isnt the solution, according to Magid. That is if you plan to sleep well at night.In fact, even one drink can have a negative impact on your sleeping. A drink may put you to bed, but will make the hours you spend there less effective. Alcohol hinders the sleep cycle and promotes obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that not only robs you of quality sleep but has other serious medical consequences, she says.For when you truly want - and need - to rest, Magid says to skip the booze and turn t o other effective ways to zen out reading a book, taking a bath, snuggling with your number one, or practicing meditation techniques.You ignore snoringIf your loud roars in the wee hours of the morning are a constant point of contention with your partner, or anyone who shares a bed with you, why havent you done something about it yet? You might blame a stuffy cold or being tipsy on the reason you snore, but Magid says its not a habit to ignore since it can be a sign of a sleep apnea - a serious medical condition that not only impacts your work performance, but your overall health.Sleep apnea is when the jaw and soft tissues block the airway while sleeping. The persons body reacts much like choking. The blood pressure and heart rate go up and they wake up just enough to regain control of the muscles needed to open the airway and breath again, she says. While there will likely be no recollection of these events in the morning, these mini-arousals will disrupt the sleep cycle so that the deep, reparative stages are missed.She adds that many medical conditions, including heart attack, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, impotence, and depression can result from ignoring this illness.Diagnosis can be as simple as a home sleep test. Treatment can range from a CPAP machine to a specially designed mouth guard made by a dentist who is trained in sleep, she says.Looking for an inspiring way to start your day? Sign up forMorning MotivationIts our friendly facebook inc ? that will send you a quick note every weekday morning to help you start strong. Sign up here by clicking Get Started