A good night’s sleep is as essential to the human body as is air, water, and food. However, most people skimp on sleep in order to do other activities at night. On an average, the human body requires 8 to 9 hours of sleep, but how many of us practice this? Also, each person’s sleep cycles are drastically different. So while your friend or colleague may be able to carry on through the day with just 4 or 5 hours, you may feel tired and worn out if you do the same. Also, sleep requirement can vary with the age and activity level of a person.

"Both stress and disturbed sleep can lead to health problems"

Too much stress, or a strong response to stress, is harmful. It can set you up for general poor health as well as specific physical or psychological illnesses like infection, heart disease, or depression. Persistent and unrelenting stress often leads to anxiety and unhealthy behaviors like overeating and abuse of alcohol or drugs. Related read: Ways to take care of your mental health!

Lack of sleep can initially feel like a small problem; but in the long run can leave you tired, irritable and unable to perform at your best during the day. Poor sleep first attacks efficiency and concentration, mainly caused due to a decline in the energy levels. Energy decline causes us to be less proactive and more prone to making mistakes. Related read: Snacks For High Energy

This makes situations seem more stressful and unmanageable than they already are. This stress in turn impairs our sleep pattern even more and soon it becomes a never-ending vicious circle. Stress is one of the root causes of insomnia. Related read: Yoga for Stress Management

Impact on Job Performance

Studies of employees ranging from military personnel to bankers show that stress reduces productivity and satisfaction at work, and is linked to depression too. One solution is to ask your employer to offer stress-management training, which can address company-wide stressors like weak communication channels as well as focusing on stress busters for individuals.

Apart from insomnia, chronic stress can lead to disorders like sleep apnea. Work stress and disturbances in sleep are associated with higher risk of cardiovascular issues and hypertension in employees.

Nutshell

With our increasingly fast paced lives, it is important that we put in as much effort into sleeping well, as we do into working well. A change in our lifestyle is a must. Implementing small, but lasting changes into your daily schedule will help you reach your goal of simply having a good, full night’s sleep.

If you are facing sleep issues since a long time and you haven't considered visiting a doctor, you might be making the situation even worse. Hope that rings a bell! No worries, if you don't have time to make a visit in-a-person, book an online appointment on The Wellness Corner asap and start treating your body that way it needs to be.