7 Quick Ways To Sleep Better And Increase Productivity

April 24, 201769 Comments

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How’d you sleep last night?

Are you struggling to wake up every morning?

Do you wish for once you could just wake up refreshed and ready to slay?

Do you wish for once you could just wake up refreshed and ready to slay? Here's how! #sleepClick To Tweet

Ya know, without ten alarms, loud dance music, your morning java, wasting hours on social cuss you’re not feeling like it, starving for an ounce of productivity?

*Insert my guilty face here.* Or maybe that’s just me?

Part of me wonders if I’m a night owl, aka NOT a morning or waking up in general person, because I have bad sleeping habits. It takes me a good few hours every day to get going and hit my productivity stride.

But then again, even the most inspired and motivated person hits bouts of productivity drought, where things just start to go off the rails and by off the rails I mean your street car named desire is face down in a ditch with the hazards flashing “I need more sleep.”

Are you sacrificing sleep in the name of getting shit done and slaying your goals? Don’t! #sleep.

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Or maybe, you’re sacrificing sleep in the name of getting shit done and achieving your goals. But at what cost to tomorrow’s productivity? It’s a dangerous spiral, and before you know it you’re not sleeping at all and falling apart a little bit more each day, until there’s no one left.

Trust me, I’ve been there. Which is why I am so excited to share these 7 actionable tips that you can implement tonight for a better sleep and increased productivity by Aqib Nazir.

Lack of Sleep Side Effects

There’s no doubt that as an adult we miss the part of childhood that involved sleeping. But now all we can do is just pray to get some sweet, deep sleep for ourselves.

Most of us are guilty of waking up and working at odd hours or just being in binge-work mode. This sleep deprivation causes quick exhaustion and a terrible sleeping pattern.

Stop binge-working every night and focus on getting more sleep instead. You'll thank me. Click To Tweet

To scare you, even more, science agrees that sleeping less than 7 hours can cause you to gain weight, induce depression, irritability, high blood pressure and several other low blows to your immune system.

7 Quick Ways to Sleep Better and Increase Productivity

Well here are a few tips which will help you sleep better and be more productive than you are at the moment:

Stop struggling every night, here are 7 quick ways to sleep better and increase productivity #sleepClick To Tweet

Create Sleep Space

Yup, you’re tired. You get home and decide to just leave everything, hop onto the bed and just pass out. You don’t care if you have a messy bed or if the lights are on, you just need your sleep. Well, in this episode, this is the first step towards sleep-suicide. Better sleep requires a better environment. You need to be comfortable and create such an environment which sends signals to your brain that “it’s time to rest.”

Kill off all your devices and light sources and give yourself a break from all the things which you see or do in the daytime. Create a whole different environment so that your brain registers that you’re in the “comfort zone” and not the “work zone.”
Getting Comfortable

To get a good night’s sleep, you need to be comfortable. In order to be comfortable, you need to invest in great bedding that gives you a comfortable sleep. A comfortable bed and a good quality mattress with feather-soft cushions will seduce you after a long tiring day at the office. For instance, ever noticed why we tend to sleep better in the winter? That’s because of the extra layer of comfort in the form of quilts and blankets. Similarly, you should work hard and get yourself the perfect mattress, pillows, and bedding so that you can at least rest better, all year round. (Or crank the AC and pull out those winter blankets).

Get yourself the perfect mattress, pillows, and bedding so that you can at least rest better. #sleepClick To Tweet
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Limit Your Drinking

The concoction of a good sleep does not include alcohol or caffeine – not after the 7 pm mark at least. Now no one can really give up on caffeine or alcohol-based beverages entirely, but you can stop consuming them in the evening. The logic behind this consumption is simple; your system needs to avoid any stimulants that might keep it buzzing. This is the same reason that most scientists suggest to avoid nicotine, caffeine and heavy snacking especially during night time. And in all honesty, avoiding them does help you sleep better.

The cocktail of a good sleep does not include alcohol or caffeine - not after 7pm #sleepClick To Tweet

Get Up and Exercise

If you have been struggling to sleep peacefully, try exercising in the evening. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you start training in hopes of sweet dreams, but all this body exertion will release happy hormones in the body that will cause your body to not only feel great but function even better. Plus, with exercise, you will be able to develop a proper schedule for the day that will help you in your disrupted sleep patterns.

There is no such thing as catching up on sleep, create a routine and stick to it every night #sleepClick To Tweet
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Stop Trying to “Catch Up”

If you have been sleeping in on your weekends in hopes of “catching up” on lost sleep, then you are causing more harm than good. What basically happens here is that our bodies are able to recognize patterns and adapt them readily. If you decide to catch up, you are giving your body a completely new pattern to work on, disturbing its natural course. This just causes you to be even lazier and hit creative blocks. Ever wondered why weekend make you slower and less productive? Well, now you know.
No More Hitting Snooze

Even if you are sleeping 3 hours or 8 hours, do not snooze your alarms. These extra 5-10 minutes of sleep are not worth it. Let’s put it this way, your body goes through several temperature changes during your entire sleep cycle. When it is near its end, the body’s temperature starts to rise and you naturally wake up. This natural wake sequence gets disturbed everytime you hit the snooze button.

Stop hitting snooze! Did you know when you hit snooze you are confusing your body? #sleepClick To Tweet
When you are in deep sleep your body is at a lower temperature and when the alarm goes off you wake up and that sends a signal to the brain to start warming up. But before your body can actually warm up, you snooze it away. This sends the body into sleep mode and just as it is about to take the perfect dip, BOOM! The alarm goes off again. Now your mind and body are confused to a whole new level. So the longer you snooze, the more you confuse your mind and the more zombie-like morning you are bound to have.
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Don’t Force Yourself

If you’re in bed and can’t seem to sleep, do not force yourself. The better way to handle this sleeplessness is to leave your bed and do something else. By diverting your mind or just relaxing, you can actually fall asleep faster. Plus never keep a time check on yourself. The more you calculate your sleeping hours, the more anxious you are going to spend the rest of your night. This is why it is important to not panic when it comes to sleeping right. In fact, your mind works well under the placebo effect, which means you can actually convince your mind that you are well-rested and have slept well!
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Lastly, with a little bit of self-control and focus, you can not only sleep better but can be more productive, even after a bad night.

Improved sleep patterns will definitely give you sufficient strength to knock the next day out.

Get enough sleep. You're a human, not a robot! Sleep isn't a luxury, it's a necessity! #sleepClick To Tweet

Plus you’re human, not a robot. A lot of people think of sleep as a luxury but that’s not true. The quality and quantity of your sleep directly impact your cognitive ability and productivity. You need better sleep for better results.

Happy Sleeping!

How do you get a good night’s sleep?

More About Guest Contributor

Aqib Nazir is Stay at Home Dad, IT Consultant and Blogger. He loves writing about digital marketing, sleep, productivity, and growth hacking. His work has been featured on some famous publication including Business.com, The Huffington Post, and Tweak Your Biz.

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