Feeling like you can’t catch a break? Exhausted, lacking motivation, and productivity, or not feeling satisfied with your accomplishments?

This cycle is self-defeating, leaving you with no reward and no satisfaction, a lack of motivation and momentum to progress, and worse, it can lead to feelings of low self-worth and lack of purpose.

These are often symptoms of a greater cause that comes from sleep deprivation and poor work-life balance.

Stress overload is the biggest contributing factor to poor sleep. Too much stress on work and not working efficiently is an unhealthy pattern that so many of us fall into. Sleep helps solve so many of these problems we don’t give enough attention to.

The Benefits of Sleep:

Improved productivity
Better decision making
Healthier stress response
Better memory
Increases your problem-solving abilities
Fewer distractions and fewer mistakes

Sleep specialist Dr. Matthew Carter, Ph.D., at Williams College, said in a speech on sleep and productivity: “I definitely believe there is a sleep crisis in our culture.”

Many of us are missing out on the sleep we need to be productive. No matter the work you do, a lack of sleep impairs your creativity, problem-solving abilities, memory, decision making, increases stress, makes you more prone to mistakes, and negatively affects your performance.

“Most people equate losing sleep with having more time to enjoy the day or getting things done. Ironically, when they are sleep deprived, they enjoy the day less and are so unfocused that they are much slower in getting things done,” says Dr. Matthew Carter.

We have created a lifestyle where we have too much to do, and we stress about what we need to accomplish, so we cut ourselves short of sleep: the single most significant factor that contributes to better health, less stress, and increased productivity.

View Dr. Matthew Carter’s TEDx Talk here:

The Science of Sleep and the Art of Productivity

Research on Sleep and Productivity:

A study published by the Oxford Academic Sleep Research Society tracked the productivity and sleep quantity, and quality of 1,000 adults.

Their conclusion reads: “Sleep duration (both short and long), insomnia, sleepiness, and snoring were all associated with decreased work productivity.” Their recommendation was unambiguous: “Sleep should be considered an important element in workplace health.”

Sleep is essential to balancing our health and managing stress. At minimal, we need it to perform biological functions. To be productive, efficient, and make good decisions, we need to get a full night of quality sleep consistently. Prioritizing sleep maximizes the value of our wake time and how we use our energy each day.

Prioritize your sleep, stress less, and improve your productivity!