Are you are an
accountant who works with numbers for 12 hours in a day? Are you a
lawyer who goes through a pile of readings for most of the day? Or
are you a programmer involved in intense formulation and analysis
of code for extended periods of time leading to sleep deprivation
and light sleep.
These activities all require optimal cognitive functioning.
Your livelihood clearly depends on your ability to
think.
 In a
recent study on rats, it has been suggested
that when repeatedly subjected to sleep deprivation, the rats in
the study experienced a non-temporary loss of their capacity to
recover from sleep. If true for humans, this
is potentially distressing. It means that cognitive dysfunction
can be permanent. Moreover, metabolic changes can result in body
mass changes such as obesity. More on these
studies on another article.
Here is a summary
of the consequences of sleep deprivation or sleep
deficit:
- Loss of cognitive
function
- Loss of motor
skills
- Decreased
metabolic activity
- Cardiovascular
impairment
- Immune
dysfunction
- Endocrine
impairment
- Reduced work
productivity
In today’s
Information Age where more information is considered an advantage
and with the Internet growing in dominance, how would you
prioritize getting more sleep over getting through more information
during the workday?
Are there ways to
overcome these potentially damning consequences of sleep
deprivation? May I suggest the
following?
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- Meditate. It is my belief
that humans, as we are different from mice, can indeed alter their
brain wave patterns, directly or indirectly.
Yogis are known to do this, however, if you cannot do so now, there
is technology out there that can aid you -
-
- Binaural beat technology called Holosync from
Centerpointe. I have personally used the
technology and I have been told after only two weeks of using the
program, that I was radiating inner
peace.
- Simplify
your life. Humans are the only
organisms in the planet who can consciously create choices that
significantly improves one’s well-being. One
could think that perhaps all the information in the world is not
truly an advantage.
- Develop a
routine. Personally, I have found this
to be challenging. On a given day 1000’s of
different ideas fly through my mental awareness, that focusing on
things that matter becomes a challenge.
- Develop
more awareness. You will find that by
meditating, you naturally become more aware of your thoughts and
feelings. The key I believe is to realize when you have had enough
on a given day. Most people go through life on
auto-pilot. By taking charge of your thoughts
and feelings, you will also be taking charge of your
results.
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