This is a useful insight into sleep and how to optimize it from Jackie Kepler of MattressReviews.net. Those familiar with Mental Toughness will know that research by Dr. Gerber and colleagues at the University of Basle showed a relationship between Mental Toughness and sleep. Those who are mentally tough can manage their anxieties better and hence sleep better.
Mindset manages to influence most aspects of your life, including sleep. The quality and quantity of your sleep depend a great deal on your personal habits and behaviors, all of which reflect your mindset. Mental toughness, a personality trait that describes “how you think” – your mindset, can help you get the rest you need to stay mentally sharp and emotionally stable so you can move forward professionally and personally.
Mindset, Stress, and Sleep
At the same time, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that anywhere from 28 to 44 percent of adults get less than seven hours of sleep. A good portion of those people is losing sleep because of stress as the American Psychological Association found that 33 percent of adults experiencing stress say that it affected their sleep habits.
A mentally tough mindset, however, prepares you to handle increasing stress or pressure by encouraging self-awareness. The ability to prioritize your goals, accept setbacks, but then push through them reduces overall stress. Those who are mentally sensitive can also prosper in this way, provided they are self-aware about the reasons for their sensitivity.
Instead of lying in bed worrying that a lost client means your business is going downhill, you ask yourself how you can improve your services for the next client. The focus on setbacks as learning opportunities prevents stress from interfering with your most basic biological needs.
Mindset and sleep together also improve your emotional strength and stability. Lack of sleep causes the amygdala, the brain’s emotional center, to increase its reactions to negative thoughts, events, and emotions. Usually, the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain where logic and reason come to life, keeps these emotions under control, but without sleep, it exerts less influence over-emotional responses.
Couple a strong mindset that doesn’t let stress take over and the resulting adequate sleep, and you create a mental environment in which emotions and thoughts support your goals and open the door to better business decisions.
Knowing How to Prioritize Sleep
The length and quality of your sleep cycle highly depend on sleep-related habits. With the right (sleep) mindset, you’ll understand the importance of:
Making and Keeping a Bedtime
Keeping a reasonable bedtime takes discipline, especially in today’s world where distractions are everywhere. You have to be able to turn off the television, iPad, or smartphone and go to bed. The human brain thrives off of predictable patterns and releases sleep hormones to accommodate your preferred schedule. To do so, you have to consistently keep a schedule the brain can recognize.
Realizing that Comfort Matters
The right mindset takes into account how the body works. The human body has to fully relax to sleep, which means physical comfort matters. The mattress should support your most common sleep position—side, back, or stomach. Stomach sleepers need the most support to keep their spine aligned while side sleepers need a mattress that will conform somewhat to their shape. Finally, back sleepers do well with almost any mattress as long as it’s firm enough for the sleeper’s weight.
Knowing You Can’t Perform Without Sleep
Mental acuity, memory, concentration, and creativity are all affected by sleep or a lack thereof. While you sleep, the brain prunes communication pathways clean out toxic proteins, and connect old information with new experiences to enhance learning and creativity.
Supporting Sleep One Day at a Time
While you may not be ready or able to change all of your sleep-related habits at once, being self-aware about your mental toughness and using a mindset to keep sleep at the top of your priority list puts you one step closer to a boost in energy, creativity, and goal achievement.
