Today’s society is substantially different than any other era before us. Every day is a race to see who can be the most productive. The goal is a work/life balance, yet crucial things like sleep end up knocked off the list to get there.
It’s a vicious cycle: You need enough rest to be at peak performance, but you can’t sleep because there’s too much to do.
Trouble Sleeping Isn’t a Small Problem
If this sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone. Sleep insufficiency is a problem that more than 70 million Americans deal with each day.
That number is especially significant when you realize the impact that lack of sleep has on our decision-making abilities.
Tens of millions of people are walking around daily with impaired cognitive functioning. The effects of this problem are felt far beyond the person who isn’t getting enough rest.
1. Why Sleep is Important
Sleep isn’t something that our bodies do because we’re lazy or tired. It’s a biological process that is necessary in order for our brain to do its job.
Healthy rest happens when we go through multiple stages of sleep. Each stage has a purpose, ultimately leading to us waking up alert and refreshed.
You might think you’re getting enough sleep, but if you feel groggy and foggy when your eyes open, you may have skipped a few stages.
After a few hours of missed sleep, you’ll probably feel cranky and irritable the next day. When this happens a few days in a row, you start to lose your ability to make sound decisions.
2. Why Each Sleep Stage is Critical
In a full night of sleep, we go through non-REM and REM stages. Non-REM has three phases, each one lasting about 5 – 15 minutes. Before you can get to the REM stage, which is the ultimate goal, each of these non-REM phases must happen.
The Stages of Sleep, In a Nutshell
In Stage One, you’re resting but still alert enough to awaken easily. Stage Two is the light sleep phase. During this short time, your body is physically responding by slowing your heart rate and lowering your body temperature.
Stage Three is where the good stuff starts to happen. You’re in the “deep” stage of sleep. Not much will wake you up, and if your alarm goes off in the middle of this stage, it takes a little bit to switch from dreaming to alert.
While you’re in this deeper level of sleep, your body is repairing tissues, working on muscle and bone growth, and recharging your immune system.
From there, you go into REM sleep, where your brain is actively processing what you learned and categorizing memories. This is also when vivid dreams occur.
3. Decision-Making Impairment From Lack of Sleep
Long-term sleep loss is dangerous to your health. Studies show that people with sleep disorders have a higher risk of medical problems like hypertension, obesity, heart attacks, and stroke.
Although the medical issues are significant, there are other, more immediate consequences that come with sleep deprivation.
How Your Brain Responds to Sleep Loss
For one thing, people who aren’t sleeping enough are more likely to engage in risky behaviors. They don’t look for evidence or use caution as much as those who are well-rested.
Chronic sleep loss also shows up behind the wheel. When you’re used to not sleeping, you go through your day as normal. However, for many people, fatigue hits when they’re driving. Lack of sleep is the cause of more than 100,000 accidents every year.
Not Drunk? Your Brain Might Think You Are
In fact, the CDC compares sleep loss decision-making to trying to make choices while intoxicated.
Someone who has been awake for 18 hours has the same cognitive ability as a person with a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of 0.05%. Staying awake for 24 hours increases that comparison to 0.10%.
In many states, it’s illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.04%. You may not be drinking, but your brain still responds like it’s drunk.
Conclusion
Part of your busy day’s schedule needs to include time to get sufficient rest. Without enough sleep, you’re not as alert, and your judgment, reaction time, and coordination are impaired.
If you want to get more done in your day, be sure you get in all your sleep stages the night before. You’ll be happier, healthier, and able to make smarter decisions while you’re awake.