If you want to save time, sleep more.

Yes, you read that correctly. It's the precise opposite of what logic tells us, but let me explain why it's often true, and may be true for you.

When people are busy, it's almost inevitable that one thing that will suffer is sleep. After all, while lying in bed unconscious, nothing is actually getting done. So, there's a natural tendency to work quite late into the evening, and perhaps rise earlier than our bodies want to, too. While we may seem to have liberated some time, the fact that it's at sleep's expense is not generally a good thing, as sleep is essential for restoring and re-energising the body and brain.

shows that some of the issues we can run into due to lack of sleep include:

• impairment of ‘working memory’ (important for things like comprehension and reasoning)

• slowed mental performance in tasks that are not time-pressured

• increased errors in tasks that are time-pressured

• impairment of short-term memory

• increased tendency to persevere with ineffective solutions to problems

• reduced performance on tasks that require attention, leading to increased omissions and errors

• impairment in creative thinking

• an increased tendency for performance to drop off quickly during a task, even if it has started well

So, think for a moment about the relationship between the amount of sleep we get and our performance and productivity. Obviously, if we do nothing but sleep, our performance and productivity will be zero. On the other hand, insufficient sleep can put a serious dent in our ability to be meaningfully productive.

Essentially, the relationship between sleep duration and productivity looks like this:

Now, imagine our sleep is suboptimal (red arrow), but then we make it more optimal (green arrow):

Let's now see how this additional investment in sleep returns in terms of productivity:

You can now see in this final graph that while we have spent more time asleep, our productivity has actually increased. And, not only that, but we have likely contributed to our overall wellbeing and sustainability.

Standard advice around sleep is for it to be scheduled, with the idea being that we should go to bed at a set time and, even better, wake up at a set time, too. This makes logical sense because it 'forces' us to get the sleep we need, but I'm not sure it's the best approach for most people.

One reason for this is that work and life do not always 'run to schedule', and most of us will accumulate some sleep debt from time to time. I'd argue that the best thing to do in this situation is to recoup sleep however we can as quickly as possible. What that means in practice is to go to bed earlier for a night or two, or maybe sleep in a bit at the weekend if we can. But if we are being quite rigid about our sleep schedule, it means we can't 'catch up' in this way and, in so doing, miss out on the benefits this tactic offers.

Another reason why I'm generally not a fan of sleep scheduling is that, in the real world, it's often quite impractical. Committing to it essentially means committing to leaving evening social functions early (or not going at all), not enjoying a late night in front of the TV at the weekend, and waiving off your partner (if you have one) should a conversation about an important matter threaten to extend beyond your allotted bedtime.

WHAT WORKS?

What I've found usually works for people is this: if someone recognises that they are short on sleep, they go to bed about an hour earlier than they ordinarily do (assuming there is nothing that absolutely has to get done that night). Just applying this tactic when relevant and convenient is usually all it takes for someone to stay the right side of the line in terms of sleep, supporting their performance, productivity and sustainability in the process. 

It's helpful to have a positive mindset around this. With any behaviour, I advise putting focus on what we're getting out of it, rather than what we're putting in. Rather than think 'I could be working', perhaps a better attitude is something like 'If I get more sleep, I'm going to feel better and be more productive tomorrow'. Going to bed earlier when our situation merits it is not a sign of weakness; it's a strength.

Quantity of sleep is undoubtedly important, but so is its quality. I'll be sharing some tips, tricks and tactics regarding this in future blogs.