The effect of sleep on performance. How sleep affects health

"How much sleep do you need to work effectively?", "How do beautiful bedding and a comfortable mattress affect our well-being and efficiency at work?"

AT modern world, where a million events take place in an instant and a person is somehow influenced by a huge amount of information, it is especially important to learn how to properly replenish your strength and learn how to fully and “effectively” rest. It is with the problem of restoring their vitality that successful and active people very often turn. For each of us, comfort is very important, in those rare moments when, being at home or on a business trip, we are looking for this island of “rest and peace”, hoping that we will replenish our strength for new achievements and solving vital tasks.

Health experts have confirmed that a comfortable and restful sleep is of great importance for mental condition of a person, on the normal functioning of the body and, as a result, on its performance and success in life.
Help: Efficiency is the ability to do one thing for a long time without losing the quality of work and interest in it. It depends on many circumstances, for example, on motivation, on professionalism, on the psycho-emotional state, time of day and special mood.

Zero performance is the lack of the ability to act, and, accordingly, the lack of effect (modern economic vocabulary).

What is an important factor in achieving success, and how is our ability to relax and unwind related to our creative thinking and ability to solve creative problems in business? It turns out there is a connection. There is such a thing in psychology as a neuromuscular clamp. This is a state of extreme tension and contraction at the level of both body and mind. Being in this state, it is impossible to find solutions challenging tasks and even just feel good and resourceful. And while a person cannot relax, rest, sleep and restore his strength, it is absolutely impossible to be in a resourceful state and make the right business decisions, and of course, the efficiency and level of attention are falling. That is why all artists, big businessmen, and in general all successful people attach great importance to rest and comfortable sleep. All of you know what a rider is, which is given importance a comfortable place to rest and sleep. And as a rule, this is not a whim, but a vital moment in the restoration of human strength.

Sleep is an important function, a state of great general biological significance. A person spends a third of his life in a dream and cannot do without sleep. As noted by I.P. Pavlov, sleep is not just rest, but an active state of the body, which is characterized by a special form of brain activity. In particular, during sleep, the analysis and processing of information accumulated by a person over the previous time takes place.

Life modern people It is built in such a way that very little time is allocated for sleep, forgetting that our resource state directly depends on how our body rested at night. So how much sleep to get enough sleep?

Of course, it directly depends on the person himself and on the time of year and on many other factors. There are people who get 5-6 hours of sleep, but for the average person, 6-7 hours is enough to get a good night's sleep.

In order for it to happen during sleep full recovery forces, you need to follow certain rules:

• observance of the clock
• the quality of sleep largely depends on how comfortable the sleeping place itself is: the bed, the mattress, as well as the pillow, blanket, pajamas. Correct position spine during sleep is also an important factor in order to get enough sleep. If after sleep you feel heaviness in your head or as if you were pounded on the back and your body aches, it may be time to think about choosing the right mattress and other bedding in terms of health. And of course, if you want to be in a good state of working capacity or good rest while on a trip (business trip or vacation), you need to carefully consider where, how and on what you will spend your sleep time.
• absence of unpleasant odors, extraneous noise
• the bedroom should always have fresh and cool air. Do not overeat or drink alcohol before bed. Food and alcohol overload the body, forcing it to process these products instead of sleep. In order to fall asleep quickly and deeply, you do not need to drink coffee and tea before going to bed, as well as watch TV or sit at the computer for a long time.
• If you experience a lot of tension during the day, learn meditation and relaxation techniques and make it a habit to do them before bed to calm your mind and sleep peacefully, leaving problems to solve the next day.

Each successful person understands that in order to always be “on top” it is very important to learn to take care of yourself: about your nutrition, sleep and rest, about a positive psycho-emotional state. Learn how to balance work and rest time. Create comfortable living conditions for yourself: so that everything pleases the eye when you come home. This is the tenderness of a pleasant silk sheet, and a comfortable bed, freshness and aroma of the air. All this, at first glance, does not seem very important, but in fact it gives our body great pleasure, and brings our psyche into a state of calm and inner harmony. Learn to take care of yourself, your rest and comfort, your health and your body will answer you with strength, good mood and a huge amount of vital energy, and this is the key to success and prosperity in life.

Featured in Business Traveler Magazine

If afternoon naps are energizing, why don't businesses have quiet time?

We can actually increase our work productivity through sleep. At least, these are the conclusions of the researchers. While you might get fired for taking a nap at work today, in the future, midday naps may well become habitual or even mandatory. Sleep well at work, you can even make a good career.

Significant number contemporary research indicates that allowing a nap at work saves a person from unproductiveness and possible mistakes, improving productivity in general. brief dream increases the efficiency and ingenuity of employees. In theory, such microeconomic reform on a large scale can increase the productivity of the entire national economy. Research into high-stress jobs with long hours is increasingly supporting the idea of ​​using sleep as rest periods scattered throughout the work day. In one such study, conducted in 1990, NASA recommended that US pilots on long international flights short naps in their cabin to be more alert during critical moments, such as takeoff and landing. In 1991, experts from the Institute for Social and Economic Research in Rhinebeck, New York, analyzed the economic pros and cons of large companies organizing "quiet hours" for their employees. Based on the results, it can be predicted that as they enter the 21st century, more companies will adopt this innovation. This institute (a consulting firm that works primarily with corporate clients) makes forecasts of economic and social trends that could affect their activities. Interestingly, the director of the institute, Dr. Gerald Kelente, has already introduced "quiet time" into his routine. He explains, "I try to take naps every day."

Chronobiological studies have clearly established that we have a daily cycle of sleep and wakefulness - the so-called circadian cycle. During the 24-hour cycle, we are driven to sleep twice a day. It happens in the middle of the day and in the middle of the night. The circadian cycle includes changes in body temperature, hormone release, and other physiological processes that affect attention levels. This cycle of attention (known as the "ultradian cycle," from "ultra" meaning "for" and "dian" meaning "daytime") has a clear impact on our ability to do our jobs. It is at this time that our body is least effective.

The low points of our ultradian cycle are called the limiting peaks. Those of us who work during regular hours of the day only go through one such peak. However, shift workers, those who start work in the afternoon and work all night, can hit the two extreme peaks. If the theory is correct, then these are the people who work the worst. They are prime candidates for the benefits of "quiet time" in the workplace.

In any case, the researchers advise that we try to stick to our natural sleep-wake cycle or diurnal fluctuations in attention. They argue that if we do this, we will not only become a better and more productive worker, but also improve our health and live longer. It also has a positive economic effect.

The 20th century is called the century of stress. Indeed, the major diseases that have crippled industrial society are often associated with it (such as cancer or heart disease). Sleep is one method of reducing and relieving stress. However, in the 21st century we are sleeping less than any human community in history. Primate researchers tell us that higher apes, such as gorillas, typically sleep more than 12 hours a day. Anthropological evidence suggests that earlier people also slept longer than they do today. Evidence indicates that many people today have a severe lack of sleep. Records from the 18th and 19th centuries say that workers in the US had the luxury of sleeping 9.5 hours every night. However, by the 50s of the 20th century, a full night's sleep "was reduced to nothing, leaving people from 7.5 to 8 hours. And today we have only 7 hours of sleep."

In Australia, rates are about the same, and experts warn that sleep deprivation is taking its toll on both work efficiency and the health of workers. According to Dr. Peter Hauri, “Concentration is the first to suffer, especially on repetitive, monotonous tasks that require attention, such as long journeys between states and cities, or, say, working with a series of numbers. When scientists at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit added In a group of 24 men who habitually slept between 7 and 8 hours, an hour or two of extra sleep, tests showed that they all became more attentive during the day.When sleep is not enough, the consequences of this are extremely negative.In the case where sleepless nights are repeated often your reflexes begin to slow down and deteriorate.You feel more and more distracted, irritated, disoriented, even slightly paranoid.And don't be surprised if one day you go down with the flu - your body needs sleep to the immune system worked efficiently. After a while, sleep-deprived people begin to experience blurred vision or mild fever."

Healthy sleep of a person affects not only his well-being and appearance but also for creativity, logical thinking, decision-making process, speed, concentration, memory, perception, ability to assimilate new information, interaction with the environment and even the immune system.

For high efficiency in work, regular success, you need to get enough sleep. Yes, that's exactly what it is. For example, many famous geniuses of all time differed short nap but usually did not last long.

In addition, the issue of sleep duration is individual. Therefore, it is best to follow the prompts of your own biological clock, as well as adhere to the basic rules of sleep hygiene. Let's take a look at them.

The effect of sleep on the body and human performance

Unbeknownst to others, lack of sleep in workers can accumulate over several months, especially during sedentary sedentary work. And after this time, the body refuses to "cooperate", begins to function much worse.

The first is the deterioration of intellectual abilities. You begin to make mistakes, get nervous, act illogically and chaotically. Reduced concentration, ability to remember, learn, make rational decisions. There is a possibility of risky behavior, loss of strength.

In addition, all this affects the appearance. People begin to consume more and more coffee or sweets, because the body requires energy, and this leads to irritability and mood instability.

Prolonged lack of sleep very often causes depression. A person ceases to control himself and control the environment. It is clear how this affects performance. See what the experts recommend.

To finally determine your needs for a sufficient amount of sleep, it is worth understanding some rules.

What you need for good sleep

To get started, you need to learn a few simple rules and constantly follow them. Failure to comply with these rules leads to a lack of sleep with disastrous consequences. Remember that the effectiveness of your work is affected not only by the duration, but also by the quality of sleep. Here's what you need to do to ensure a healthy sleep.

1. It is preferable to sleep on an orthopedic mattress and pillow. The firmness of the mattress is selected according to the body weight of a particular person, and the pillow - according to the height of the shoulder.
2. Always get up at the same time in the morning, regardless of the time you fall asleep, the need to go to work. Regularity in the mode of life and sleep has a positive effect on the quality of rest.
3. Never try to force yourself to sleep. Most deep sleep achieved when the body is tired. Therefore, it is recommended to do physical activity at the end of the day.
4. Limit time spent in bed. If you're already awake in the morning, don't stay in bed for "another five minutes." If you still don’t feel like sleeping in the evening, don’t lie down, over time you manage to develop regularity.
5. Get the clock out of your sight in the bedroom. Frequent checking of time is an element of stress, and this does not affect the quality of rest so well.
6. Provide adequate shading and soundproofing in the room where you sleep. It helps in regulating the body's natural rhythm of functioning.
7. Already half an hour before bedtime, do not engage in activities that require emotional outbursts, especially do not “sit” on a computer or smartphone. Do only what provides peace and relaxation.
8. Remove all electronic devices from the bedroom, especially those that emit light (like a TV). This can disrupt the natural rhythm of day and night that guides the body.
9. Don't eat before bed. The last snack should take place no later than 3-4 hours before a night's rest.
10. Avoid stimulants: caffeine, alcohol, nicotine that disrupt work endocrine system provoke stress. Instead, drink relaxing herbal teas.
11. Sleep in a well-ventilated area that is at room temperature and with adequate humidity to promote deep sleep.
12. And be sure to close the curtains so that direct moonlight does not fall on you, especially on a full moon - look folk beliefs.
13. Follow the natural human for wakefulness and relaxation.

Sleep hacks

How much sleep do you need

Scientists still haven't been able to agree 100% on how much nighttime sleep an adult needs. New publications appear on this topic from time to time. More recently, there was an opinion that 6 hours of deep sleep is enough to restore strength.

One of the latest studies talks about age dependence. According to the latest recommendations, people aged 18 to 64 years are recommended to sleep from 7 to 9 hours. It is necessary to adjust this number, based on the circumstances of a particular situation.

As an axiom, you need to accept that women need a little more rest than men. And you should also pay attention to the fact that in the autumn-winter period, people sleep longer than in spring or summer. In sick, tired people, the duration of good sleep also increases. According to statistics, a person sleeps for about a third of his life.

Special music for deep sleep

Today we reviewed the rules for a good holiday. And in order to fall asleep quickly, I advise you to use a special program - music for sleep was created by neuroacoustic scientists and is very good for health.

The dependence of the level of performance on the duration and quality of sleep is generally recognized and confirmed by numerous, experimental studies effect of sleep deprivation. However, to deepen the understanding of the functional significance of sleep, as well as to solve many problems of occupational health (rational organization of work and rest during various types of shift work, prevention of mental and physical overwork and related diseases, etc.), it is not enough just to state such a dependence. It is necessary to elucidate the specific physiological processes in the body that unfold during night sleep and affect the general functional state, performance and well-being of the subject during subsequent wakefulness. There are currently real opportunities to consider these problems, since some of the factors affecting performance have already been developed, and at the same time, new data are rapidly accumulating on the functional significance of individual stages of sleep.

It is shown that performance, both mental and physical, is largely determined by the strength of the subject's motivation for activity, the level of wakefulness (activation), and for mental activity also by the focus and stability of attention, mnestic capabilities and the ability to creatively solve problems. At the same time, there is a complex non-linear relationship between motivation and the level of activation, on the one hand, and performance, on the other. Efficiency is reduced not only with a low level of wakefulness and weak motivation, but also with too high motivation and excessive (“unproductive”) activity, which occurs in a state of severe neurotic anxiety. Strong emotional arousal disorganizes activity, makes it impossible to focus on its subject, leads to autonomic disorders, which become a hindrance to activity, and all these circumstances ultimately significantly reduce performance.

There are several experimental approaches to studying the relationship between performance and sleep. First of all, a series of studies was conducted with sleep deprivation, complete or partial, and the latter was carried out with a gradual decrease in the duration of sleep, when sleep at regular and sufficiently large intervals was reduced by a relatively small amount. Thus, it was possible to compare the effect of acute simultaneous deprivation and such a change in the duration of sleep, to which the body could gradually adapt.

With total sleep deprivation for one or several nights, higher mental functions primarily suffer - the ability to concentrate, orientation in a new situation and the ability to adapt to it. To a large extent, this is due to a decrease in the level of wakefulness, as a result of which the reaction to external stimuli slows down, and those stimuli that are given during the period of a particularly pronounced decrease in the level of wakefulness are not perceived at all. There is reason to believe that these symptoms - decreased attention, drowsiness, increased fatigue - are primarily due to a deficit of delta sleep, since it is reproduced with selective deprivation of these stages of sleep and since the previous sections show the relationship between a deficit of delta sleep and objective and subjective decrease in working capacity with neuroses and with disordered sleep and wakefulness. With a longer total sleep deprivation, affective disorders occur (emotional arousal, aggressiveness, suspicion), which, of course, also worsens the possibility of purposeful activity, in particular, due to a decrease in motivation to solve the proposed task (decrease in the standard of performance). It should be noted that if a decrease in the level of wakefulness and concentration of attention is more or less equally characteristic of different subjects, then the threshold of occurrence affective disorders(i.e., duration of prior sleep deprivation) and severity of these disorders are highly variable and seem to depend on the role of sleep, especially REM sleep, in emotional stabilization processes, which, as mentioned above, is largely determined by personality characteristics. Thus, subjects with high "I" strength and low impulsivity (i.e., not prone to psychopathic responses) perform better on attentional tasks (identifying a signal from noise) after sleep deprivation than those with low "I" strength and high impulsiveness. The latter also show more marked amnestic disturbances after sleep deprivation.

Although effective functioning is impossible with total sleep deprivation, according to some authors, sleep can be reduced, especially gradually, without significant disruption of activity during wakefulness. Thus, with a gradual decrease in sleep by 30 minutes every 2 weeks (a study was conducted on 3 healthy young people motivated by the search for an optimal regimen with the longest possible day) it was found that the 5.5-hour duration (sleep) is critical - it was after reducing sleep to this value that mood changes and deterioration began to appear when performing tasks (for memorization, for addition). On the 5- and especially the 4-hour sleep schedule, subjects experienced decreased mood, increased fatigue, decreased friendliness, and increased excitability and difficulty concentrating.On the 4-hour schedule, subjects complained that they had difficulty maintaining their waking state.

Objective Research sleep patterns conducted during the altered regimen period showed that at the 5.5-hour regimen, all stages of sleep, especially REM sleep, were reduced compared to the background. When switching to a 4-hour regimen, REM sleep continued to decrease (although its percentage was no less than in the first 4 hours of normal sleep), stage II was sharply reduced, but stage IV increased and almost reached the initial level. During the recovery period (transition to a free sleep regimen), mood and performance indicators rather quickly (on average on the 3rd day) approached the initial level, although the total duration of sleep after the experiment remained for a long period somewhat less than the initial one (by 1-1 .5 h), due to later falling asleep. On the 10th recovery night, a control study of the structure of sleep was carried out and a slight decrease in the total duration of sleep and the same distribution of sleep stages as in the 5.5-hour regimen were found.

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Our whole life passes in two states - wakefulness and sleep. It is a full-fledged sleep that largely ensures the normal well-being of a person during the period of wakefulness. No wonder the ancient Greek sages said: sleep is the servant of life. Modern science has helped establish the nature of this beneficial effect of sleep. It turned out that in the process of it, the energy reserves used up during work are restored, the nervous tissue is freed from the decay products accumulated in it,

Lack of sleep is detrimental to health. In studies with people who voluntarily agreed to deprive themselves of sleep for a while, it was recorded that after 5-6 days mental disorders in the form of hallucinations, irritability sharply increases. Poor use of glucose by neurons, a decrease in the iron content in the body, and metabolic disorders were noted. Even partial sleep deprivation lowers brain activity; negatively affects attention, memory, quality of thinking, worsens well-being, mental performance.

It has been established that during a night's sleep, an active state of the brain occurs from time to time, as during hard work. At the same time, fast rotations are noted eyeballs, body movements in such periods a person has dreams. This phase of sleep has been given several names: REM sleep, REM sleep, and rema sleep.

Another phase of sleep is called slow-wave or orthodox sleep. During slow sleep, the frequency of breathing and heart rate decreases, body temperature decreases, the release of a number of hormones decreases, and the activity of the gastrointestinal tract decreases. There are no dreams in non-REM sleep.

The study by physiologists of the features of paradoxical sleep showed that in this phase the body undergoes profound changes. The rhythms of breathing and heart work become more frequent, arterial pressure rises, cerebral circulation and hormonal activity increase. At the same time, a deep relaxation of the muscles of the neck, face, and a decrease in the tone of most muscles are recorded.

It also turned out that during the period of paradoxical sleep, active neutralization of toxic substances in the body, intensive cell growth, increasing the level of biosynthesis to neurons. There is an opinion according to which it is in this phase of sleep that the brain is freed from the excessive information accumulated during the day.

Depriving a person of this phase of sleep dramatically reduces his mental performance, leads to significant mental changes, deterioration of well-being, and the occurrence of hallucinations. In some cases, excessive excitability is observed. Therefore, an important function of paradoxical sleep is the psychological mobilization of the personality, the elimination of anxiety of neurotic origin. Therefore, for people with increased anxiety (and this condition is especially characteristic of students), REM sleep is especially necessary.

Night sleep consists of 4-5 cycles lasting 90-100 minutes. In each of them, the phase of drowsiness, or superficial sleep, and the phase of average sleep are distinguished, when any noise can wake us up. This is followed by phases of non-REM and REM sleep. For a full-fledged night's sleep, 7-8 hours is enough. However, not all students follow this rule. Thus, a study of the daily routine of first-fourth-year students of the Belarusian University showed that 51% of them sleep 5-6 hours a day. Moreover, in the first year, the number of such students is 59.6%. According to the materials of studies conducted in various universities of our country, lack of sleep was established in 60% of first-year students and 33% of senior students.

Of particular importance is a full-fledged sleep during the session, when students have to master a lot of information. That's when the student should sleep for at least 8 hours! If sleep is limited to 5-6 hours, then this will reduce the ability to assimilate the material and ultimately weaken the body.

Too much sleep is also harmful. Excessive sleep is not considered beneficial in biological terms either, since blood circulation and the work of the digestive organs are disturbed. Each student must remember that intense mental work should be stopped 1.5-2 hours before a night's sleep. Otherwise, the process of falling asleep is difficult, and the dream itself becomes less strong. The last meal should be no later than 1.5-2 hours before bedtime. It is recommended to go to bed at 23-24 h, get up - at 7-8 h.

It is supposed to sleep in a comfortable, but not too soft bed, lying on the right side with legs slightly bent. In this position, the muscles relax best, the body rests.

Before going to bed, it is necessary to ventilate the room, create silence and turn off the sources of bright light. Unfortunately, after 24 hours in the hostel, "life" is just beginning: walking around the rooms, loud conversations, drinking tea. Daily lack of sleep causes a deterioration in mental performance, weakens the body's defenses.

A short daytime passive rest is very useful. The horizontal position of the body improves cerebral circulation, allows the muscles to relax. daytime sleep, even short-term, perfectly restores performance. Even the ancient sages said that daily soy is useful, its duration should be 60 breaths, i.e. approximately 4-5 minutes.

In general, insomnia is not typical for students, but occurs only with great mental stress, that is, most often during the examination session, as well as in diseases such as neurosis. You can get rid of this phenomenon thanks to the correct organization of the daily regimen, regular physical exercises, as well as autogenic training.

Night sleep also depends on individual typological characteristics. "Larks" to restore their performance should go to bed early. "Owls", on the contrary, fall asleep late, but in the morning they like to sleep longer. In a student hostel, which is inhabited by different types of people, we must try to create conditions for each other for a good night's rest.