..ours is a culture where we wear our ability to get by on very little sleep as a kind of badge of honor that speaks work ethic, or toughness, or whatever it is, but really, it’s a total and profound failure of priorities and of self-respect.
Maria Popova (2014)
A few years ago I was really struggling with sleep, waking up every day feeling lethargic and mentally sluggish. I’d find myself staring blankly at slide decks, struggling to recall key points, or not being able to remember something that had happened a few hours before. That foggy, disconnected feeling wasn’t just fatigue—it was my brain functioning with significantly reduced capacity. Sleep isn’t just rest; it’s an active process that prepares our neural networks for learning and consolidates what we’ve already absorbed.
When we sleep, our brains transform scattered information into coherent knowledge, strengthening important connections while pruning the unnecessary. Without adequate sleep, this essential processing simply doesn’t happen effectively. Ever since I prioritised my sleep schedule, with regular reminders of the value of sleep, the difference in my thinking clarity and engagement has been notable.
As health educators, perhaps we should consider healthy sleep habits as fundamental to our curriculum as any clinical skill we teach.
Podcast
Parrish, S. (n.d.). Matthew Walker: The Power of Sleep (No. 131). The Knowledge Project podcast.
…sleep scientist Matthew Walker discusses everything you need to know about what a better night’s sleep can do for your life, and how to prioritize and perfect the way you sleep. Walker breaks down how to identify when you need more sleep, how to deal with insomnia, the best devices to track your sleep, and some unconventional sleep hygiene tips, including why it’s never a good idea to count sheep.
Article
Okano, K., Kaczmarzyk, J. R., Dave, N., John, & Grossman, J. C. (2019). Sleep quality, duration, and consistency are associated with better academic performance in college students. Npj Science of Learning, 4(1).
> …Overall, better quality, longer duration, and greater consistency of sleep correlated with better grades. However, there was no relation between sleep measures on the single night before a test and test performance; instead, sleep duration and quality for the month and the week before a test correlated with better grades. Sleep measures accounted for nearly 25% of the variance in academic performance. These findings provide quantitative, objective evidence that better quality, longer duration, and greater consistency of sleep are strongly associated with better academic performance in college.
Resource
Illing, S. (2018, August 24). How to get a good night’s sleep. Vox.
Recommendations for a good night’s sleep:
- Establish a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
- Determine the optimal amount of sleep your body needs, which can vary from person to person, rather than aiming for the commonly cited 8-hour target.
- Avoid relying on sleep aids and instead focus on improving your “sleep hygiene” through habits like avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and blue light exposure before bed.
- If you can’t fall asleep within 15 minutes, get up and do a relaxing activity instead of staying in bed, as this can reinforce negative associations with the bedroom.