Experiencing A Work Slump? Better Sleep Might Be Your Saving Grace

Your personal passions ebb and flow as easily as the incoming and outgoing tides – and by the same token, how enthusiastic you feel about your workplace or job in general can be just as variable. Maybe a particular project is dragging on longer than you anticipated or a coworker isn’t pulling their weight, or maybe you’re just feeling a bit burnt out about your office routine. No one is immune to a work slump – no matter how passionate they are about what they do – but if you’re feeling less ambitious and driven to do more (or even the bare minimum), your saving grace might actually just be to get better sleep.

In a recent study published by Washington State University, researchers surveyed full-time workers two times a day with questions about how they slept the night before and how driven they felt to strive for more responsibility and status at work. The verdict is in: If you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re probably not inclined to work as hard. This seems like it’d be common sense, but according to the study done, men actually don’t have any change in their workplace ambitions whether they had sufficient sleep or not. So what’s going on here?

Women Are Less Likely To Pursue Workplace Status on Poor Sleep

"When women are getting a good night's sleep and their mood is boosted, they are more likely to be oriented in their daily intentions toward achieving status and responsibility at work," said lead author Leah Sheppard, an associate professor in WSU's Carson College of Business. "If their sleep is poor and reduces their positive mood, then we saw that they were less oriented toward those goals."

A gendered difference in the link between sleep and ambition can be caused by any number of things, but one of the most pertinent suggestions the researchers put forward was how men and women react differently to emotions. 

As we know, women are more likely to have higher degrees of neuroticism than men. This means that we run the negative emotional gambit at a much more furious pace than our male counterparts, being less emotionally available to deal with daily stresses. We’ll end up more anxious, self-conscious, irritable, and yes, angry. Men, on the other hand, are notoriously taught to be less emotional and to keep their feelings at bay. Though some research points to men being as emotional, if not more, than women, it turns out that they’re just better at hiding it than we are, so it would make sense that they could maintain their level of ambition without a good night’s rest.

The study goes on to assert that a woman who wants to climb the corporate ladder absolutely needs to prioritize sleep. But what about a woman who isn’t interested in climbing the corporate ladder? Not all of us feel drawn toward being a career-driven breadwinner, and frankly, many more women are leaving the workforce now than in previous years.

Well, as any mother would anecdotally tell you, motherhood is a full-time job…and then some. There have been quite a few studies done that prove motherhood is actually more than a full-time job. One asserts that a mother’s working week racks up 98 hours of work (that’s 2.5 full-time jobs), and another suggests it’s 97 hours spent on parenting tasks. Where does a mom even find extra time to fit such big shoes? The most common answer among survey respondents was that they sacrificed sleep for their children.

A mother’s working week racks up 98 hours of work (that’s 2.5 full time jobs).

As I mentioned before, women who experience poor sleep quality have worsened moods, and as a result, they feel less oriented toward their goals. In the study done by Washington State University that meant a career woman, but I think we can safely assume those sentiments don’t discriminate toward career paths that don’t involve cubicles or the stereotypical nine-to-five. 

However, if we were to entirely remove the stay-at-home mom (SAHM) or homemaker from the picture, it would still be in a woman’s best interest to get the best sleep possible she can attain in order to feel like she could grow in terms of status or responsibility.

Here’s How To Make Like the Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Bear and Get Good Zzz’s

Keep a Regular Sleep Schedule

Here’s a quick word of advice from someone who regularly works evening events: Don’t be afraid of being that “square” who calls it a night at a reasonable time! If proving your worth means being willing to stay out past a time you’re comfortable with on a week-night, enjoying three-too-many a glass of wine, and compromising on the nighttime skincare and wellness routine that helps you feel regular, then perhaps you’re not working in the right field for you.

No matter if you’re a career woman or a college student, studies show that high sleep regularity significantly improves your morning and evening happiness, as well as how healthy and calm you feel throughout the week. When studied, college students in particular who transitioned from their irregular, erratic sleep pattern to a more regular sleep pattern had improved well-being both during that studied week and, as a bonus, the time following it.

"We found that week-long irregular sleep schedules are significantly associated with lower self-reported morning and evening happiness, healthiness, and calmness during the week even after controlling for weekly average sleep duration,” the researchers explained in the study.

This doesn’t mean that you should outright refuse a late night. You might feel a bit hesitant to go out on a date night or late night hang with your friends if it conflicts with your regular sleep schedule, but if it’s interrupted every now and then, you’ll be fine. Just make sure to stay consistent as often as possible on other nights!

Adjust Your Bedtime Screen Usage

We’ve all been cautioned to stay as far away from our electronic devices late at night as possible, and to an extent, this is definitely true. Look, if you’re habitually doomscrolling at the witching hour, distracted by funny memes or makeup tutorials, you’re stimulating your brain at a bad time and delaying the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep which keeps you feeling well-rested. What’s more, if you’re revving up your brain by diving deep into those hot-button issues that put you down a total Wikipedia rabbit hole, you risk being awake for extra hours beyond when you should normally be getting shut-eye.

Studies have shown that the more interactive electronic devices you have near your bedside, the more likely you are to get unrefreshing sleep. This might be because of the blue light which your phone emits that mimics daylight and is perfectly fine during waking hours, but in the evening might lead you to feel more alert when you should really be winding down. Additionally, studies show that the same artificial blue light could be bad for your vision. 

I won’t lie, though, I love getting in a restful mood by watching a relaxing tutorial-style video. Perhaps it’s a makeup tutorial, a cooking tutorial, or even a video detailing a celebrity’s skincare routine. Other research has found that watching videos late at night might not be as bad for you as actively scrolling through social media platforms like your Twitter feed or Instagram Stories, and if you’re using blue light blocking filters on your phone or wearing glasses, you may be protecting yourself from those circadian-rhythm disrupting rays.

Watching videos late at night isn’t as bad for your sleep as actively scrolling through social media.

“Studies indicate that more passive use of technology — such as listening to music via your phone or watching a non-distressing TV show — doesn’t really have an effect on sleep compared to active use,” said sleep medicine expert Dr. Michelle Drerup in an interview with the Cleveland Clinic. “Active use includes things like texting or social media.”

Though you’re still better off without using any devices later at night and instead winding down by reading a book, journaling, or spending time in prayer, the relationship between your phone screen and your sleep habits is pretty tricky. Some of us are better at sticking to an internal body clock than others and can pass out in the middle of an extremely loud, bright movie (me during The Lord of the Rings extended edition, despite being the biggest fan), while others might feel like their melatonin levels are incredibly suppressed because of blue light exposure. But should you be supplementing melatonin if that’s the case?

What You Should Indulge in (and Avoid) before Bedtime

Nighttime supplements are hotly contested. I know plenty of people who swear by their melatonin gummies, but frankly, I’d rather make sure my sleep-wake cycle is regular without additional supplementation. While melatonin supplements can be helpful in difficult cases, studies show that Americans take way more melatonin than they probably need. If you’re regularly overconsuming melatonin, you might experience headaches, nausea, cramps, dizziness, anxiety, depression, tremors, and even low blood pressure. 

Look, melatonin is, at best, a synthetic form of the hormone you’re supposed to get naturally. This means that the pills, gummies, or liquids that you take are supplying something your body should be producing naturally. You shouldn’t have to rely on synthetic hormones or stronger sleep aids to get rest, so let’s make clear what you should and definitely shouldn’t indulge in before bedtime.

Almonds might be one of your best late-night snacks because of the well-balanced protein, fiber, and fat content that stabilizes blood sugar and the beneficial tryptophan and magnesium contents which lower your cortisol (stress) levels and help you fall asleep more quickly and easily. Another great source of tryptophan is the humble egg, which boasts vitamin B6 and naturally occurring melatonin that help support your slumber…just make sure to include the yolk!

Greek yogurt can help you sleep better because of the tryptophan and high protein content. 

If you’re feeling dairy late at night, lean into Greek yogurt, which will keep you regular with its naturally-occurring probiotic content but additionally help you sleep better because of the tryptophan and high protein content. Love a scoop of ice cream late at night? Consider swapping out a scoop or two of regular dairy for a frozen Greek yogurt bar. If it’s coated in dark chocolate, you may be doing your sleep schedule an even bigger favor. Dark chocolate contains mind-relaxing magnesium and serotonin but make sure that, if you’re indulging, you choose a low-sugar or no-added-sugar dark chocolate.

Then, warm your stomach and soul with a soothing cup of herbal or decaffeinated tea. Your best bets for a truly relaxing nighttime routine are chamomile-based teas because of their naturally occurring apigenin levels, an antioxidant that promotes relaxation, but other sleepytime teas will work just as well.

Finally, there are a few things you should probably avoid consuming late at night for great sleep. Foods that spike your blood sugar are a big no. This includes white, starchy foods like rice, pasta or bread, which are refined carbs and are, of course, delicious but are stripped of any fiber content during their processing. As a result, consuming them makes your blood sugar levels rise. Other culprits which disturb your optimal sleep are sugary beverages, non-dairy milks, and dried fruits.

What You Wear Makes a Big Difference

It’s no secret: Evie girls are all about their silky pajamas. Beyond how impossibly chic they look, silk pajamas are actually the best fabric to sleep in year-round if you could only choose one. Silk is gentle on your skin and hair and is considered a thermoregulating fabric, so when you’re too cold it’ll help you feel warm, and when you’re too hot it’ll keep you cooler.

Silk isn’t always the easiest or most affordable fabric to come by, so two other great options for splendid seasonal sleep are cotton and linen. Cotton is your BFF for keeping cool during the warmer months because it’s lightweight, soft, and breathable. Though it’s not very good at wicking away moisture, it won’t suffocate and irritate your skin like some synthetic fabrics might. Linen is another lovely option for summertime sleep because of how breathable it is. In fact, linen is considered to be 1.5 times more effective at preventing perspiration than cotton! 

Closing Thoughts

It might seem pretty intuitive that a good night’s sleep can make or break how ambitious you feel, but with recent research showing that it affects women more than men, we should all do our best to get quality rest. If you’re striving for higher pay or a more involved role with greater responsibility at your current job, or if you’re a SAHM or housewife with a growth mindset, all signs point to you needing to prioritize sleep!

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