// Sleep Well, For Tomorrow Begins Tonight //

HAVE you been sleeping well of late? Are you all stressed out. Do you worry that our economy will shrink even further? Or that the  H1N1  will mutate into something more terrible?
Dr David White, the chief medical officer at Philips Home Healthcare Solutions, will probably tell you not to lose too much sleep over matters you cannot control.
“People lose sleep either because they cannot sleep (insomnia) or because they are not setting aside enough time for sleep – both of which can happen because of work-related stress in the current economic environment,” he said.
Although the scope of his study did not encompass Malaysians, I am sure the trend would be similar, more so if you add in the political dimension and the fact that good football matches are always telecast live in the early hours.
The Philips study, however, is focused on the workplace. Conducted in five countries around the globe, it showed that 40% of those questioned blame the state of the world economy as the major reason for their lack of sleep.
The survey was undertaken in March and covered 2,500 managers – equally split across Britain, Germany, the United States, Japan and The Netherlands – using an online poll.
The Americans worry the most, and the Dutch the least.
In response to the question, “Do you believe the worsening economic climate is affecting your ability to sleep well?”, just 15% of Dutch respondents agreed while the global average was 39%. The Americans were highest at 30%.
The Dutch are also less concerned about world events (1% compared with the average 3%), stress at work (12% against 22%) and money worries (5% versus 13%).
Maybe the windmills and the tulips have something to do with this.
A vast majority of respondents (61%) say they have had their work impacted negatively by lack of sleep. On average, each estimated 6.2 days per year were impacted by inadequate sleep – costing companies around the globe millions.
And here is the irony: Because they cannot sleep well, 70% said that their work suffered as a result.
So you get the drift? You cannot sleep because you are stressed at work, and you cannot work because you have not had enough sleep.
Sounds like a vicious cycle to me.
“Sleep is not optional – it is absolutely critical to people’s health,” said White. “The consequences of not sleeping enough are well documented. People who do not get enough sleep can gain weight, are prone to diabetes, high blood pressure and even heart attacks. We are facing a serious healthcare problem if we do not take sleep more seriously.”
Wow. No wonder his study was taken so seriously and was featured in many newspapers throughout the world last week.
A doctor friend challenged us the other day with this question: Do you rest for the day’s work or do you rest after a hard day’s work?
He explained that the situation is not similar. If you think that you are all zonked out after a hard day’s work and therefore need to sleep, you have got it all wrong.
Rest, he argued, is to prepare our body for the day ahead. If you think that way, you will be less stressed out ...