News broke this week about research that shows an additional benefit to sleep. It seems that when you sleep, harmful toxins that build up in your brain during your waking hours are flushed out. Full story here.
We all know that we are better at math and computer games and driving when we are wide awake than when we are tired. We know that getting good sleep makes us less irritable than going through a day tired. We know that important decisions are better made when we have a night to sleep on them, and at the very least, when we are well rested at the time the decision is made. This new research helps explain why.
Sleep management has always been an important safety activity for expediters whose work schedules are unpredictable. But have you thought about how sleep empowers good thinking and good decision making too? This can affect everything from the load you say yes or no to at the time, to the amount of money you decide to spend on your next truck, to the time you spend at the slot machine in the casino, to the attitude you project in conversations with family, friends, co-workers, dispatchers and strangers.
Since joining a gym several months ago, Diane and I have learned that a rigorous workout is a great sleep aid. The gym provides a full array of equipment and good space in which to work out well (labored breathing, breaking sweat), and showers which make the sweat a non-issue.
The body's natural response to a rigorous workout is to sleep (recovery). We find that we sleep deeper and longer after a good workout than when no workout precedes sleep time. Now we learn that, in addition to enhancing physical fitness, a good workout also benefits the brain and decision-making by helping us sleep better ... good news all the way around!
We all know that we are better at math and computer games and driving when we are wide awake than when we are tired. We know that getting good sleep makes us less irritable than going through a day tired. We know that important decisions are better made when we have a night to sleep on them, and at the very least, when we are well rested at the time the decision is made. This new research helps explain why.
Sleep management has always been an important safety activity for expediters whose work schedules are unpredictable. But have you thought about how sleep empowers good thinking and good decision making too? This can affect everything from the load you say yes or no to at the time, to the amount of money you decide to spend on your next truck, to the time you spend at the slot machine in the casino, to the attitude you project in conversations with family, friends, co-workers, dispatchers and strangers.
Since joining a gym several months ago, Diane and I have learned that a rigorous workout is a great sleep aid. The gym provides a full array of equipment and good space in which to work out well (labored breathing, breaking sweat), and showers which make the sweat a non-issue.
The body's natural response to a rigorous workout is to sleep (recovery). We find that we sleep deeper and longer after a good workout than when no workout precedes sleep time. Now we learn that, in addition to enhancing physical fitness, a good workout also benefits the brain and decision-making by helping us sleep better ... good news all the way around!
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