Thomas Edison famously opted for short and regular power naps, thinking sleep was a waste of time.
Richard Branson admits to having no more than 6 hours of sleep a night. And President Donald Trump is lucky if he sleeps 5 hours a night.
The sleeping habits of successful people are well-documented but how does the quality and quantity of your sleep affect your ability to run your business and work productively?
Mattress specialists onlinemattressreview.com have complied an interesting infographic titled ‘The Evolution of Sleep — A Brief History’, tracking how human snoozing habits have changed over time.
The History of Sleep
At the beginning of human existence, when humans’ daily lives involved little more than struggling to find food for survival, man would sleep in ground-based nests, huddled in fetal positions.
As evolution progressed, so too did humans’ sleeping habits and by the time of the industrial revolution and the proliferation of electrical light sources, people of most classes were sleeping in private bedrooms.
As more and more factories were built, and businesses were in need of workers, getting a quality night’s sleep became increasingly important.
The infographic highlights some interesting facts about how sleep serves biological functions. As we sleep the brain consolidates and stores information and memories, imperative functions when running a business.
The infographic also shows that sleep nurtures creativity, allowing the brain to think harder, meaning business owners and teams are more inclined to be bursting with creative and innovative ideas.
Too little sleep can lead to chronic stress. Sleep acts as a potent stress buster and boosts the immune system making people less susceptible to infection. So getting quality sleep can result in less sick days in the office and therefor greater productivity amongst teams.
The infographic also shows the performance-enhancing powers of napping, with just a short nap restoring alertness, improving work performance and reducing accidents.
Take a look at the full infographic on ‘The Evolution of Sleep — A Brief History’ and how sleep has a direct impact on our working day below.
Image via onlinemattressreview.com