Having trouble sleeping? Does sleep help with addressing my burnout? Is sleep a preventative measure for our overall health?
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Mentioned on Ep 112: Having trouble sleeping? Does sleep help with addressing my burnout? Is sleep a preventative measure for our overall health?
Welcome back to The Burnout Doctor Podcast, I’m your host Dr. Jessica Louie. We are talking about how to optimize your body and sleep as one way to address burnout. Thank you for sharing your action steps from our last episodes on Why To-Do Lists do NOT work and what to do instead. Many of you are taking action by using our complimentary Burnout Starter Kit – don’t forget to download yours today! We all write our own stories in our lives and homes. Let’s all bring joy into home and joy into work.
Today’s topic is one that does not get nearly enough attention in our lives and in our healthcare system. Sleep is something ALL of us need and it is one of the easiest ways to address burnout and our well-being…but it’s often overlooked as a factor in our declining health and stress levels.
Having Trouble Sleeping?
I completely understand. I’ve gone through phases in my life where I’ve either had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or didn’t even allow my body to sleep. As a first-year pharmacy student, I commonly pulled all-nighters before exam day. It was horrible. It took a toll on my body and my mind. I literally would finish a test, put my head down to rest my eyes and hope I woke up to turn it in.
Sleep also took a big toll on my while going through burnout in 2014 and 2015. Remember, exhaustion is one component of the burnout syndrome. And as you know from my burnout story (episode 2 and YouTube video), I was chronically fatigued. I limited sleeping hours to be in the hospital more often or “get more work done.” I also had a difficult time sleeping – also known as insomnia – when I did try to sleep.
Remember the eye fluttering story I shared in my burnout story? This was no joke. It literally took all my effort to stay awake and focused throughout the day without relying on caffeine. I even recently found a Starbucks card from my time in residency – I had money left on it because I went there daily (it was the only 24/7 Starbucks open in the state in our hospital lobby).
Does Sleep help address my Burnout?
Simple Answer: YES
Long Answer: Yes, we often undervalue the 8 most important hours of the day – WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING. In late 2020, I was gifted a book from a pharmacist colleague called, Why We Sleep by Dr. Matthew Walker. The book talks about this concept in several ways. Although the beginning of the book was a little dry to read, it even addressed the poor ways we support our healthcare professionals by depriving them on sleep.
Dr. Walker talks through how we do NOT know how sleep-deprived we are when we are sleep-deprived. We are miserable predictors of our performance disability when lacking sleep.
When we do not sleep enough, we are “less productive, less motivated, less creative, less happy and lazier but also more unethical.” -Dr. Walker, page 301.
How to Improve Sleep Hygiene
- Think ahead – same time, same evening routine (routines episode 107)
- Plan your last meal of the day – light dinner finished ~3 hours before bedtime, eating too close to bedtime can increase blood sugar and insulin levels
- Make sure your body is tired – exercise and sleep go hand in hand
- A place to relax – free from clutter, soothing décor, no surprises (red/purple stimulate and blue relaxes)
- Your bed itself – International Sleep Products Association (website) for mattress, are sheets made from breathable natural fabrics, sleep between 62-70 F
- Aim for dark environment – silk eye mask, blackout curtains or blinds
- Soak your cares away – relaxing soak in warm not boiling water
- Wind down – keep cell phone/laptop out of bedroom, blue light emitting from devices stimulates brain and inhibits melatonin (blue-light glasses)
In my Joy at Work Course, you can get even more advice and action steps to apply to your sleep.
Tl;dr: how to optimize sleep for overall health and how sleep is the number one preventative care measure we can do for our health.
Make sure you’re following along on our YouTube channel (youtube.com/drjessicalouie) as well with new videos going live every Saturday!
Make sure you’re implementing and taking action by implementing our Burnout Starter Kit and investing in yourself with our VIP 1:1 coaching or 1-hour strategy calls.
Until next time, spark joy my friends!
Note, my views are my own and are not associated or representative of my employer(s).
This podcast is for educational purposes only and not medical advice.