Insomnia.

[tec0]

I fear this little word is known by a lot of business owners across South Africa. Fact is lack of sleep is becoming a real problem. Case and point: When I worked as a safety officer I noticed that the elderly employment was much more productive at nightshifts and I was told it is because they need less sleep.

This is possible but here are a few factors that you can look at; Stress, Anxiety, Caffeine before bedtime and Overeating will rob you of your much needed sleep. Normal aging can lead to a reduction in sleep requirements but it is recommended that you try and maintain healthy sleeping hours.

So what problems can you have with your work force? Well you can end up with equipment abuse, equipment loss, and even death if left unchecked and trust me this is a major problem not yet realized by industry. The fact is the human body is driven to the point where it will shut-down in order to protect the brain and this is where blackout start showing and at this point in time you have a real risk and potential hazard to deal with. Not to mention the cost that will go with the onsite injury.

Now this post is to make you aware that this is a potential problem and even in normal 9 to 5 day jobs you can still get these problems. It is my opinion that you do an annual check and daily observations on your staff just to make sure that you can identify a possible problem early. Deaths and accidents is a very real possibility and there are documented cases. So a good tip for 2010; take care of yourself by sleeping and getting the rest you need to function.

Take care of your staff because they are also an investment!

[tec0]

Case and Point.

[Dave A]

That is classic! How many people can relate to that?

It doesn't happen often, but every now and then something will pop into my head at one in the morning and it won't let me go back to sleep. My cure - get up, make a cup of hot chocolate and tap at the computer for half an hour or so, then go back to bed. Makes me sleep like the dead

[daveob]

my method is quite simple :

I use Outlook to diarise and schedule absolutely EVERYTHING - even the smallest tasks that I do every single day ( except for checking for new posts on the forum ).

Why ? cos to me, if they're written down, I don't have to worry about them.

I don't waste relax time trying to remember everything I was supposed to do or about things I have to do tomorrow, or worrying about things I forgot to do. Doing this also frees up your concentration to think about more important things. The only things I have to think about are new ideas and improvements - everything else is on my list of tasks in Outlook.

Having everything listed, also gives you a feeling of achieving something when you sit down a few times a day and tick off multiple items as completed.

In the last 5 years or more, I have only once woken up in the middle of the night with work on my mind.

That's just my method, but each person should have a 'system' for themselves.

[desA]

Good idea to consign ideas to a storage place ready for the next day. I try & close off pressing work-related issues before 8 pm at night. Financial matters & bills are not discussed in the evening, or on weekends - in fact, bills will not be opened on a Friday afternoon.

What if you are the type, though, who gets creative ideas routinely, in the middle of the night? I've suffered from this my whole working life.

[tec0]

Think about it this way. You just said you get your best ideas in the middle of the night right. Well that is because your body and mind is relaxed and enough time was given to work on problems in the back of your mind. Then the solutions will pop up into your head and you will think “YES I GOT IT”

The truth is you can have those moments during the day if you can bring your stress level down to almost 0, and just relax and allow your brain to do its magic. A relaxed brain is a far more powerful tool then one can ever imagine, because it takes the time to consider more options and allow itself to do it right.

If you are rushed and you are overstressed and at Insomnia into the mix then you will become irrational, and basically just make mistake after costly mistake, at this point you are no use to anyone anyway. So if you are the boss start looking for ways to get rid of stress in the workplace your productivity will show improvement because your workers will make fewer mistakes and be more open when they do.

[Dave A]

What if you are the type, though, who gets creative ideas routinely, in the middle of the night? I've suffered from this my whole working life.

And you can't go back to sleep because the idea keeps going around and around in your head?

If that's your "problem" I have this too. I think my mind keeps dwelling on it because normally I've forgotten that great idea in the morning, or my mind knows I'm not going to be able to get to it in the morning. It's resisting losing the idea.

That's why I don't fight it. I get up, get something of my thoughts down on record, and my mind let's me get back to sleep.

The truth is you can have those moments during the day if you can bring your stress level down to almost 0,

Not really. If you're awake, your conscious mind still interferes with the subconcious mind. It's that subliminal shuffle that happens in a healthy sleep that pops out the most creative ideas.

I agree stress can get in the way of being effective, though.

[tec0]

So it seems that the mind and the subconscious may be to very different things. One seems to forget that your head has levels of concentration. The second thing we tend to forget is the fact that we have access to all parts of the brain.

In 1990 I was informed that I have what is now known as (ICD-10 and DSM-IV codes F81.2-3/315.1) dyscalculia aka Math disability. Well I got over it to a degree and am able to do basic math and binary calculations without any difficulty. I accessed that part of my brain with meditation. Thus proving to myself that meditation is not just BS that you see on TV.

I found that along with meditation that you can “empty” your mind and see or think nothing. It is at this point in time that you get the same feeling when you wonder “am I awake or a sleep kind of thing” just without the wondering part. Then I “belief” that your subconscious takes over because I get inspired shortly thereafter it honestly like “it appears out of thin air” but like supper fast and you get existed and restless.

Maybe there is something about not stressing and not thinking about stuff that allows the brain to do its problem solving?? All I can say is give it a try...

[desA]

And you can't go back to sleep because the idea keeps going around and around in your head?

If that's your "problem" I have this too. I think my mind keeps dwelling on it because normally I've forgotten that great idea in the morning, or my mind knows I'm not going to be able to get to it in the morning. It's resisting losing the idea.

That's why I don't fight it. I get up, get something of my thoughts down on record, and my mind let's me get back to sleep.

I think that we are in good company here. Many top scientists & mathematicians are said to have kept notebooks next to their beds, for just such an occasion.

[tec0]

I just wish to add a few more things.

Well if you don’t get enough sleep then the second set of problems will show in only a few days. You or your workers will feel lazy or sleepy throughout the day thus productivity goes down the drain. Concentration is the next thing to go and this will affect both your work and private life.

Still the biggest problem comes when “confusion and coordination goes out the window and at this point in time you can become irrational and even be a danger to others and yourself. Your self-control is the last thing to go and this can be a real problem in a work place because you or your workers will say and do things that may be costly to you or the company.

I honestly do feel that Insomnia must be looked at, at the work place because of the many negative implications it might have.

That being said, I keep a voice-recorder next to my bed at all times.

[desA]

What if you are a 'night-person'?

I've found that trying to support international customers can force you into odd sleep patterns. It becomes difficult to get to bed before 12 most nights. This pattern can set in after some time.

Funnily-enough, the creativity pattern then seems to shift into the early evening, where there are less distractions.

[tec0]

Finally you are getting closer!!! Right like all my posts I have a “hidden agenda” And here it comes. Why do we work ourselves to death? Look at production lines and you will see that everything has to be 24-7 or you fail.

This is why I started the post in the first place. See the fact is workers don’t get enough rest because of downsizing. Where there were 10 people doing a job there are now only 3 people doing a job.

Now the 3 workers as mentioned have to over perform everyday just to satisfy the company and that is leading to more accidents in the work place. Thus the company that has the cash flow still wants to function on skeleton crews and this is basically is killing our economy and it is killing our work force!

So ask yourself this question: Why is there so little work lately?
Because companies are forcing workers to do more then what they are capable of doing.

Now “Insomnia” is becoming one of the biggest problems because of downsizing. The reason is and this is FACT: I know people that work for a large industrial company and they only get 3 days of every month for themselves. Basically they work about 336 hours a month.

How can you not burn out?

[desA]

^ A lot of truth in what you have said. Good points.

I'd also imagine that job-security must place huge stress on the workers as well, further compounding the vicious cycle.

[tec0]

Well one thing about this world we live in. There is only so much talking can do and then the idiot that said the pen is mightier than the sword can go jump of something high and happy landings....

Right now the small business is the target for the CCMA and all the other lot that has something to do with worker rights and legal requirements. But when it comes to companies with real money am talking about the heavy supper rich industrialist! This system simply cowers away and disappears.

Thus I hope that people will now see the connection between insomnia and bad business.

[SilverNodashi]

Bill Gates had this thing at Microsoft where all the top staff members took a 2 weak break, every 3 months.

Normally one takes 5 to 6 days to unwind from work, stress, home, etc. So you really only get in proper rest on the 2nd week. And by doing it every 3 months they performed much better at their jobs