Take time to rest. . .

I thrive on deadlines. I get a sense of accomplishment every time I can check something off my to-do list, flip through the pages of a newspaper fresh off the press, or see a finished project come to life.

I even had shirts made for the staff in New Rockford that said, “Just Duck It.” The “duck” represents the file transfer software, Cyberduck, that we use to send our newspaper pages to press. When we are ready, we “feed the duck” with pdf files, one for each page in the print edition.

That said, sometimes work gets overwhelming. It’s a busy time of year for us, and we are training a new staff member in the midst of it all. We’ve blown past a few press deadlines lately, and I was told on one occasion that the presses at the central printing plant were at a standstill waiting for us. If that doesn’t get a publisher’s attention, nothing will.

It seems we are all running crazy to come out on time and within budget lately. And in the rush to meet deadlines, I work longer than I should, and sleep much less than I need.

It’s like they tell moms when our kids are infants, “sleep when the baby sleeps.” I know that I must sleep when there isn’t an impending deadline in the next 24 hours. That’s why I normally take the time on weekends to sleep more. Yes, I give myself permission to stay in bed until noon on a Sunday morning. Because I need it. Even bears need to hibernate!

As a general rule, I am in bed from 11 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. every weekday night, and I catch up by getting extra rest on the weekends.

This past week, I broke all my rules. I attended my cousin Jacob’s wedding in the beautiful Badlands. I rationalized that I needed this reprieve from the crazy deadlines of the fall season at the newspaper. I relaxed, and thoroughly enjoyed myself, but I didn’t rest properly, and that was a big mistake.

I stayed up until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday night, then I worked until midnight on Sunday night/Monday morning so I could meet a deadline. I knew I would pay for it eventually, but I didn’t realize how soon the lack of sleep would get to me.

I worked nearly the whole way home from Dickinson Sunday, but I did manage to get in two power naps, each about 15-20 minutes. If I hadn’t, I don’t think I would have made it through the next six hours of work that evening after I got home.

Despite the naps, by Tuesday I was already dragging a bit. I tried to focus on writing, but I wasn’t very successful.

I was scrolling Facebook on my lunch break that day, and the teaser line for an article in “Inc” magazine caught my eye: “You already know lack of sleep is bad for your health and performance. New research shows it turns you into a jerk, too.”

“Wow,” I thought after reading it. “This explains why I’ve been a jerk today.” Haha, maybe calling myself a jerk is a bit harsh. But, I had already recognized that I had a little less patience and wasn’t exactly the most pleasant person to be around that day.

The article, written by Jessica Stillman, an Inc.com contributor, references new research in “PLOS Biology” about the societal impacts that lack of sleep is having on us.

I am well aware, and so are my husband and kids, that I’m not fun to be around when I don’t get enough sleep. However, the research takes it a step further to explain just how much our sleep-deprived behavior can impact everyone around us.

The researchers instructed 23 undergraduate students to stay up all night, then asked them to fill out a questionnaire asking whether or not they would help others in different scenarios. (I wonder how much money they made for being a part of this study, because this would have been right up my alley in college). Those who stayed up all night were much less likely to offer help than the control group of students who had rested.

Further, exhausted study participants showed reduced activity in a region of the brain associated with empathy and altruism. I can relate. I have been in situations where I was perceived to have little or no empathy for others, and each time this has happened I was under stress and attempting to function on little sleep.

Other studies show even greater impacts. According to Stillman, “One study found sleep deprivation is just as bad for your performance as being drunk. Another showed lack of sleep makes you paranoid. A third study with a more positive spin showed that getting enough sleep feels as good as winning a $250,000 lottery jackpot.”

To read the full article, go to https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/sleep-behavior-altruism-generosity.html

According to John Hopkins Medicine, here are a few of the severe negative effects of sleep deprivation:

1. Sleep deprivation results in a 33 percent increase in dementia risk.

2. Sleep deprived individuals are three times more likely to catch a cold.

3. Individuals who get less than five hours of sleep per night have a 50 percent higher risk of developing obesity

I came across a great seasonal quote the other day, “The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go.”

I realize that I need to take a step back sometimes and recognize that some things are out of my control. Join with me in shedding those negative thoughts and taking the time to rest that our minds and souls so desperately need right now.

Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to turn in for the night.