Every day you must decide where and how you want to spend your time. This means making time to take care of yourself, your family, your house, your job, and the list goes on. To fit in everything you want to get done, you might be cutting back on the amount of sleep you’re getting.

Does this sound familiar? You’re not alone. In fact, 47% of Canadians cut back on sleep in order to fit more time into their day (Statistics Canada, 2001). As expected, people who work full time, work long hours, commute to work, or have children sleep less than people who don’t. Not surprisingly, 15% of Canadians are sleeping less than 6.5 hours each night, and aren’t getting the sleep they need (Statistics Canada, 2001).

Given how important sleep is to your overall health and well-being, it’s important to use your time wisely when you’re awake. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your waking hours: Remember, getting enough sleep may be more important than everything else that’s on your “to do” list. Sleep helps your body and mind rebuild. By getting the sleep you need, you’ll be rested enough to do the things you need to and want to get done.

Myth: It’s possible to catch up on lost sleep by sleeping more when you have time.

Fact: You can’t catch up on lost sleep. For example, you can’t stay up later during the week and catch up on lost sleep over the weekend. This is because the effects of lost sleep such as irritability, difficulty completing tasks, and difficulty making decisions, take place right away (e.g., the next day). It’s also not possible to carry over extra sleep. For example, you can’t use the extra sleep you get on Thursday to stay up later on Friday night. Your body just doesn’t work that way.

SLEEP TIPS FOR BUSY PEOPLE

Be organized.

Use appointment calendars and “to do” lists to help organize your time. Also, keep your home and office organized so you don’t waste time looking for the things you need.

Decide what’s important.

Finish key tasks before working on items that don’t need to be done today. For example, get ready for the guests who are coming tomorrow, instead of shopping for a present for your daughter’s birthday, which is over a month away.

Don’t put it off.

Rather than letting tasks pile up until they’re a big job, work away at them slowly over time. For example, rather than saving all the dirty laundry to clean on the weekend, do small loads of laundry every second day.

Plan ahead.

Think about how you can combine tasks to make better use of your time. For example, stop at the gas station that’s on your way to the grocery store. Also think about how you can break big tasks over several days or weeks. For example, break up your spring cleaning by cleaning one room in your house each week during March and April.

Set a bedtime.

Rather than staying up until everything gets done, make a point to go to bed at a time that allows you to get enough sleep every day.

Work with others.

See if there’s any way the people around you can help lighten your “to do” list. For example, organize a car pool to get your children to their sporting events. Remember to ask for help if you need it.

Key References:

Canadian Sleep Society. (2003). Normal sleep and sleep hygiene. Retrieved March 23, 2010, from http://www.css.to/css/sleep/normal_sleep.pdf

Statistics Canada. (2001). You snooze, you lose? Sleep patterns in Canada. Retrieved March 23, 2010, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/kits-trousses/pdf/social/edu04_0157a-eng.pdf

Statistics Canada. (2008). Who gets any sleep these days? Sleep patterns of Canadians. Retrieved March 23, 2010, from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2008001/article/10553-eng.pdf