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Prioritizing Sleep In Busy Times
Life gets busy. You’ve just finished one big event, project, or deadline, you are finally starting to get back into a routine, and then—boom—the next demand hits.
So, what should you do? Should you just throw in the towel and wait until things slow down next month? Should you consider skipping your health goals altogether because the previous stretch didn’t go as planned? Hopefully, you gave a hard “No” to both. But if not, let me answer for you: No.
When life is demanding, the best move is to focus on the one variable you can control that sets you up for success: sleep.
Before you hit the snooze button on that advice, hear me out.
Why sleep is the priority?
When life becomes demanding, sleep is often the first thing to suffer. Whether it’s staying up late for entertainment or sacrificing rest to accommodate a full schedule, our sleep quality frequently takes a hit.
While I typically prioritize nutrition and exercise, I’ve realized that my sleep habits fluctuate the most during busy seasons. I treat sleep as my anchor for two main reasons:
-It Preserves Your Agency: When I am operating on less sleep, I am far more likely to lean into unhealthy behaviors. I might swap a balanced meal for processed convenience foods or choose the couch over exercise. By protecting my sleep, I am actually protecting my ability to make mindful, healthy decisions throughout the day.
-It Protects Your Decision-Making: Sleep deprivation doesn’t just make you tired; it clouds your judgment. In a study comparing normal rest to partial sleep deprivation, researchers found that participants who received about half their normal sleep (and specifically less REM sleep) made significantly more impulsive and riskier decisions (1).
Ultimately, even if you feel that diet and activity should be your top priorities, I would argue that the sleep you get the night before is equally—if not more—important. It is the foundation upon which your other healthy habits are built.
Now, I am not saying that when I get less sleep during busy seasons, I do anything particularly impulsive or crazy. However, I do know it is much easier to reach for extra sugary snacks for breakfast instead of having my normal, balanced meal when I am operating on low battery.
Moreover, when I am tired and dragging, it is far more appealing to lounge on the couch than to get outside and move my body, even if I have a few spare minutes in the day. So, beyond just feeling rested, prioritizing sleep helps you make better—and more mindful—decisions regarding your food and exercise.
Even if you consider diet and activity your top priorities, I would argue that the sleep you get the night before is just as, if not more, important!
Lastly, busy periods are inherently stressful. Knowing this, the best way to "control" that stress—or at least minimize it—is to get quality sleep. Sleep is strongly linked to stress levels (whether measured objectively or subjectively), so if I want to minimize stress, I need to be conscious of maximizing my sleep (2).
quality increases, perceived
stress scores increase (i.e.,
stress levels are lower).
By the second or third day of a hectic schedule, if I am behind on sleep, I know for sure I will be more anxious, stressed, and frankly, less pleasant to be around.
So, while there are many healthy behaviors we can focus on during demanding times, if I had to choose just one—one that influences so many others and is often the first to suffer when life gets chaotic—it would be sleep.
References
- Heacock, R. M., Capodilupo, E. R., Czeisler, M. É., Weaver, M. D., Czeisler, C. A., Howard, M. E., & Rajaratnam, S. M. (2021). Sleep and Alcohol Use Patterns During Federal Holidays in the United States. medRxiv, 2021-11.
- Brunet, J. F., McNeil, J., Doucet, É., & Forest, G. (2020). The association between REM sleep and decision-making: Supporting evidences. Physiology & behavior, 225, 113109.
- Kashani, M., Eliasson, A., & Vernalis, M. (2012). Perceived stress correlates with disturbed sleep: a link connecting stress and cardiovascular disease. Stress, 15(1), 45-51.
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