Get Some Sleep...Succeed in Business

An interesting piece by Cathie Anderson in yesterday's Sacramento Bee.  At Perspectives 2012 last week, Anderson writes that media mogul Ariana Huffington told business leaders that if they want to succeed in business they need to get more sleep.  Sounds paradoxical, until you think about  research that directly links lack of sleep to health problems like weight gain, early diabetes, heart disease, stroke and other problems.

She also quotes Amer Khan, M.D., a neurologist who specializes in sleep medicine, as saying that the average American gets 6 1/2 hours of sleep every night, which is significantly less than in the early 1900s when the average was 9 hours per night. Dr. Khan's blog where he writes about sleep in a personal and practical way can be found here.

The problem with not getting enough sleep, as I can well attest from personal experience, is that it makes it harder to concentrate, harder to make decisions, and generally makes you crabby.  It also makes you more prone to stress, which can lead to the myriad of health problems just noted.

One of the best ways I know of to ensure a good night's sleep is to block out all sound and light, which for me means wearing a sleep mask and ear plugs.  There are many choices when it comes to sleep masks but the two I like best are the eye shades mask and the 40 blinks foam mask, both made by Seattle based Bucky.  The eye shades mask includes a pair of ear plugs.

So until next time, sweet dreams!!

Yet Another Reason Not to Smoke

 
Health

Now there is yet another reason to quit smoking, or be grateful that you never started or have successfully quit. A new study suggests that smokers may get fewer hours of sleep and have a less restful slumber than non-smokers.

The findings cannot prove that smoking directly impairs sleep given that many smokers may have other habits that could affect their sleep, like staying up late watching TV.  But the stimulating effects of nicotine could play a big part in smokers' sleep difficulties.

Poor sleep has also been linked to other health problems, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease.  I wrote another post on this topic, Lack of Sleep May Make you Fat, a while back.

You can read more about this interesting study here. 

 

The Litttle Black Bucky Blinks



Bucky Blinks in Color



One of my customers recently asked what colors he could order the Bucky blinks mask in, and when I told him black he said that was perfect.  But it got me thinking about whether I should be carrying this sleep mask in the multitude of other colors and patterns that it comes in.  I have carried other colors in the past, notably the fuchsia and turquoise blue.  They eventually sell but never at the near breakneck speed at which the basic black Blinks do.

 

Maybe it's like the Little Black Dress.  Audrey Hepburn made this dress a fashion statement for all time.  And I know I'm not alone when I feel an almost gravitational pull toward a classic, stylish black dress when I'm shopping (despite the fact that I probably own 5 of them already). 

 

The Bucky blinks mask is like that, it's simple, well designed, functional, and yes it's even stylish particularly when it's in black.  And that's probably why it sells so much faster than its more colorful counterparts.

 

I think I'll stick with the sleep mask equivalent of the Little Black Dress!