Not getting a good night's sleep sucks! I had someone ask me recently what they can do if they didn't sleep well the night before and they're exhausted and have to work. Instead of overdosing on coffee and pastries, here are some things you can do to deal:
1. Use essential oils instead of caffeine. Citrus oils (grapefruit, lemon, orange and lime) as well as peppermint, basil and bergamot will energize you naturally.
2. Avoid pastries and sugar. They're only going to make you feel worse and you'll end up crashing in an hour or so. And they put you on a blood sugar roller coaster that will sabotage your sleep the next night. If you do give in to your cravings and wolf down that doughnut, have it with some protein and fat (think eggs or peanut butter) to minimize that blood sugar spike.
3. Take a nap. Even closing your eyes for a 5 minute snooze will rejuvenate you. If you have time, a 30 minute nap is ideal.
4. When you're feeling the most tired, take a walk, outside if possible. Or do some jumping jacks. Anything to get your blood flowing.
5. Meditate for 5 minutes when you're feeling really tired.
6. Take it easy on yourself. If you can reschedule meetings or put some tasks on tomorrow's plate, that will keep you from getting overwhelmed and let you save the important to-dos for when you're at your best.
Of course, these suggestions will help when you don't sleep well every now and then. If you're feeling like crap most days because you aren't sleeping, that's going to affect your productivity, creativity and long-term success. That's when it's time to say enough is enough and commit to figure out your sleep. Instead of barely making it through every day because you're so friggin' tired, you can actually get the sleep you need to achieve all your goals. If you're ready for sleep, let's chat!