Today I took a class at work that was titled “Emotional Survival”. It’s a class geared towards law enforcement officers and speaks on how the job can be caustic and do physiological damage to us after many years. I won’t bore you with the intricate details, but the reason I am revisiting this subject is that one of the things discussed was sleep deprivation. More specifically how prolonged exposure to lack of sleep can basically render us via our cognitive processes and motor skills to a similar point as if we are intoxicated by liquor. I’ve heard this before but this instructor had much more details. It was amazing and showed me that I need to work harder to get my rest.
Speaking further on the post that I wrote yesterday, it really doesn’t do me any good to miss sleep if the hours that I am awake, I’m less productive and therefore less efficient. More hours in the day to do the same tasks better if I had the correct amount of sleep doesn’t make much sense. I know in the past when I’ve really been in need of sleep to the point where it concerns me, I don’t try and work in that condition. It doesn’t happen often, but I would prefer to go home a couple hours early than put myself in some type of precarious position. It’s important in my line of work to stay alert and I don’t minimize that.
As I said last night, sleep is important and I’m heading that way, Constant Reader.