Sharon's expertise featured in this article on Smart Company written by Freya Hunter
"I’ve reached out a to a few awesome entrepreneurs and mental health experts in the industry to hear about some of the strategies they use to manage their mental health. I’ve also thrown in a few of my own tips and tricks that have helped me along the way, to keep the beast at bay."
6. Sleep — a ‘not negotiable’
Sharon Leadbetter is the Workplaces Co-ordinator at WayAhead. The workplace program is an organisational support and resource for any workplace interested in supporting their employees’ health and wellbeing at work. Sharon says sleep is often seen as a trade-off in our modern lives as our work hours become longer and longer:
“Have you heard the expression, ‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead’? Unfortunately, most people’s health is impacted if they don’t get enough sleep over weeks, months and years. Most adults in Australia don’t meet the recommended 7- 8 hours sleep a night”.
“Research is now showing the links between lack of sleep or poor sleep routines on chronic health conditions, mental illness, energy, mood management, creativity, and conversely those same health conditions can affect your sleep quality. When we don’t sleep well consistently, we can end up craving foods high in sugar, fats and salt, which may lead to weight gain for those people with poor sleep”.
She says it’s imperative entrepreneurs avoid burnout by ensuring they get enough sleep:
“Entrepreneurs live with lots of financial uncertainty, often work very long hours on their own and take on a lot of responsibility for their businesses before they take off and become more stable over time, so feel high stress and anxiety levels at different times.”
“It is really important to develop good sleep hygiene as sleep plays a huge restorative role with our bodies and minds and enables us to be highly functioning, productive, creative and focussed. Our brains and bodies were not meant to be run 24/7, if they are, it is a fast track to burn out. We need time to stop, switch off and recharge — just like our devices!”
Article written by Freya Hunter
