ethicalsleep

Being Ethical is Easier with a Good Nights Sleep

Unless you’ve been vacationing on another
planet for the last 20 years, you are very much
aware of the importance of sleep for optimal
health.

Recent findings are shedding new light on this
favorite nocturnal activity however.

Three years ago, while out walking my dog one
evening, the father of one of my best friends in
high school pulled over to the curb to visit.

He had just come home from the hospital after a
coronary bypass surgery, and was out for a
leisurely drive.

After asking him how he was doing, the
conversation that would ensue had me laughing
like a hyena.

“It was a hell of a deal.” Bill snapped. “The Dr.
told me we needed to get it done a.s.a.p. and
said it was up to me, but we could do it that night
if I wanted.”

Bill continued, “I looked him square in the eye,
and told him, Doc, if it’s all the same to you, I
think I’d rather have you cuttin on me when you’
re fresh. Why don’t you schedule me for the first
patient on a morning after you’ve had a good
nights sleep!”

Bill’s common sense approach to open heart
surgery isn’t necessarily shared by the rest of
the world.

Living in the high consumption society that we
do, we often find ourselves dealing with people
who are trying to function after getting much less
sleep than their body needed.

To be able to meet the demands of a world that
says, “ But I want it Now!” everyone from the
banker to the undertaker has had to extend their
hours of business, thereby leaving only one
option for those who want to maintain the time
spent with loved ones, hobbies, and other
activities: Sleep less.

This willful act of “burning the candle at both
ends” comes with consequences though; and it
turns out that the consequences reach further
than previously thought.

In a study at the Walter Reed Army Institute of
Research researchers found that sleep
deprivation leads to a rapid and significant
decline in our ability to act in accordance with
our moral beliefs.

William Killgore, PhD said “Our results simply
suggest that when sleep deprived, individuals
appear to be selectively slower in their
deliberations about moral personal dilemmas
relative to other types of dilemmas.”

Is there some context in your life that you’ve
been making poorer choices than what you’re
capable of regarding morality?

(By the way, when I say “morality”, I mean “your”
morality, or “your”sense of what is moral or not.
Morality is a very subjective thing.)

While experts recommend we all get 7-8 hours of
sleep a night, only you know what it takes for
you to operate in your peak performance zone.
For some it may be as little as 4 hours, while
others may be “ragged” after anything less than
9.

How much more effective would you be as a
parent if you were always fully rested? As a
teacher? Coach? Employee? Employer?

Like it or not, we come up against moral
dilemmas almost every day. The quality of our
lives ultimately boils down to the quality of our
decisions; the quality of our decisions can be
traced to our mental and emotional states.

Getting the sleep you need is perhaps the
easiest way to support your mental and
emotional states, not only that, the other people
in your life will most likely appreciate your new
found pleasant demeanor.

© Copyright 2007-Vincent Harris-All Rights
Reserved.