The Huffington Post’s own founder amazed the world with her sleep revolution theory. Whilst social media claims we need more coffee, Arianna Huffington believes that we actually need more sleep and it needs to be high quality and consistent! A relaxed 8-hour sleep or more each night ensures better health, higher levels of productivity and possibly more success. You might be thinking that you have 8 hours a night already, right?! Well getting a high quality session of sleep is not as simple as just putting your head down for 8 hours between long working shifts or when dressed in your workout gear ready for tomorrow morning’s gym session. In order to ensure that you get the most out of your sleep, it is recommended that your bedroom ritual includes a cup of lavender tea, proper pyjamas (not gym clothes/old clothes/a tracksuit), switch off all technology at least 30 minutes before you get into bed and ensure that your sleeping space serves as a peaceful place for a good night of shut-eye! So, in order to get a good night’s sleep you need to dress for the part to prove to your body that it is sleep time. But what about getting the most from your waking hours?
In the same way that going to bed in your non-bedtime clothes can hinder your ability to sleep, simply rolling out of bed and starting your day can prevent you from feeling productive. If you don’t wake up and dress up how can you expect to achieve your full potential during your day? This is a common problem among the rising number of stay-at-home freelancing professionals who feel that there is no reason to dress smartly when they are sat at home all day. Whilst many envy the freelancer’s lifestyle of rolling out of bed, turning on their PC and working in their PJs all day, chances are that they could be even more productive if they were to spend just 20 minutes each morning getting ready and putting on the type of outfit that tells them that it is time to work!
You don’t necessarily need to dress up and feel uncomfortable in heels and a tight suit, but hitting that milestone of getting dressed for your day each morning gives us a simple but effective goal to successfully reach each morning. If you’re always dressed for bed or in weekend style “movie time” loungewear then subconsciously your mind doesn’t feel as though you need to put 100% effort into your day.
What does waking up and dressing up do for us?
•It gives us a sense of routine
•It makes us feel more productive
•We are more productive as a result
•It shows those around us that we aim to have a successful and productive day
•It proves to ourselves that we have taken the time to dress up and therefore are set to have a great day
•Dressing for success can really resonate with your target audience if you are a business owner
•Dressing up may also resonate with your brand (if you have one)
•Looking good makes us feel good
•It automatically sets boundaries for us – we recognise when it is day/night or working time/personal time by what we wear.
If you want a good night’s sleep, dress for the occasion and set the tone. If you are looking to wake up, smash goals and have a productive day then dress for success – not for sleep or a lazy Sunday afternoon!