Sleep Loss Hurting Your Potential?

Do you stay up too late playing your new PS3? feel like taking a nap during your lunch break?

Sleep deprivation may be one of the biggest hurdles you face when you are running a business. You aren't as quick to make good decisions, and you may just not feel like doing what you have to get done.

According to Dr. James Maas, author of Power Sleep, “Often we are totally unaware of our own reduced capabilities because we become habituated to low levels of alertness. Many of us have been sleep deprived for such a long time that we don't know what it's like to feel wide awake.”

It's been reported that at least 50 percent of Americans are chronically sleep deprived. If a bit of sleep deprivation seems like par for the course to you, consider that even just a slight sleep deficit has proven to decrease cognitive functioning, including processing time, ability to perform complex tasks, creativity and memory, weight gain, loss of coping skills, increased anxiety and decreased immunity.

Take a look at some of his recommendations to help you be more productive.