Burnout and Sleep: How Sleep Can Help You Battle Burnout
More Canadians are experiencing burnout than you may think. The stat is, believe it or not, that more than ⅓ of Canadians report feeling burnt out - healthcare workers being the top of the list. While this is scary, it unfortunately isn’t uncommon. Feeling burnt out is actually a worldwide issue that has become more common over the past few years.
If you are feeling burnt out, the hardest thing can be knowing what to do about it. Changing your work or things in your day to “fix” it is not easy. And when you’re burnt out, you definitely dont have the energy to take anything else on.
Fortunately, there is one step you can take that can help in so many ways:
Get yourself to sleep.
Before we get into how sleep can help battle burnout, let’s first look a bit more at what burnout is and how to tell if you have it.
What is burnout?
Burnout is defined by the Canadian Center for Addiction and Mental Health as, “A state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.” Most often, burnout is associated with work stress but the symptoms can impact life at all times of day – both at work and during other aspects of life.
Burnout can:
Reduce your productivity
Lower your motivation
Result in feelings of hopelessness and helplessness
Cause more resentful and angry feelings
Are burnout numbers higher now than ever?
As we said, more than ⅓ - about 35% - of Canadians have burnout.
But, it’s important to remember that burnout is not new. It is more common though and is talked about way more often now than before.
Why?
Well, like most things, it was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As you read these notes, keep in mind what burnout is: Emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.
Being stuck at home blurred lines between work and home, making it harder to set boundaries around work and leave work stress behind. It also led to a change in expectations around being accessible on weekends and outside the normal work day. So, work stress is elevated and follows you home because you literally work at home.
At the same time, working from home can create a lot of invisible and/or unrecognized work between bosses and reports. Feeling a lack of acknowledgement for work can exacerbate workplace stress and anxiety.
Inflation and increased prices have added stress to everyone. This is especially true for small business owners who have faced increased costs, difficulty finding employees, lockdowns and more. At the same time that inflation and cost of living rises, wages are not increasing in order to match inflation.
Access to social media and constant news in our pockets can increase anxiety about world events. There are many studies that show a correlation between social media use and an increased risk of depression, anxiety and loneliness. This is something that past generations have never had to deal with before.
It can take 3 months to a YEAR to recover from burnout
Depending on your level of exhaustion, it can take a long time to recover from burnout. It is not a quick fix. It takes time, work and change and there is no perfect recipe to fix it.
Sleep exhaustion – consistent lack of sleep – can take a week to recover per hour of debt you have. And that’s just sleep. Emotional exhaustion takes a lot of work to get through and it can be harder if you don’t have support around you to help you through it.
How to tell if you’re burnt out?
If you are wondering if you’re burnt out, ask yourself some of these questions:
Are you feeling empty?
Do you find it hard to get motivated for basic tasks?
Do you find yourself beyond caring about day to day tasks and activities?
Are you more irritable and moody?
Do you find yourself withdrawing from your friends and family?
Are you using more substances like alcohol and/or drugs more often?
Are you neglecting your basic needs like cleaning, cooking, personal hygiene and exercise?
Are you getting 8 hours of sleep consistently?
What to do if you are burnt out
First and foremost, being burnt out doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you. And there are steps you can take to help work towards feeling better.
Here are some steps you can take if you are burnt out.
1. Remember to be patient and kind with yourself.
As we said, burnout can take months to work through. You will have good days and bad days. There’s nothing wrong with it taking time but you need to be kind with yourself.
2. Evaluate your support systems and options.
Whether it’s speaking to a loved one or friend, or going to your doctor or mental health support, there are options out there to support you. Knowing what options you have and what to do next is challenging when you’re in the middle of a stressful situation. HAving support – whatever that looks like for you – is incredibly important.
3. Start with the small stuff.
“Fixing” your burnout is not that simple. And it can feel like a HUGE task (because it is). Start with small changes you can make. This can help give you a sense of accomplishment and control over your life. This is a big step for people struggling with burnout.
4. Sleep.
Sleep is the #1 thing you can do to start on the path to feeling better.
Why and how sleep can help with burnout
Too little sleep throws our physical and mental health off kilter. When it comes to burn out, studies prove that getting less than 6 hours of sleep actually has a bigger impact on mental burn out than daily stress. This is because sleep is how we regulate our emotions, heal our bodies, and get the energy to tackle the world. Our brains function differently on chronic fatigue. 6 hours of sleep is not enough. The 3 main causes of burnout are insufficient sleep, preoccupation with work thoughts outside of your normal work day and high demands at work.
While a lack of sleep can be the straw that breaks the camel's back and be the biggest indicator to burn out, these three act as a kind of chain reaction or pyramid of causation where a person may have a lower chance of burnout without one.
Ironically – and sadly – stress and anxiety is one of the top causes of insomnia. When our brains can’t and don’t slow down, we can’t fall asleep. So you’re stressed, you can’t sleep. And when you aren’t getting enough sleep, it can increase your feelings of stress and anxiety. It’s a vicious cycle.
Tackling your sleep when you’re burnt out will help to:
Regulate your internal system, help steady your emotions and make stress easier to manage
Give you the physical energy for any other changes you want
Help to rest and recover from mental exhaustion
Add a consistency to your day that you can build self care around
Help you feel in control in something meaningful in your day
Battling burnout
So many of us are struggling and have struggled with burnout - Emotionally, mentally and even physically. Taking control of your sleep and making sure you’re getting rest is the best thing you can do to help yourself. If you’re struggling to sleep, a sleep study can give you insight and help identify any sleep disorders that could stop you from getting the rest you need. Check out our clinics and speak to your doctor about booking a sleep study. (They’re covered by OHIP!)