Erin O'Hara: The glorification of working long hours and sleep deprivation

In the 21st century grind culture with technology blurring the lines of work life balance, it can be seen as necessary to work overtime and give up sleep to succeed.

But, naturopath Erin O'Hara says studies show overworking and under-sleeping can actually reduce productivity. 

"There was even a Harvard study done that studied people who were sleep deprived and only sleeping 3 hours a night, which is very, very low, and they had the same performance level as someone with a blood alcohol level concentration of the same as what the the driving limit is here in New Zealand," she told Francesca Rudkin.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks ab right.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Are you grinding it out at work? Is working long
hours a badge of honor for you, a sign that
you're doing your job better than others? While a little
with the rates of burnout occurring these days, a lot
of people are discovering that there are better ways to work,
and grinding is out and thriving is in. And to
talk us to all this is Aaron O'Hara, Good morning,
Good morning. Okay, So we have sort of got to

(00:35):
a point heaven whre where we all feel really good
if we're working really hard, but it's not really all
that great for our health.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Is it? Not at all? And I think there's that
real hustle culture of like the more you do, the
more successful you're going to be, And that hustle culture
also links busyness with your worth and equating that the
more you grind along, the better you are. And actually,
if you're not working long hours, this huge silly hours,

(01:01):
that you're actually classified as being lazy, and that's not
really the truth. Hustle culture really rewards always been on
and I think this modern society with email and online
means that we are kind of have this twenty four
to seven work life that could keep going if you
allow it to and actually where to create that stop

(01:24):
button and actually working from like three am in the
morning till eleven o'clock at night is not something that's
going to be something you can sustain. And having that
mindset of a grind mentality is actually not the pathway
to success. And when you start looking at the research
on this is actually, you know, the that your productivity

(01:44):
will hugely reduce when you're working when you're not sleeping
enough and you're working crazy hours. And there was even
a Harvard study done that said that, you know, they
study people who were sleep deprived and only sleeping three
hours a night, which is very very low, and they
had the same performance level as someone with a blood
alcohol level concentration of the same as what the the

(02:06):
driving limits here in New Zealand. And so it's basically
like you've had a whole lot of our coolic drinks
when you're sleep deprived. It's not going to help your performance.
It's not going to help your cognition, and you're not
going to have good memory, and it's going to fet
your overall health long term as well when you start
looking at the health rests. Studies show that insufficient sleep

(02:27):
is actually going to have a long term impact on
your health with things like hypertension, diabetes, obesity, stroke, Alzheimer's,
and also heart failure, and that sleep loss is actually
having a massive impact on your health and it's something
that we can actually really do something about it, and
it's free for us to do something about it. Is
actually putting in better boundaries around making sure we get

(02:49):
those hours of sleep in.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
What are the boundaries we be putting in place. What
are the strategies you be put in place.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
Setting some good work boundaries, even if the work culture
is workwick, work and answer emails twenty four to seven,
is actually put the boundaries in that you'll be allowed
your work hours are these hours and after a certain
time at night, which usually I suggest two hours before
you actually want to go to bed. You're not on devices,
you're not writing emails, so you can actually have that

(03:15):
wind down time. Also having some screen free time, whether
it's like breaks in the middle of the day where
you go for a little wander in the middle of
the day or turning off the screens at a set
time at night, and also having some time off screens
in the weekend, maybe get out in the garden, go
for a walk, do something with the kids. Manage your workloads.
You're more about productivity rather than grinding along and doing

(03:39):
big hours. Think about how can I do the same
amount of work but in less time. That can be
a really great way to cut down your work hours.
It's actually be productive rather than just get the work
done and take your time. And then also always prioritizing
your self care because your self care is your foundations
of your health. So making sure you're getting the seven
to nine hours sleep and quality sleep because that's going

(04:01):
to refresh your brain. Great nutrition, good balance, and also
some regular exercise.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
Always you feel good.

Speaker 1 (04:08):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks at B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio