Today I’m chatting with a delightful person who works predominantly offline but is building a fabulous online presence as well. Dr. Tracey Marks shares the biggest sleep mistakes you are making that you could easily avoid. Dr. Marks is a psychiatrist and focuses on working women who are too tired, busy, stressed out, etc. Those women who are Beyond Burnout.  She helps women devise strategies to recover from “burnout” and live healthier lives for themselves and their families.

In This Episode…

Is lack of sleep really such a big deal? Many people believe they need to shave off sleep to get more done throughout the day, but your body will tell you when you haven’t had enough sleep! It starts subtly like little whispers, but eventually those little whispers will become big shouts and then the real problems start. Did you know that chronic sleep deprivation can cause depression? Or did you know that you actually gain weight when you don’t get enough sleep? Shut the front door! The list of things that happen to our bodies due to lack of sleep goes on and on.

People are talking about lack of sleep more now than ever, but the conversation is only beginning. It’s an exercise in futility to continue making the biggest sleep mistakes and  neglecting sleep while still trying to get more and more done. Running on only 4 hours of sleep isn’t a badge of honor! The average adult should be getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night, but that’s often difficult for most people because there’s always so much “stuff” that needs to get done.

Is there anything we can do about sleep deprivation?

So now that we know that lack of sleep is a problem… what do we do about it? First, set a bed time! Your body is a clock and needs a routine, just like it did when you were a baby. No matter what happened during the day you need go to bed at the same time each night. Once you’ve set your bedtime, it’s important to give yourself about an hour to start to wind down: turn off the phone, stop checking your email, and relax. Bedtime is something you should prepare for, not something that just happens.

Tracey offers a course (a book and a video) called Master Your Sleep in which she addresses individual issues with sleep and provides a number of tricks and tools to fix your sleep schedule. (Blublocker glasses. For real. Check out the course.) Cognitive behavioral therapy has proven to be much more successful than medication when it comes to treating sleep problems which is where Tracey found her inspiration for the self help course.

Who is Dr. Tracey Marks?

Dr. Tracey Marks is a psychiatrist who focuses on working with women to help them jump off the hamster wheel and manage their lives so they can actually enjoy them. As a working mom herself, Dr. Tracey noticed that her patients and friends were seeking solutions to help them avoid burnout. She created Beyond Burnout to offer resources that can make a tangible difference to their quality of life.

A psychiatrist with 18 years experience, Dr. Tracey has a specific focus on lifestyle management, sleep challenges and the mind/body connection. In addition to Beyond Burnout, she has a private practice based in Atlanta. Dr. Tracey is a regular contributor to leading publications such as The Huffington Post and Bedtime Network, and has appeared as a psychiatric expert on CNN and HLN.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Dr. Tracey Marks website
http://beyondburnout.com/sleepcourse

Tweetables!

“It takes more than one conversation to address something as important as sleep. – Allegra Sinclair”
“You forget what it feels like to be rested when you don’t sleep enough. – Tracey Marks”
“Running on 4 hours of sleep isn’t a badge of honor! – Allegra Sinclair”
“Sleep… it’s like liposuction and a face lift in a pillow! – Allegra Sinclair”