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| Harjot Atwal |
Today, in completing more continuing professional development (CPD) hours, I was watching the Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO’s) Sleep and Your Mental Health: Tools for a Healthy Life. Overall, having had sleep issues now since undergrad, I found the program very interesting and informative.
There is discussion of how we lawyers perhaps suffer from the greatest sleep debt amongst a number of professions. I was surprised by this since a quick Google search shows that certain Ontario doctors work 24-hour shifts without sleep breaks, but I guess they make up the foregone rest on their post-call days.
Mention is made of being amped up perhaps the night before a big trial or the closing of a major transaction and thus having trouble getting some shut-eye. That makes sense. But, if even the toughest of barristers and solicitors should be at least taking naps as the above quote suggests, how do we pull off that trick?
Before delving a little deeper into that question, I thought I would highlight some of the positive aspects of sleep, which the program presenters suggest people are aware of but do not always consider deeply. As per Marlee Boyle — who is certified in Clinical Sleep Health, “scientific studies consistently show that adequate sleep boosts cognitive function, decision-making abilities, and emotional resilience, which are all key components for effective legal practice.” In addition, sleep is essential for many natural physiological responses of our bodies, such as the effective regulation of blood pressure, hormones, blood sugar, appetite and metabolism. The list of benefits presented is quite extensive.
For me, getting adequate sleep really boils down to three things: doing at least some exercise, taking my medication regularly and controlling my intake of coffee. I figured I would briefly discuss all three.
Exercise
I’ve known my family doctor since I was four years old, and we have discussed sleep issues many times over the years. She once told me to consider construction workers. They work all day with their hands, often lifting heavy things and getting lots of exercise to the point of somewhere near exhaustion. She asked: “Do you think they have any trouble getting to sleep at night?”
I always kept that in mind. So, when I started my walking regimen in 2023 (I discuss it in more detail here), I thought it would be a good idea to save a one-hour walk after dark, close to bedtime. I find you have to kind of time this carefully. For instance, I just finished my third hour of walking one hour ago. I am wide awake. I’m no sleep expert, but I assume it has something to do with the endorphins. However, earlier today, maybe three hours after my second hour of walking, I was yawning and feeling sleepy. If I had turned off my screen and the lights, I may even have been able to take a short nap.
While I think exercise is essential (mostly for my mental health and weight loss), I know I can’t rely on it completely and solely for sleep. Without the next ingredient to my sleep recipe, I can at best sleep two to three hours before I wake up. I certainly can’t sleep through the night.
Medication
One of the program presenters made a comment (which I will paraphrase) that “some of my clients intended to only take their sleep medications for 10 to 14 days but then ended up taking them for 10 to 14 years.” Essentially, they are discussing dependency.
I suppose I am one of those dependent people. Without my medication, my sleep debt would grow and grow, I would be yawning all day and I would imagine the bags below my eyes would deepen and deepen.
For years now, I have been taking trazodone. I have other family members who also take it but at lower doses. While it would be great to get natural sleep as the program presenters suggest is best, and I was able to sleep like 14 hours straight as a kid sometimes, those days are long past.
Now, trazodone also has antidepressant qualities, which I find beneficial (and it also helps with anxiety), but it is not an antipsychotic. The reason I mention this is that I used to take Seroquel for sleep, which can also help treat depression, but it is an antipsychotic and, accordingly, has undesirable side effects. Antipsychotics essentially make you hungrier, you gain weight when you start them and you generally keep gaining weight over time. You may need them for other reasons, such as treating bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but I think caution should be used when considering them solely as a sleep aid.
Coffee
The program presenters amusedly mention that lawyers often refer to coffee as the “lifeblood of our profession.” I would definitely agree! I love coffee but have certainly reduced my intake of it over time, particularly since I prefer natural boosts I can get from walking or sunlight. At one of my previous firms, my co-workers would jokingly ask me: “Which cup are you on now, Harjot?” Basically, the coffee machine was in the hallway, people would often see me standing by it as they walked around, and there was a rumour (perhaps true!) that I kept backup coffee in my desk.
Nowadays, I try to stick to having one cup of coffee in the morning, but sometimes I splurge for a second cup later in the day. Of course, coffee is not the only drink that contains caffeine, as the presenters discuss it as being ubiquitous in many different cultures around the world. For instance, it’s also in tea, pop and energy drinks. Ultimately, caffeine is a stimulant and will (obviously) have a negative impact on sleep. It is also suggested we should delay caffeine intake for at least 90 minutes after waking to avoid a late-morning caffeine crash.
Several caffeine management and reduction strategies are identified, such as:
- switching to decaf or caffeine-free beverages (perhaps at a certain time of the day);
- moving your body between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.;
- going outside for 10–20 minutes; and
- using bright light therapy lamps to combat sleepiness (I think 30 minutes was suggested as the target amount of time).
Conclusion
I believe this CPD program is very valuable. I am only 50 minutes in at the time of writing this article, feel like I have already been given a lot to think about and am looking forward to the remaining 40 minutes. These two program presenters also have additional programs on the LSO website, including The Business of Sleep: A Productivity and Success Toolkit for the Legal Practitioner. Check them out and stay tough!
Harjot Atwal is a real estate lawyer. In 2023, he opened up his own shop, Atwal Law Firm. You can reach him via email at harjot@atwallawfirm.ca, by phone at 905-264-8926 or on LinkedIn.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
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