Sleep Well, Lead Well is an extremely helpful and insightful paper about the importance of sleep. It provides an overview about why sleep matters and what you can do to prevent sleep deprivation. Here is some information about how sleep effects the brain and our leadership ability. For more information about the sleep process and tips on how to get better sleep, please read Sleep Well, Lead Well by the Center for Creative Leadership.

Lack of sleep can severely inhibit your leadership capabilities and development. Many of today’s leaders are getting by on little sleep and see no way around it. In a 24/7 and hyper-connected culture, we try to squeeze out more and more from ourselves and from others. We push for productivity, an edge, the next new thing. When it seems there are not enough hours in the day, something has to give and often, it's sleep. But sleep is not a luxury.

Lost sleep:

  • Reduces brain power and productivity

  • Diminishes concentration and impairs memory

  • Reduces the ability to communicate

  • Triggers moodiness and increases stress and anxiety

  • Impairs motor skills—and people skills

  • Is related to a variety of serious health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease—increasing healthcare costs

  • Hinders leadership performance and, as a result, can put your organization at risk

What Neuroscience Tells Us about Sleep and Leadership

Sleep-deprived leaders don’t get the full opportunity to process and organize information and, as a result, don’t perform at their peak level. Here’s why:

  • When we sleep, our brain cycles through various stages. The brain is very active during sleep.

  • About every 90 minutes, we enter Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. During this time the brain processes the previous day’s events. Experiences are solidified into permanent memory and sequences of learned skills become “muscle memory.”

  • Without sufficient REM sleep, all the “intake” from the day doesn’t get processed. If it isn’t processed, we won’t remember information or access it when it would be useful. We limit our ability to have new, unlikely insights and make useful or important connections.

The Power of REM Sleep: Why Quality Sleep Matters 

When you get just 4-6 hours of sleep, you won’t benefit from REM’s essential functioning. REM sleep comes only after our brains cycle through several stages of non-REM sleep, with each REM sleep period becoming progressively longer. Sleep broken down occurs in two types: non-REM and REM sleep. Non-REM sleep occurs in four stages: 

REM sleep comes after 30-40 minutes of Stage 4 deep sleep. Eighty-five percent of our dreams occur during REM because of the increased activity of the brain; most important, the previous day’s events are solidified into permanent memory trace and sequences of learned skills become muscle memory. In REM sleep, messages from the motor cortex get blocked at the brain stem, muscles relax, and you are temporarily unable to move limb muscles. 

Smart Sleep Strategies 

  • Set a regular schedule. Go to bed at a set time in the evenings and get up at the same time each morning (even on the weekends). This takes discipline, but once you create the habit, the benefits will be worth it. Of course, travel, special events, and emergencies (large and small) will throw you off. Just get back on track as soon as you can. 

  • Train yourself for sleep. Create a relaxing bedtime ritual. Take a warm bath, meditate, or read to make it easier to fall asleep. Whatever you choose, do it outside of the bed. Limit the bed for sleeping. 

  • Create a relaxing atmosphere in the bedroom. Remove the TV, electronics, and phone. If you use your smart phone as an alarm or truly are “on call,” put the phone where you have to get out of bed to reach it. Don’t keep the phone on your chest, in the bed, or at the bedside where you will be tempted to “just check.” Adjust lighting and temperature to help you wind down and sleep. 

  • If you can’t sleep, get out of bed. Don’t lie in bed awake. Get up and go to another room to read, stretch, relax tense muscles, engage in breathing exercises, or listen to music until you feel tired. Avoid anything that will get you revved up (checking work messages, paying bills, watching television, addictive video games, a can’t-put-down book). 

  • Exercise daily. Try to exercise 20 to 30 minutes a day. Even small bursts of exercise count. For the most benefit—from a sleep perspective—exercise at least three hours before going to bed. 

  • Avoid or carefully time caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine consumption. Don’t drink caffeine after 2 p.m. No alcoholic drinks three hours before bed. Nicotine anytime interferes with deep sleep and withdrawals can wake smokers up early—another reason not to smoke. 

The science is clear: Lack of sleep compromises brain processes and skills needed for effective leadership. 

Unfortunately, many work habits and organization cultures are rooted in the myth that more work is better work. Sleep is often what gives in the effort to do more and be more. The 24/7 culture means that people are working both later into the night and earlier in the morning. 

Eventually, the pendulum will shift and sleep will be seen as an essential tool for leaders and for all of us. Someday, people will be okay to take a 15-minute nap or protect their sleep time, knowing they will be more productive the rest of the day. 

As leaders and future health professionals, it is important that we make sleep a priority so we can do our part in becoming the best leaders possible. For more information about the stages of sleep and tips on how to get better sleep, read the Read Sleep Well, Lead Well by Center for Creative Leadership.