Why good sleep matters so much in leadership

Reflection question for you as a Leader: What are you doing for your sleep?

Last Friday was "World Sleep Day." We know, we know one of those useless themed days a year - but in itself a day to focus attention on what makes up a 1/3 of our lives and is existential to our health: sleep! During sleep, our brain processes what happened during the day. Tissues are repaired and digestive organs can focus on detoxification and elimination. Restful sleep is the foundation for good mood, energy and good leadership! Here's a little reminder from our last article on this:

• more resilience & patience

• better emotional intelligence & empathy

• better solutions

• more productivity & faster results

So what do we do when our sleep doesn't want to go our way? Even if we don't have control over everything, we can take care of our evening routine! Because, human = creature of habit. Like any other routine, evening routines create habits that help our brain know when it's bedtime. By doing the same activities in the same order every night, the brain recognizes them as the sandman and neurotransmitters are released that put the body into sleep mode.

⏰ Set bedtimes As part of your natural sleep-wake cycle, a few hours before bedtime, your brain begins to shut down and prepare organs for recovery time. Use it. By setting times when you go to sleep and get up. The body gets used to it quickly! Following a consistent sleep routine will help you get tired naturally.

Less screen time Sitting at the computer for a long time in the evening, scrolling through Instagram, Facebook & Co. or falling asleep with Netflix means for the eye: blue light - which we also perceive as daylight. So the brain thinks it's daytime and the production of the sleep hormone melatonin is inhibited. Try to shut down everything 2 hours before and use the smartphone blue light filter.

📝 Take notes You still have ideas and thoughts buzzing in your head? Write everything down! Because then the mind stops running because it has actually captured everything.

🎼 Relaxing Music Music can improve sleep quality by calming parts of the autonomic nervous system. Breathing slows down, heart rate drops, and we get tired faster. Genre doesn't matter as much. Our favorite music can help distract us from thoughts and create a sense of relaxation that helps reduce stress. Our tip: sounds of waves, rain or thunderstorms are available in the Calm app!

🧘 Incorporate yoga or breathing exercises You don't have to be a yoga fan, but simple stretches are great for the evening routine. This stimulates blood flow to relax your muscles. Deep breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation can also help release physical and mental tension because you'll be consciously focusing on your body.

📚 Reading Studies show that a good book can shorten the time it takes to fall asleep and has a hypnotic effect. Novels with quiet plots and paper books are best (screen time reminder;).

🛏️ Bedroom Preparation The perfect bedroom temperature is between 15-19°C. Above or below this recommended temperature, the quality of sleep can already be greatly affected. Existing light sources and noises can also disturb our sleep. Try to make your bedroom as dark and noiseless as possible in the evening.

🥑 Eating early It helps to eat nothing or little a few hours before bedtime, so that the digestive system can actually rest while the body enters the resting phase.

In Short: Without sleep, things can go wrong sooner or later - whether in your personal life or at work. In order to function healthily in everyday life and lead well, sleep is essential! Often we are not even aware of the connection between stress and sleep. Sometimes a good tip is enough: For example, do a progressive muscle relaxation before going to sleep and the issue is taken care of. And sometimes it needs a more individual, complex view from the outside, e.g. through coaching.

You can find out more about this in our Digital Leader program. 👉 www.digital-leader-program.de

Our podcast tip on the topic of better sleep and what exactly happens in the brain and body can be found here: https://neurohacker.com/people/dan-pardi