Why sleep matters in leadership

To Do: Pay attention to how well rested you feel today.

2. To Do: Do you feel like your team is well-rested?

Why this question matters: The world is trending toward insomnia: the Internet doesn't sleep, neither do big cities, and we humans are also sleeping less and less. But sleep is not a superfluous relic from pre-digital times, but still the foundation of our mental and physical health. So!☝️

Remember the ex-boxing world champion Mike Tyson who just chewed off a piece of Holyfield's ear in the 3rd round? Most of us wondered at that moment, "What the hell was he thinking?". Very likely nothing.

When we blow our fuses, as Mike did at the time, here's what happens: The conscious, civilized part of our 🧠 is temporarily hijacked by the impulsive and emotional limbic system. This has protected us from danger for millennia by providing us with quick and unconscious reflexes in emergency situations. This is because conscious rational decisions slow down reaction time.

So we were clearly at an advantage when we first acted with a saber-toothed tiger breathing down our necks and later discussed and analyzed the situation with our buddies around the campfire.Even today, our primitive limbic system intervenes when it sees us in "danger." Problem: We overreact! Because today, it's not predators but annoying colleagues that put us in survival mode. Mike's example exaggerates how short-circuiting can affect our careers.

But there is a way to bypass the drive-driven part in the brain and keep emotions in check = sleep.

Matthew Walker, the director of the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California, found that our brains revert more quickly to primitive and uncontrolled behavior patterns when we are unrested. In his experiments, sleep deprivation increased the likelihood by 60%!!! that subjects lost control of their emotions.

At this point also our book tip: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.📚 We can compare ourselves as leaders with top athletes. We are under pressure to perform, top performance is expected and we have a role model function. Important qualities that make a good leader are directly related to a good sleep routine:

⚡Good sleep leads to more resilience and patience in everyday work.

⚡Good sleep increases emotional intelligence and empathy.

⚡Good sleep lets you find better solutions to problems

⚡Good sleep increases productivity and ensures fast results

In short, if you want to keep a cool head, you need to get enough sleep. This also applies to your team, because how can you work well or even lead if you're not really feeling well yourself? #redflag 🚩 In the last Sleep Nugget we told you about Sleep Cycles, but that's just one strategy for better sleep. In the next Sleep Nugget, you'll get very simple tips for better sleep, and you'll learn even more in our Digital Leader program!

Well, are you awake? Enjoy your week!