Sleep.
The one thing that we can do to strengthen our foundations.
When I sleep well:
- I make better food choices
- I am more inclined to exercise or, if I force myself, I’m less likely to dog my workouts
- I am better at practicing positive interpersonal skills
- I have more resilience when things don’t go as planned
- I have the energy to get things done
- I feel I make better decisions overall.
I’m not alone.
In case you need the research:
- Terrible sleep leads to increased hunger.
- People who get enough high-quality sleep are better able to maintain a healthy weight
- Sleep has a huge impact on the development of other chronic diseases: such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and immune function.
- People with excellent sleep habits are more likely to feel like they are productive and effective. (National Sleep Foundation)
- Sleep improves decision-making, strengthens cognition, and clears out the toxins involved in neurodegenerative disorders
- Sleep also improves self-control and willpower.
Our culture, however, expects a 24/7 “always on.” attitude. How many executives, business leaders, and other “successful” people tout how they can function on little sleep?
- 45% of Americans say that poor or insufficient sleep affected their daily activities at least 1 day out of 7. (National Sleep Foundation, 2014 Sleep Health Index.
- A common reason – smartphones and tablets. In 2015, Bank of America discovered that 71% of Americans sleep with their smartphone. Yikes!
Sleep deprivation, however, has disastrous consequences:
- Drowsy driving caused up to 72,000 accidents, up to 6,000 of those – fatal.
- Sleep deprivation is often cited as a root cause of workplace accidents, some major.
- If you are sleep deprived, your decision-making ability is drastically reduced. Especially in a crisis.
- Sleep deprivation among employees, particularly management, hurts organizational performance.
The one thing that I feel will improve our working lives and make our workplaces more humane is prioritizing our personal sleep health.
And avoiding any manager who claims that they don’t need sleep.
We need to start up strengthening our foundation. That’s to ensure what our future beholds.