Sleep is often overlooked as a vital component of effective leadership, yet it plays a critical role in performance. Your ability to make decisions, manage stress, and maintain emotional stability is tied to the energy levels you wake up with each day. As a leader, this energy is your battery, and it’s closely linked to how well you sleep and how effectively your nervous system processes stress overnight. This isn’t just good health advice; it’s strategic business advice. Monitoring your sleep quality every night could be the key to responding thoughtfully to situations rather than reacting impulsively.
What it means to have better sleep
What is REM Sleep, and how can it help?
REM sleep plays a vital role in emotional regulation and mental clarity. During this stage, the brain processes unresolved emotions and trauma, making leaders who prioritize REM sleep more likely to maintain a calm and grounded presence, especially during high-pressure situations. This stage also enhances creativity and problem-solving abilities, allowing leaders to respond, rather than react, allowing them to find innovative solutions to challenges.
Without enough REM sleep, leaders may be prone to emotional outbursts or snap judgments, which can negatively impact team morale and decision-making. Ensuring quality REM sleep improves emotional resilience and mental clarity, crucial for effective leadership.
What is Deep Sleep, and how can it help?
Deep sleep is a restorative stage of sleep where the body focuses on physical repair and recovery. This stage allows the muscles to rebuild, strengthens the immune system, and replenishes energy levels. For leaders, deep sleep is like an anti-aging serum, promoting long-term health and endurance. It ensures they wake up refreshed and energized, equipped with the stamina and focus needed to lead effectively throughout the day.
Optimizing Sleep for Better Leadership
Solutions for better sleep
To improve sleep, specifically increase REM and Deep Sleep, and recharge your "leadership battery," try incorporating the following habits:
1. Maintain Consistent Sleep Schedules
A regular sleep-wake cycle is crucial for regulating your circadian rhythm, ensuring both deep and REM sleep. Going to bed and waking up at the same time daily, including weekends, supports better emotional regulation and decision-making.
2. Exercise Regularly (But Time It Right)
Regular physical activity helps improve sleep quality and increases time spent in deep and REM sleep. However, avoid vigorous exercise close to bedtime as it can delay sleep onset.
3. Create a Relaxing Night Routine
Establishing a calm, predictable pre-sleep routine helps signal to your brain that it’s time to wind down. Disconnect from stimulating activities, like using your phone or watching TV, at least 30 minutes before bed. Instead, practice relaxation activities such as journaling, reading a calming book, or meditating to ease your mind.
4. Optimize Your Sleep Environment
A conducive sleep environment helps improve sleep quality. Make your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet by using blackout curtains, white noise machines, or earplugs. Minimizing exposure to blue light from electronics also supports better melatonin production and promotes deeper sleep.
5. Practice Stress Reduction Techniques
Stress and anxiety can block deep and REM sleep. Practices like meditation, breathwork, or gentle yoga before bed help calm your nervous system, making it easier to transition into restorative sleep.
6. Journal to Release Mental Clutter
Writing down your thoughts or unresolved issues before bed helps clear your mind, making it easier to relax and fall asleep. This practice can be particularly beneficial for leaders, helping them release the day’s stresses and set up for a more restful night.
Find What Works for You
While these strategies are backed by research, it’s important to remember that sleep needs vary from person to person. Think of these suggestions as starting points. Experiment to find what works best for you—be your own scientist. Monitor how different habits impact your sleep quality and adjust accordingly. Everyone’s body and nervous system respond differently, so listen to what works for you and adapt your sleep routine as needed to optimize your energy, focus, and emotional balance for effective leadership.
Conclusion
Your ability to lead effectively depends heavily on your energy levels, emotional stability, and cognitive function—all of which are influenced by the quality of your sleep. By monitoring and improving your sleep habits, you set yourself up for leadership success. From optimizing sleep duration to cultivating nightly routines that encourage the critical stages of sleep (REM and Deep Sleep), these practices will enhance your health and your ability to respond thoughtfully and decisively in the workplace.
Your thoughts?
As someone who has been experiencing sleep issues due to a toddler that wakes up a lot , flying on the red eye flights and entertaining clients late evenings , I can attest that consistent lack of good rem and deep sleep lead to anxiety and irritability . Getting sleep sorted in a dynamic environment is challenging but so worth it . I need to reexamine creative ways to do that .
Really good post and very beneficial to everyone.
This is still work in progress for me, however I have noticed the regular time schedule for sleep, night journalling no phone one hour before sleep and one hour after waking up as well as leaving my phone outside the bedroom is gradually improving my sleep, recovery from workouts as well my mood management through the day.
This is good BUSINESS advise! You need to have your battery filled, and have a night that PROCESSED what you needed to process, so during the day you are not reacting, but instead appropriately responding. A game changer for leaders!!!
Thank you for today's post. An aspect of these posts that I really enjoy are the practical health and lifestyle changes we can make and their positive effect as part of the leadership journey. I have become much better with my sleep routine and noticed the impact - increased productivity, less emotionality and better decision making - all huge wins. There is still room for improvement though. There is a big sleep debt that still needs reducing, revisit the high impact workouts in the evening and continue to measure and adjust.
I have focused on improving my sleep this year... it's a GAME CHANGER!!
Like this article says, regular sleep times, having a night time 'wind-down' routine, exercise, no phone, good diet all have made big improvements. PLUS using a device to monitor my sleep has help me tune and tweak my routine, allowing me to be super precise.
Consequently, I show up every day with more sustained energy, clearer mind for decision making and responses (rather than reactions) AND much higher resilience.
Great post!