People often talk about how little they sleep, as if it was a badge of honor. There is a tendency to use the lack of sleep as a demonstration of one’s effort, ambition and dedication. Today, the prevailing business culture with middle-of-the night conference calls and constant interruptions makes the pressure even greater. But it is not a good idea to sleep only few hours a day. It may be effective in the short term, but in the long term the lack of proper sleep will have an adverse effect on your performance and will lead to decreased effectiveness. Your ability to reason as well as your ability to control your emotion will be significantly impaired, argues an article on the leadingeffectively.com website.
Impact of not getting enough sleep
Leaders can be paralyzed when they don’t sleep enough or well. According to neuroscience experts, sleep deprivation causes a decline in brain power and people skills. Therefore your ability to make clever decisions can diminish. Your responses will be slower and it will be much more difficult for you to remember things.
Emotional control
A lack of sleep can lead to anxiety and hostility because it lowers your ability to regulate your mood and emotional responses. That means it may cause problems for you to be effective in the area of interpersonal relationships crucial for successful leadership. Higher risks of diabetes, heart diseases and hypertension are also results that directly threaten your health and well-being.
Can’t you fall asleep?
In case you have secured enough time to rest, but you just can’t fall asleep, try these tips:
- Stick to a regular schedule – go to bed every night at the same time.
- Don’t work in your bed – no typing or texting connected to your business.
- Bedtime ritual – you should go to bed relaxed, so read a novel or take a bath.
Read more about healthy sleeping in our previous articles:
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