Sleep is a habit that is fundamental to one’s physical, mental, and social well-being, much like eating healthily and exercising. It is still not often seen as a necessary habit for optimal health, though. We all know that we require 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, but how frequently do we actually achieve this? Not achieving the required amount of sleep can have a negative impact on our health, mood, focus, and day-to-day judgment. When we have trouble falling or staying asleep, we often act differently than when we are well-rested.
Today’s tight schedules, unhealthy eating habits, impromptu meetings, and tight deadlines are stressing out the workforce on tremendous levels, leaving them with unhealthy sleep cycles. This in return reflects the productivity and efficiency of the employee.
World Sleep Day is organized by the World Sleep Day Committee on the 17th of March every year. It is a yearly celebration of sleep and a call to action on significant concerns related to sleep, such as health care, education, social difficulties, and more. It has been formed with the aim to minimize sleep issues in society via better prevention and management of sleep disorders.
Employee health and welfare should be a business priority of all organizations and leaders, but sleep leadership is rarely considered in this context. Sleep leadership investigates how inadequate leadership brought on by sleep deprivation might impair workgroups and subordinates’ performance.
It goes without saying that if executives aren’t sleeping well and sleep isn’t respected throughout work cultures, it stands to reason that colleagues and subordinates won’t either. Bad sleep within the workforce can consequently lead to antagonism up the chain of command as well. This will eventually lead to overall decreased motivation to perform at work.
We must acknowledge in our businesses how habits and actions taken outside of work, both good and bad, affect the actual work. People and organizations need to view sleep as something that cannot be compromised. Other than that, we need to stop telling ourselves that successful people don’t get enough sleep.
Bill Gates, who formerly believed that sleeping a lot, was lazy, has changed his mind and is now a strong supporter of the need of getting a good night’s sleep. He also admits that being sleep deprived makes it difficult for him or any individual to think creatively. Jennifer Lopez experienced an anxiety attack in her 20s as a result of a chaotic sleep and work routine. But she now describes sleeping as her best beauty secret.
Likewise, one of the richest men in the world, Jeff Bezos, tries to prioritize at least 8 hours of sleep every night. He says that the extra hours of work are only an illusion, and decrease productivity with less sleep. Sleep is a top priority for highly successful leaders. Despite strict and busy schedules, they tend to get proper sleep to increase their efficiency and effectiveness every day, so why not we?
Some practical tips to promote the importance of sleep and create an effective workforce require you to create schedules where you can make regular interactions with the team and understand their circadian rhythm. You will see them perform better when you adjust their work schedules. You can also organize and conduct relevant workout/yoga sessions, to create a stress-free work environment. Mindfulness and meditation are some of the most commonly advised remedies to improve the sleep cycle.
To become successful, we all must take significant initiatives in understanding and promoting the importance of sleep, and keeping a healthy work environment that provides the intended results.
Written by Mr. Nasir Shaikh , Group CEO Lexicon Group of Institutes, MultiFit & Educrack
