Improve your leadership life fit by increasing your hours of sleep. Pay the sleep debt.

3. “…one of the most significant and overlooked
public health problems in the U.S. is that
many American adults are chronically sleep
deprived. …very few Americans regularly
obtain the eight or more hours of sleep that
almost all adults need each night. The
consequences of this chronic sleep
deprivation can be disastrous.”
From APA (2014): http://www.apa.org/action/resources/research-in-
action/sleep-deprivation.aspx

4. Many people are carrying a heavy "sleep
debt" that they have built up from weeks,
months or even years of inadequate sleep.
"this means…that millions of us are living a
less than optimal life and performing at a less
than optimal level, impaired by an amount of
sleep debt that we're not even aware we
carry.” ~Dr. William Dement, sleep researcher
From APA (2014): http://www.apa.org/action/resources/research-in-
action/sleep-deprivation.aspx

5. Do you have a sleep debt?
2. Have you gained weight? (When you’re tired, you look
for ways to feel awake; eating tends to be the option)
3. Are you more impulsive? (When you’re tired, you act
without thinking)
4. Do you struggle to remember things? (Lack of sleep
doesn’t allow for cleansing of your nervous system—you
don’t attend as well, so you don’t retain as much)
5. Do you struggle to make what are usually quick
decisions?
1. Do you always feel hungry?(If the brain
doesn’t get the energy it needs from sleep, it
will try to get it from food.)

6. 6. Are you on an emotional roller coaster?
7. Are you forever catching (and keeping) a cold or
suffering persistent illness?
8. Are you having trouble seeing? (When you’re tired,
your eye muscles don’t work as well, and print can
appear blurry)
9. Does your skin appear unhealthy?
10. Do you ever feel as though you’ve fallen asleep at
the wheel? Or missed several miles in your trip?
Do you have a sleep debt?

7. Graphic courtesy of Helathline: http://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body
Multiple “yes”
answers have
implications both
short and long term as
indicated by the
chronic health
problems listed on the
graphic.
YES?

8. For most people, getting less than six hours
sleep translates into a bigger sleep debt than
they may realize. Over a two-week period,
missing out on the recommended eight hours
of nightly sleep adds up to two full nights'
sleep debt, one study found. If you're
averaging only four hours a night, your brain
reacts as though you haven't slept at all for
three consecutive nights.

9. Get More Sleep, Get More
Leadership-life Fit
0 Start by powering down
and going to bed 30
minutes earlier
0 Cut back on caffeine and
alcohol.
0 Make your bedroom
dark and keep it cool.
0 Practice deep breathing
before bed.
0 Take a warm bath before
bed.

10. Sleep is the most underrated
health habit. ~Dr. Michael Roizen
Everything you do, you’ll do
better with a good night’s
sleep. ~Dr. Michael Breus

11. Seize the Z’s!!