As we sleep at night, a fluid that surrounds the brain flushes out toxins and dead cells that build up during the day. This cleansing process keeps the brain working properly and helps to curb inflammation.
When people are sleep-deprived, the brain initiates this process while we are awake, causing all sorts of problems, including lapses in attention, an inability to focus, slower reactions, and a failure to pick up on auditory and visual cues.
In other words, brain fog.
Leaders who experience prolonged wakefulness and broken or shallow sleep without the slow-wave segments that define deep and restorative sleep are considered sleep-deprived.
According to sleep research, deep sleep in the first half of the night matters the most. But sleep-deprived leaders seldom start the night off well.
Their sleep poverty typically lasts through the night and into the next day. Highly sleep-deprived leaders often endure 35 hours of continuous wakefulness with only short bouts of disrupted sleep to help them recover.
Despite the claim some leaders like to make that they don’t require much sleep and do fine on only a couple of hours, sleep studies prove that is hogwash.
While some people can handle disrupted or less sleep better than others, everyone who is sleep-deprived experiences negative effects. Without the time to flush out the toxins from the brain, the result is the same for everyone.
Smart leaders with a sleep problem treat sleep deprivation as a serious brain health issue, not something to “tough out.”
They avoid relying on solutions that distort normal sleep architecture, such as sleeping aids, and consult experienced professionals to design an intervention that works.
Once they enjoy consistent sleep, leaders experience the positive effects of rejuvenated slumber: stronger memory consolidation for facts and skills, better retention of new material, higher alertness, and stronger immune function and blood sugar balance.
Sleep is non-negotiable maintenance time for the brain.
If any leader or team member you know is sleep-deprived, encourage them to seek the help they need. Leadership is hard enough without fighting the negative effects of brain fog.
