6 CEO’S ON HOW MUCH SLEEP THEY ACTUALLY GET

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CEO’s - synonymous with punishing schedules, back-to-back meetings and not getting enough sleep - right? Maybe in the past, but not now. As you’re about to read, a new era is unfolding: one where our senior leaders believe sleep is a priority, rather than a luxury; and align their actions accordingly. We bring you these insights, being evidence that you can do the same - even if you are at the top.

The Transformers

ANNA PALMER, CEO OF E-COMMERCE PLATFORM DOUGH

With her first company, Palmer “sacrificed sleep” and thought it was “inefficient” - resulting in chronic sleep loss, frequent sicknesses and burnout. However, in her second start up, she is much wiser: “I’ve learned that to take care of your team and your company, you have to take care of yourself first.” This has not only changed the way she personally sleeps - “I now shoot for 7 hours of shut-eye”; but also, that of her staff - “we purposefully don’t schedule meetings before 10:30 a.m. to make sure people have the option to sleep if they were up working late”.

SARAH AHMED, CEO OF DENIM BRAND WARP + WEFT 

In the early days of Ahmed’s start-up journey, sleep was an afterthought. As a result, her “ideas plateaued”, “wasn’t centred” and “wasn’t able to do long-term strategic thinking”. Feeling frustrated by her self-imposed limitations, she changed: “now, I’m extremely protective about my sleep schedule - and my productivity has skyrocketed”. Further, her values of sleep and work-life balance have rippled out to her team too: “productivity, well-being and happiness have all increased, as has their commitment to our company at large.”

RACHAEL COUPE, CEO OF NATURAL SLEEP AID STARTUP THE SLEEP BOSS

For Rachael, 7.5-8 hours of sleep is essential to balancing life. After more than 4 years of chronic insomnia, Rachael knew her life needed to change. Prescription sleep drugs were affecting her ability to maintain the high level of productivity required to manage her family and build her management consulting business. After years of research, she developed a range of natural products to help herself and others build strong rituals for relaxation and sleep. "Incorporating yoga, meditation and regular self-care routines as well as using natural organic sleep teas and sleep essential oil blends helped to rebuild my sleep schedule. I’ve seen a distinct difference in my cognitive abilities, productivity and energy for the day when I follow my sleep routine.”

"No list of anti-anxiety bedtime activities would be complete without lavender. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping us feel more relaxed in mind and body."

Sleep Strategists

RON RUDZIN, CEO OF MATTRESS COMPANY SAATVA

Appreciating the importance of a consistent bedtime routine, Rudzin is religious in his pre-sleep rituals - reducing the temperature, minimising light, shutting off from screens and taking a warm shower. He voices this disposition freely too: “I tell whoever will listen that they have to view sleep as an activity and prepare for it, the same way they would if they were going to work out or play a sport.”

NICK STAFFORD, CEO OF PET STARTUP OLLIE

As a former athlete, Stafford too well knows the importance of sleep: “I’m typically in bed by 930pm, and make it a rule to leave my phone out of the bedroom”. Though it’s overly tempting to do so, he recognises that keeping the bedroom tech-free is “a simple and effective way to place my mind and body into sleep mode”

JAMES PARK, CEO OF FITNESS STARTUP FITBIT

Park admits: “I don’t get as much sleep as I like. It’s still something I have to work at, and make it a priority.” However, he is proactive in understanding what works for him, and to do this consistently: “for me, exercise helps me get the best sleep - so I aim for at least 30 minutes a day”.

3 lessons to learn from these CEOs

1.    Getting sufficient sleep IS possible: while you may think that ‘no one is sleeping enough’, and thus accept the perils of sleeplessness in the process, here, it is clear that this is not the case. In fact, it’s evident that forward-thinking CEO’s are at the forefront of the sleep health movement and taking their teams along for their collective benefit.

2.    You need to have a plan: As you would know from your business, having an action plan is critical - one with well-defined objectives, a precise process and a system to monitor. Sleep, in this regard, is exactly the same. The steps taken by those above have been highlighted for a reason - they, scientifically, equate to sleep success. Having a cool, dark bedroom, avoiding screens and taking a shower before bed, as well as healthy exercise - all are great steps and highly recommended for your sleep schedule too.

"Ideally, sip a lavender infused tea, dab lavender infused oil on your pulse points, and light a lavender candle, as found in Melbourne made, eco-friendly brand The Sleep Boss’  luxury gift set, which offers other sleep friendly essential oils, such as sweet orange oil and ylang ylang."

3.    Elevate and evolve: While these CEOs are definitely doing a lot of the right things, they are definitely not doing all of the right things. One of the reasons I have teamed up with The Sleep Boss is to highlight one of my fundamentals that is sometimes overlooked - lavender oil. As noted in clinical research, lavender activates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping us feel calmer in as little as 30 minutes. And, with many CEOs and individuals struggling to switch off in the evening, this is pivotal in getting your best night's sleep. Incorporating the Sleep Essential Oil Roller or Sleep Essential Oil Blend, which features not only lavender but also anti-anxiety aroma orange, will give you the insiders edge to getting to sleep that little bit easier. And, if you are keen to share the gift of sleep with colleagues and co-workers (Christmas is coming, after all), then check out their corporate gifting options, which offer these products.

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"The Sleep Boss is the winner of the Global Business Awards Best Sleep Aid 2022, 2023"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3159017/