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Why Sleep is Your Secret Weapon for Success
Discover how optimizing your sleep can unlock performance, energy, and resilience. Sleep neuroscientist Dr. Els van der Helm has spent years helping global companies, leaders, and teams harness the power of sleep to unlock performance and well-being. In this article, she shares why sleep is your most underused performance tool—and how to use it.
Have you ever found yourself yawning during an important meeting or reaching for an extra cup of coffee to get through the afternoon? You’re not alone—the misconception that success demands sacrificing sleep persists. But what if that belief is entirely wrong? In reality, sleep might just be your greatest competitive advantage.
The Hidden Cost of Sleep Debt
If you need an alarm to wake up in the morning and find yourself sleeping hours longer on the weekend, you are running on something called a sleep debt. This means that your body constantly gets less sleep than it actually needs.
Like any debt, it’s easy to accumulate, tough to repay, and costly to ignore: just eight hours of sleep debt can impair your cognition as much as three glasses of wine. Imagine showing up to a client meeting with that kind of foggy brain. Yet, most of us routinely ignore our bodies’ needs. At every keynote, I calculate the individual sleep debt with the crowd, and it is always shocking to see how the vast majority reaches 4, 8, or even over 12 hours of sleep debt by Friday morning.
Why You Crave Good Sleep
Sleep is more than just rest—it’s the foundation of your entire well-being. When you ignore your sleep needs, your body rebels with intense hunger and sugar cravings, derailing even the best diet. On the flip side, when you’re well-rested, you’re naturally exercising more effectively, pushing your limits without risking injury. Sleep deprivation also weakens your mental resilience, amplifies stress, and drains your creativity and focus. A recipe for disaster when leading a team or engaging in a high-stakes discussion.
How Companies Pay the Price
During my work with various organizations, a familiar pattern emerges: teams that accumulate sleep debt pay with higher burnout rates, reduced productivity, uninspired leadership, and a lack of creativity. Conversely, companies that invest in good sleep experience increased energy, lower stress levels, and attract and retain their talent.
Simple Ways to Improve Sleep
So, how do you invest in good sleep? Ideally, it means falling asleep within 30 minutes and waking up naturally, without an alarm. Managing stress proactively, through microbreaks during the day or short meditations at night, can have a big impact on your quality of sleep. Another key is learning about and sticking to your body’s natural rhythm: for example, by figuring out your chronotype and keeping your wake-up time steady.
Great sleep isn’t just about feeling refreshed—it’s about unlocking your potential, your energy, and your edge. In my talks, I help people put science into action. Because your best work starts the night before.
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