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Ever stayed up late at night wondering what the secret is to success?
Well, according to the Founder of Huffington Post and now Thrive Global, Arianna Huffington says the answer to ‘How to Succeed’ is to ‘Get More Sleep’.
Backed by many studies, sleep is not only important but vital to you functioning at your optimal level.
Arianna Huffington is an author and businesswoman who has written extensively about the importance of sleep.
In her book “The Sleep Revolution,” Huffington argues that sleep is essential for both physical and mental health, and that it is often overlooked in modern society.
Huffington suggests that people can improve their sleep by establishing a regular sleep routine, creating a sleep-friendly environment, and practicing relaxation techniques.
She also advocates for the importance of unplugging from technology before bed and getting enough natural light during the day.
4 Ways How Sleep Impacts Success
Every person seeks success It’s the ultimate goal in this game we call life.
Completing this goal requires you to focus on your task, acquire knowledge, and perform.
I think we can all generally agree on that.
But did you know that success and sleep may be more correlated than we think?
According to Canadian Psychologist, Reut Gruber, lack of sleep greatly affects your physical, cognitive and emotional functioning, which undeniable influences you.
Here’s how sleep impacts can your life and (indirectly) your success.
1. Enhance Learning
Sleep has a role in developing procedural memory, which is our knowledge of how to perform certain tasks.
(Eg. Driving or playing the violin.) Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage of sleep has a critical role in cementing this type of memory.
Without enough sleep, you won’t get as much REM time, which means you won’t be able to retain or remember as much information.
This is especially bad for students who stay up all night partying instead of studying for final exams!
2. Improve Focus
When we’re sleep-deprived, we tend to lose focus and other cognitive functions while we’re conscious.
As a result, we’re not able to fully receive and process information.
A lack of sleep means you’re a zombie at work and home.
This is especially bad when you’re gunning for a promotion and trying to impress your boss in an important meeting.
Don’t take that change – sleep earlier!
3. Better Performance
Although modern society glorifies the concept of “hustle” and drinking a gazillion cups of coffee for energy, nothing beats being fully awake from a good night’s sleep.
Imagine having more energy, feeling refreshed, no more brain fog and getting more creative!
This means being able to stay focused during important (but long and boring) meetings while contributing in a way that actually adds value.
You know your boss notices, right?
4. Prevent Diseases
Enough about the cognitive benefits, a major physical benefit is preventing illnesses like heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Start with the basics – which is developing good sleeping habits.
Take care of yourself, so once you reach your goals, you can actually celebrate.
I mean, what’s the point of all that success if you can’t enjoy it?
Arianna Huffington How to Succeed Get More Sleep
In case you’re not familiar with Arianna, she is one of the co-founders of Huffington Post, a best-selling author as well as an international media mogul!
She sold the Huffington Post to AOL back in 2011 for an estimated $315 million USD.
AOL then assigned her the role of President and Editor-In-Chief of a group of media companies until she stepped down in 2016.
Since then, she’s been one of the biggest advocates for reducing stress and burnout while promoting a healthier and well-balanced lifestyle.
Arianna Huffington TED Talk
One day while she was still working at Huffington Post, she fainted. Due to sheer exhaustion and being overworked.
She hit her head on her desk, breaking her cheekbone and had to get 5 stitches on her eye right.
That’s pretty extreme!
Let’s learn from her mistakes, so we don’t have to go through a similarly painful experience.
CBS This Morning
In an interview with CBS, she put a spotlight on the connection between sleep and performance.
She discussed why getting enough rest is “cool” and that means you’re prioritizing your performance.
“Arianna shares her objective of strategies that helps get enough rest –As a result every aspect of lives improves”
LinkedIn Editor
Chatting with LinkedIn, Ms. Huffington talks about how society had this concept that people who try to get enough sleep are lazy and less productive.
She encouraged the idea that it’s actually a win-win situation.
Why?
Because being well-rested lets you be more productive and make better decisions.
“Put your own oxygen mask both our health and decision making. Leadership is the quality of the decision, productivity engages nutrition.”
Elite Daily
Since technology at the present time is at its full bloom, Millennials tend to take much better care of smartphones than themselves.
Risking sleep deprivation, technology makes little room for downtime.
In a short talk with Elite Daily, Huffington encourages Millennials to get more sleep instead and warns them about the dangers of burning out.
“She learned the tough way around working too hard”
Arianna Huffington Books
Arianna once said that
“a high IQ does not mean that you are a good leader because the essence of leadership is being able to see the iceberg before it hits the Titanic.”
It’s her belief that you could prevent disaster by being able to see clearly. And that’s only when you’re functioning optimally.
A lot of people tend to overwork which goes hand in hand with not getting enough sleep. It’s actually quite counter-productive as a lack of alertness leads to bad decisions being made. So you may have to twice as long and re-do work!
Arianna has written quite a few books on this matter.
Pick up a copy if you want to know how this way of thinking has changed her life and how it can change yours
Among a huge selection of books, you can also read Arianna’s work (she’s written more than 15!) on there too.
On Becoming Fearless
With the contributions of Nore Ephron, Diane Keaton, and many others, Huffington guides her readers to face the world with strength, resilience, and courage.
“Women have so much potential, yet we hold ourselves back. If my daughters, and women of all ages, are to take their rightful place in society, they must become fearless.“
“It’s nice to be nice, but it can be extremely draining and self-destructive when it mutes our voice, holds us back, and undermines our authenticity.”
Thrive
Have you ever thought about what’s next after getting that corner office, a fancy title, and a higher salary?
Then, you need to get a copy of Thrive, which has been available to the public since 2014.
After years of chasing what society deemed as ‘success’, Arianna had a rude awakening.
A lack of sleep and pure exhaustion finally caught up to her and she was left with a broken cheekbone and gash on her eye.
In this book, she discusses the key ingredients of success and its correlation with sleep.
Arianna shares her personal experiences, including the challenges she faced with managing personal time, career and family life while raising 2 daughters.
“It’s not ‘What do I want to do?’, it’s ‘What kind of life do I want to have?’ ”
“Have you notices that when we die, our eulogies celebrate our lives very differently from the way society defines success?”
Sleep Revolution
Released in 2016, the book discusses the impact of not having enough sleep, how it affects our relationships (and ultimately our happiness), as well as tips on getting better deep sleep.
One interesting study she talks about was how school children perform better when they follow their natural circadian rhythms!
“It’s also our collective delusion that overwork and burnout are the price we must pay in order to succeed.”
Thrive Global - Arianna's New Initiative
After leaving Huffington Post & AOL in 2016, Arianna went on to create her own company, Thrive Global.
It’s a behavior change media and technology organization with the aim to relieve stress while enhancing the health and performance of an individual.
The company offers wellness programs, which include seminars and web courses, and technology products.
Gone are the days when:
- bragging about 4 hours of sleep is cool
- dark circles under the eye is a badge of honor
- people thought sleep was just a waste of time
Let’s not compete but rather collaborate with and learn from each other.
Hopefully, Arianna Huffington How to Succeed Get More Sleep also inspired you to catch more zzz’s.
Got effective tips and tricks to share for a more wholesome and balanced life? I’m all ears!
The first step in getting better sleep is to upgrade the things you use to sleep, including your mattress!
Check out the best folding bed here!
