CEO tricks anyone can use: Tony Schwartz on Sleep

The article has been making the rounds on business websites, and if you haven’t seen it, it’s probably time you took a look.  It’s all about something that we don’t tend to do enough of… sleep.

Tony Schwartz began his career as a journalist, but today he’s focused on helping people work better.  Clients like Ford, Apple and Google are benefiting from his tips.

But you don’t have to be a high powered CEO to use his practical tips.  Start with one that he considers incredibly important – sleep.

Did you know that top performers probably sleep more than you do – and I don’t just mean athletes?  Did you know that sleep can even help you lose weight?  Here’s how Schwartz starts his article, pointing out that Sleep is More Important Than Food:

Let’s cut to the chase.

Say you decide to go on a fast, and so you effectively starve yourself for a week. At the end of seven days, how would you be feeling? You’d probably be hungry, perhaps a little weak, and almost certainly somewhat thinner. But basically you’d be fine.

Now let’s say you deprive yourself of sleep for a week. Not so good. After several days, you’d be almost completely unable to function. That’s why Amnesty International lists sleep deprivation as a form of torture…

Trust me, I know it’s hard.  Believe it or not, it takes planning and discipline to get enough sleep.

But what if you’re taking more medication than you need, having more tests than you need, spending more money than you need — even though you could significantly lower your symptoms with more sleep?

Give it a try.  It makes you look twice, but he’s got a point – Sleep is More Important Than Food.