Sleep Well, Lead Well

Ben Franklin's words of wisdom remain true for great leaders. " Early to bed, early to rise". Let me add mine: Sleep early, wake up strong. Regular sleep is an essential part of a leader's life. An early start, after a good night's sleep is a critical ingredient of a leader's behaviour.

Harry Truman, 33rd President of United States followed this path. He even had after lunch nap. Winston Churchill believed his afternoon nap was a non- negotiable part of his daily routine. He kept a bed in the houses of parliament and believed that napping was key to his success in leading the Great Britain.

Lyndon B Johnson who worked hard to see through the ambitious legislative agenda like the Civil Rights Bill was not any different. By 2pm, he had a 30 minutes nap everyday. John F. Kennedy, after lunch would settle for a nap of 1-2 hours, asking not to be disturbed unless it was truly emergency.
 JB West, Head of household staff recalled that during those hours the Kennedy doors were closed. No telephone calls were allowed, no folders sent up, no interruptions from staff. Nobody went up for any reason.

Ronald Reagan, another mercurial American President, posted in his diary "afternoon is still nap time". Often he took one to recharge before attending a formal event. Given to humour, he joked about criticism of his sleep. When he was leaving office, he said that his cabinet chair should be inscribed "Ronald Reagan slept here".

Albert Einstein claimed he needed ten hours of sleep to function well, President Calvin Coolidge demanded eleven.

The term 24/7 has become part of our culture. It bears the misleading notion that sleep is a waste of time and a sign weakness. This thinking has no place in scientific reality. Many are deluded into thinking that holding meetings in the dead of night instead of observing sleep is the best practice.
However, the benefits of good sleep include; the ability of the brain to organize and process information.

The leaders cited earlier were deep thinking and successful persons in their rights and time. Our country, Nigeria, needs leaders who think outside the box, starting from our homes to the political stage, let us groom great leaders. Leaders who have unassailable rigour of thought achieved in part through a healthy sleep regimen.