Arianna Huffington’s advice for unlocking your creative potential

Arianna Huffington, author, entrepreneur, and founder of The Huffington Post believes in one key to success above all else: getting enough sleep.  

“When I get eight hours, I feel ready to handle anything during the day without stress and without paying a heavy price in terms of my own health and my own mental well-being,” Huffington, the author of The Sleep Revolution, told NBC. 

Here’s how sleep can lead to greater success and happiness for you:

Huffington’s Personal Journey With Sleep

Back in 2007, Huffington was constantly sacrificing sleep to work 18-hour days. Then, one morning, she woke up on the floor of her home office in a pool of her own blood. She’d passed out from exhaustion, breaking her cheekbone when she fell. 

It was a pivotal moment that reshaped her views on success and well-being. Rather than measuring success in just money or power, Huffington now advocates for a “third metric” of success, which includes well-being, wisdom, and giving back.

She’s since written two books on the subjects and founded a new company, Thrive Global, which helps employers improve their workers’ lives. 

Why is Sleep Essential for Success?

In her viral TED talk, Huffington discussed how sleep allows us to shut down our engines, refresh our brains, and go into every day operating at peak performance, which is foundational for productivity, creativity, and decision-making.

Science backs Huffington’s views. For example, one study showed that new neural connections—the pathways between neurons that allow our brains to function—are formed while sleeping. It also showed better performance outcomes from sleeping and training together rather than training more in place of sleep. 

Studies have also linked inadequate sleep (whether that’s extreme deprivation over a short period or slight deprivation over the long term) to worse reasoning, decision-making, and driving abilities, as well as mood swings, depression, and physical ailments like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Arianna Huffington’s Top Tips for Better Sleep

Alongside championing the importance of sleep, Huffington has put out tons of advice on how to get enough of it through The Sleep Revolution and her “Sleep Revolution Manifesto.”

1. Create a bedtime ritual

Doing the same routine before bed each night will help signal to your body and brain that it’s almost time to sleep. Adding relaxing activities like a hot bath, a nice cup of decaffeinated tea, a good book, or a mediation session, will help even more.

2. Make your bedroom an ideal sleep space

Huffington advocates for keeping your bedroom cool (between 60 and 67 degrees), dark, and quiet. If possible, keep your smartphone out of your bedroom (or at least out of reach) and reserve the room for sex and sleeping only. 

3. Avoid caffeine and electronic devices before bed

Huffington recommends cutting off caffeine around 2 p.m. and any electronic devices around 30 minutes before you lay down for the night. If you read in bed, use a traditional paper book or an e-reader without backlighting.

4. Wear dedicated pajamas—not workout gear

Wearing the same clothes to exercise and to sleep sends your body mixed signals. 

5. Treat sleep as nonnegotiable

Rather than sacrificing sleep to spend time on other activities like work, social engagements, or recreational activities, Huffington says we should be doing the opposite. Schedule your life around getting enough sleep in the same way you plan sleep around your work schedule. 

The Link Between Sleep, Happiness, and Mental Health

“All the things that make life much harder are aggravated when you’re sleep-deprived,” Huffington said on The School of Greatness podcast. You’re more likely to dwell on your failures, fears, and anxieties or feel irritable and stressed. 

By contrast, when you sleep enough, your brain gets the recovery time it needs, you’re more clear-headed, emotionally level, and able to handle the challenges your job or life might throw at you. You also increase your daily opportunities to experience joy_, which can improve your relationships and work performance. 

Over time, all of these factors reduce your stress, make you more productive, and help you avoid burnout.  

Debunking the Myths of Around Sleep

Work culture has a terrible tendency to glorify sleep deprivation. There’s the “hustle mentality” that says one should always be grinding. There’s also the “sleep deprivation one-upmanship” where people brag about how little sleep they get.

“Today, so many of us fall into the trap of sacrificing sleep in the name of productivity,” Huffington said. But in the U.S., inadequate sleep actually leads to 11 days of lost productivity per year per worker, collectively costing the U.S. economy more than $63 billion annually.

Prioritizing sleep is often associated with laziness, but making sure you begin every day at your full potential is actually a strategy for long-term success.

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