Leadership Insomnia: Why High Achievers Struggle to Sleep and How to Fix It

Leadership Insomnia: Why High Achievers Struggle to Sleep and How to Fix It

Interview with Sleep Coach Doron Lazarus on Leadership Insomnia

Q) Can you tell us what you mean by leadership insomnia?

A) Absolutely. Many of my clients over the years have been leaders in our community, clergy, entrepreneurs, principals of schools, top executives and professors… simply put, they are taking care of everyone else, but no one is taking care of them, and oftentimes their sleep is falling apart.

Q) Can you give more specifics of why this leadership group has a higher rate of sleep issues?

A) Most definitely. A few key points come to mind.

Firstly, it’s a personality type. The types of individuals that generally rise to the level of leadership tend to be very smart, driven and analytical. They are creative by nature and put their whole life and soul into their career and their institutions.

And that’s amazing, but the downside of such high achievers is that they tend to have a harder time with sleep. Their mind is buzzing at night and they have a hard time winding down. They can generally push through it when they are young but as the years go on the exhaustion starts catching up with them. 

The second cause of leadership insomnia is not only their personality, it’s the nature of the position of leadership itself. Oftentimes they are pressured to make major decisions on a regular basis and the nature of the work can be stressful.

They are expected to be on call early in the morning and up late at night in meetings, events and functions. They don’t have a lot of down time and self care and this can really start creating havoc in their sleep.

The last point would be the stigma for leaders themselves to actually reach out for help. Because they are in the role of helping so many around them, they have to show a strong appearance to the public and try their best to hold everything together.

Oftentimes this leads to putting themselves last and they are hesitant to take the time out of their busy schedule to reach out for help and invest in themselves.

Q) When they don’t seek help what are the long term effects of their sleep issues?

A) As I mentioned, they can often hold things together when they are younger but as the years go on and the responsibilities grow, things tend to catch up with them. They start sleeping poorly, taking a long time falling asleep or waking frequently in the night and then waking up too early in the morning.

Some turn to prescription medication to help with sleep or anxiety, and while that might help in the short term, it usually makes things worse in the long run.

They start dragging during the day, unable to really perform at their best level like they used to. The fatigue causes memory issues, emotional instability and general burn out. It starts taking its toll on the body as well. Weight gain, hormone imbalance, gut issues, it can really be a vicious cycle. 

Q) Can you briefly describe how you help people with leadership insomnia or other types of sleep issues?

A) For sure. My approach is always holistic, as I say, I don’t treat sleep, I treat people! And leaders are really no different. It’s a process in working closely with them to identify all of the imbalances in their life and work to make stable, long term shifts in sleep and healing. 

Good coaching is always a collaborative endeavor. As opposed to coming in and dictating all of the answers, I work with them to understand their personality, lifestyle, goals, strengths and weaknesses (yes, leaders have weaknesses too) and we come up with a clear plan of action of how to adjust their behavior, mindset, subconscious and emotional blocks, physical health imbalances, breathing and much more.

A good night's sleep comes from having a healthy balanced mind and body. I generally work with the clients for 3 months to put all of the plans into place and really see the long term results they are looking for. 

Q) Can you give some practical examples of cases of leadership insomnia you’ve dealt with?

A) For sure, three recent cases come to mind. 

The first was a rabbi in the Lakewood area. He came to me after suffering from sleep issues for decades. We applied this holistic approach, he was fully invested in the program and within a few months he made a huge transformation, kicked the sleeping pills and most importantly felt much better during the day and had the energy he needed to serve his community.

Another was a young entrepreneur New York. He had sleep issues in combination with chronic exhaustion, marriage and financial stress, emotional blocks and addictions. As I mentioned, when people are in a position of leadership, it can be challenging reaching out for help and being open and vulnerable in all of these areas.

We worked together and also within a few months he saw major breakthroughs in his physical and mental health, personal life balance and many other areas. He was able to have a renewed energy to serve his company and his family.

The last one was a math professor in Israel. She is a brilliant lady but unable to deal with her sleep issues that plagued her life for many years. She was embarrassed that she needed to consume whiskey every night to sleep, especially because she was such a straight personality.

But the lack of sleep really started to take its toll on her life and her teaching so she reached out for help. Baruch Hashem, she too was able to make a huge difference in her sleep, dropping the need for the alcohol and getting the natural, rejuvenating night’s sleep she needs to be on for her students and colleagues.

Q) Incredible Doron, thank you so much for this information. How can people be in touch with you if they are interested in learning more about seeking assistance in this area?

A) My pleasure, any of the readers are welcome to reach out to schedule a free sleep consultation where I can learn more about their specific issues and help guide them to clarity on how to get the sleep they need to thrive in life. The easiest way to be in touch is to book directly on my website at www.sleepcoachacademy.org or they can reach out by phone/text to +1 347 201 0384, Whatsapp at +1 574 406 3008 or email at doron@sleepcoachacademy.org