Arianna Huffington Talks The Power of Sleep at TedWomen

Speaking at TEDWomen last month, Arianna Huffington talked about a simple idea with the potential to unlock billions of big ideas dormant inside us: getting enough sleep.

After fainting from exhaustion two and half years ago, Arianna began the journey of re-evaluating the value of sleep.

“The way to a more productive, more inspired, more joyful life is getting enough sleep,” she said at TEDWomen. “We are literally going to sleep our way to the top — literally!”

Sleep deprivation (what we call in a PerformanceLifestyle “Personal Energy Debt”) has become a virility symbol, especially with men, she said. But getting enough sleep is crucial for being able to see the big picture — it’s what is best for our own lives, our own careers, and is also what’s best for the world.

Everything you do requires energy and there isn’t any aspect of your life, or your lifestyle that will work very well, if you are in personal energy debt. It’s like running a business that is in massive debt, you will feel like you are never above water.

This subject of sleep, the very bedrock of energy regeneration is the bottom line of your life. It’s not optional, that is, not if you want to live in debt your whole life, addicted to coffee.

You, like I have probably learned this personally, and today we need to protect our sleep as part of an overall lifestyle strategy for energy regeneration as the most important aspect of our lifestyle’s, which is why getting proficient at the lifestyle skills is so important.

Performance Lifestyle is not about performing all the time, or being a high performer all the time, it’s about being able to function and perform well, and that requires sleep!

Filed Under: Energy Debt • Sleep