Well, what do you know: Sleep does impact sales performance.

A bunch of years ago, sales was a horse of a different color.

Back then, your average rep would throw on a three-piece suit, pour himself (yes, it was primarily men back in the day) a bourbon - neat, of course - and have himself a day, finished off with a T-bone and maybe two or three dirty martinis before he passed out on the lazy-boy.

Back then, the salesmen's "lifestyle" of burning the candle at both ends -topped off with a night out with the boys, of course - was a badge of honor.

Well, this isn't Madmen, Jon Hamm.

Fast forward to today, where beanie-loving sales reps who work at investor-fueled, hyper-growth startups are more likely to slam down a green juice and go for a run at lunch than they are to dive into the bottle.

For the most part, today's high-performing reps are nothing like their Don Draper, get-it-done-by-any-means predecessors. 

But do you want to know how they are similar?

Do you want to know how Kellen, Elizabeth, and Emma are the same as Donald, James, and Stanley?

Here it is:

They have some serious sleep problems.

And it impacts sales performance in every single sales team at every company you know.

We know what you're thinking... 

"Not us." 

"Not here." 

"Not at (fill in the blank startup ending with -ly, -ify, -io)."

Don't believe me?

According to our research, 60% of sellers struggle with sleep, and over 29% say they are always tired.

Even more shocking? 92% of sellers think a lack of sleep impacts their ability to close deals.

Now, before you go ahead and ask your boss for a day off to sleep, let's dive into the data and understand what's happening.

Speaking of LEON data

At LEON, we provide comprehensive people reporting and analytics - in less than 3 minutes a month - to help you measure key engagement and well-being statistics over time, including sleep, mental health, capacity, resourcing, and teamwork.

Then we analyze that data to generate robust, actionable insights to help create the happiest and healthiest generation of employees ever.

You can get started for free here.

For this report, we analyzed over 75,000 data points, primarily based in North America and the European Union.

Sleep is a major issue, but why?

Before you go and cancel all your upcoming calls and decide to take a week off to catch up on some Zzzzzzz, let's have a chat to understand what may be impacting your sleep.

‍

‍

Sales pros aren't just staying up later or binge-watching Netflix every night. There are a few key signals that do seem to have a very high correlation with poor sleep:

74% of employees say most of their stress comes from work deadlines/company expectations.

52% of employees are drowning at work.

While not surprising in the least (we all know that stress and workload impact sleep), what is surprising is how closely related the two are when looking at sleep issues during times of self-reported "high stress and high workload."

Correlation does not equal causation.

While these numbers are interesting, we admit that sleep and stress issues are multi-faceted and that work may not be the only signal of poor sleep. As a matter of fact, when looking at individual insights such as happiness, work-life balance, and physical health, all three tend to trend up or down as sleep trends in any specific direction: a typical chicken or egg problem.

But here is what we do know.

Removing any clinical sleep diagnoses from the equation, sleep is a lifestyle problem that is somewhat impacted by work-related stress.

Health and safety risks associated with lack of sleep

Our brains and bodies are built based on the 24-hour natural light and dark cycle. When we alter this cycle or get insufficient amounts of sleep, we are increasing our risk for various illnesses and safety risks. 

Below are some examples of research findings related to these issues:

• Sleeping less than 7 hours per night increases the probability of obesity by 6 %
• Constantly sleeping 5-6 hours per night increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 28 %
• Sleeping below 6 hours compared to 7 hours increases total cardiovascular disease risk by 15 % and coronary heart disease risk by 23 %
• When exposed to a flu virus, those sleeping less than 7 hours were 2.94 times more likely to develop a cold than those sleeping 8 hours or more.
• The performance decrease when sleeping 4 hours per night for one week is the same as when not sleeping at all for one night.
• There is a 30% increase in the risk of work accidents at night, and 20% of vehicle accidents are related to sleepiness.
  

So how does a lack of sleep impact our well-being and performance?

Dr. Mark Czeisler, a Ph.D., research fellow at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, says that; 

"Insufficient sleep is undoubtedly associated with adverse mental health symptoms and dysregulation of functional brain activity that's going on during sleep. When we miss sleep, the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in emotional reactions, goes into overdrive.  A study using MRI brain scans found that the amygdala was around 60% more emotionally reactive in participants in a state of acute sleep deprivation compared to people who were usually sleeping and well rested. So, when you're short on sleep, your ability to respond to potentially emotionally intensive events is compromised. And what's worse is that heightened emotional reactivity related to amygdala hyperactivity is paired with dysregulation of another brain area called the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in decision making. And so not only do you have an overactive amygdala, which is making you more emotionally reactive, but the prefrontal cortex is less able to integrate that information and control impulses."

What do we do about it?

Company recommendations

On a company level, helping to support healthy sleep patterns in your employee populations is easier said than done. Still, there are a few fundamental changes managers and organizations can make to better support the well-being of their people.

• Start tracking and understanding total stress and workload on a team level via an introductory NPS or Pulse model survey. This understanding may help you know if sleep is becoming an issue.
• If you prefer something more intelligent, automated, and free, sign up today to gain unrestricted access to LEON Insight®. Our diagnostic will asses twenty-eight individual and company metrics - including those mentioned in the article - in just twenty-five questions over three minutes, giving you access to unprecedented insights about you, your people, and your business.
• Once you have the necessary data, you can start by making small changes to workload management concepts and how you mitigate stress inside your organization. Our team of LEON Experts and Performance Managers is available for a consult if needed.
  

Individual recommendations

Our general recommendation is to sleep 7-9 hours each night and also to go to bed at a consistent time. By having inconsistent sleep routines, we are causing ourselves similar challenges that we would experience from jet lag; therefore, consistency is essential. 

There are naturally some individual differences in our need for sleep. Still, it is essential to understand that a sleepy brain does not even realize that it is not performing well, and we can't always judge how tired we are. Remember that small changes can make a big difference, and adding even 15 minutes per night to your sleep can be beneficial.

Enhancing sleep quality

Another issue that we have to understand regarding sleep is that we need to prepare for it well for our sleep quality to be good. Many of us struggle with falling asleep or waking up during the night, and poor quality sleep can be just as harmful as insufficient sleep. We have put together a list of a few simple tips that can help you to prepare well for sleep and improve your sleep quality:

• Minimize stress and don't work in the evenings. Do not, for example, check emails in the evening.
• Limit alcohol use and do not use it as a sleep aid, as alcohol decreases sleep quality.
• Exercise is beneficial, but avoid intense exercise within 4 hours of bedtime.
• Eat light meals in the evenings.
• Avoid caffeine after midday as caffeine decreases sleep quality even if you fall asleep well.
• Do not use tablets/computers before bed, as bright screens increase alertness.
• Dim lights in the lead-up to sleep as a dark environment prepares our brain for sleep.
• Sleep in a quiet, dark, and cool room.
  

Remember that sleep is essential behavior, and we have to prioritize it in our lives. So keep making minor adjustments to your daily routines that will gradually take you in a good direction.

References

1) Beccuti, G. & Pannain, S. Sleep and obesity. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care. 2011 July ; 14(4): 402–412.

2) Hargens et al. Association between sleep disorders, obesity, and exercise: a review. Nature and Science of Sleep. 2013 Mar 1;5:27-35.

3) Cappuccio et al. Quantity and Quality of Sleep and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care. Feb 2010; 33(2): 414–420.

4) Touma, C. & Pannain, S. Does lack of sleep cause diabetes? Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine 2011 Aug;78(8):549-58.

5) Hoevenaar-Blorn et al. Sleep Duration and Sleep Quality in Relation to 12-Year Cardiovascular Disease Incidence: The MORGEN Study. Sleep. Nov 1, 2011; 34(11): 1487–1492.

6) Nagai, M. et al. Sleep Duration as a Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease – a Review of the Recent Literature. Current Cardiology Reviews. Feb 2010; 6(1): 54-61.

7) Sabanayagam, C. & Shankar, A. Sleep Duration and Cardiovascular Disease: Results from the National Health Interview Survey. Sleep. 2010 Aug;33(8):1037-42.

8) Cohen, S. et al. Sleep Habits and Susceptibility to the Common Cold. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2009 Jan 12; 169(1): 62–67.

‍