Sleep deprivation is very common among executives and rank-and-file workers in most organizations. Hard-charging business leaders pull all-nighters or sleep only a few hours a night. When Tesla chief Elon Musk turned 47, he spent the full 24 hours of his birthday at work. However, sleep researchers tell us that tired workers are less effective and make more mistakes. People tend to become irritable and abusive; productivity suffers. Lack of sleep causes impulsive behavior, impairs decision making, and stifles creativity. Chronic sleep deprivation has serious repercussions for our mental, emotional, and physical health.35 Your human resources manager wants to spread the awareness that sleep is key to long-term health and productivity. She knows that the choice is between having a normal, full workday of high-quality work or an extremely long workday of deficient work. Getting a good night’s sleep will ultimately make the staff more productive. She has read Arianna Huffington’s The Sleep Revolution. The best-selling book details how this once-driven businesswoman, author, and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post—who passed out from exhaustion more than a decade ago—has become a crusader for quality shut-eyes. Huffington says sleep deprivation is “the new smoking,” suggesting that employers will eventually be forced recognize the harm of sleep deprivation and overwork. Then workers might be able to take walks and nap at work, perhaps.

Many businesspeople think they are indispensable and don’t sufficiently delegate work to team members who could relieve their workloads. Not developing a team that could step up can lead to a dangerous spiral of unsustainable frenzy and stress. Experts believe that planning the workday with a focus on getting out of the office by a certain time and prioritizing tasks accordingly will help disengage from work and lead to better sleep. One red flag is heavy caffeine consumption. It can mask the problem of sleep deprivation.

Your Task. On the Internet, search for Arianna Huffington’s recommendations for sound sleep hygiene. Using the steps advanced by the sleep guru and the information presented here, write a memo from HR manager Gloria Sanchez to all staff, encouraging healthy sleep habits. This memo will be sent to all employees as an e-mail attachment, posted on the intranet, and displayed in the lunchroom and other common areas.