It’s 3am and you’re wide awake. Again.
You’ve replayed tomorrow’s meeting in your head three times. You’re mentally exhausted—but your body won’t settle.
By morning, you’re drained. You push through with coffee and adrenaline, but small things feel big. Someone disagrees with your idea—and you take it personally. Someone offers feedback—and you hear criticism.
Poor sleep erodes:
- Memory
- Decision-making
- Patience
- Mood regulation
And here’s the kicker: It makes you more likely to interpret neutral situations as negative.
That’s right—sleep-deprived brains default to defensiveness. They assume threat instead of seeking understanding.
This “better safe than sorry” instinct may have helped our ancestors survive. But for inclusive leadership, it’s a disaster.
What This Means for Leaders
When you’re tired:
- You’re less open to new or unfamiliar ideas
- You lose the emotional bandwidth to empathise
- You become more reactive, less reflective
So if inclusion matters to you—sleep has to matter too.
Rest Isn’t a Luxury—It’s a Leadership Responsibility
