MyExperience: A chat with Chris Surel about health and well-being for busy professionals

In leading the MyExperience Program for McKinsey Germany, I have the privilege of helping people learn how to "be at their best". In my opinion, this has a lot to do with proper sleep, fitness, nutrition, stress management, and overall feeling of happiness. That's why I think it would be interesting for us to realistically talk a bit more about health and well-being within the business context. Over the next several months, I will be sharing conversations I have had with experts in this area in a condensed format: 6 questions, 6 answers about their experience, opinions, and learnings.

The second conversation is with Chris Surel, a performance recovery and sleep coach who works with CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs around the world.

Tobias: What’s your personal story – how did you get into helping business people “be at their best”?

Chris: Some 9 years ago, I decided to cut down my sleep to 2 hours per night so I could build up my first company while still keeping my 12-hour daytime job as a senior corporate executive. Fast forward to 2 years later, I was a mental and physical wreck standing on the rail platform fully determined to jump in front of the next train that was only 30 meters away. In a very fortunate turn of events, my Labrador Karli stopped me from making the final step and I was given a second chance to start all over again.

 This lowest point in my life turned out to be my biggest blessing. It kicked off a wonderful journey that led me to discover my true passion and purpose: helping other people in high-stress environments upgrade their energy, performance, health, and ultimately, happiness. Now I feel very honored and grateful to work with the most successful consulting firms, DAX30 companies, and entrepreneurs on these topics.

Tobias: As an expert in performance recovery and sleep optimization, you work with many busy business people. What patterns do you see repeatedly?

Chris: I see 2 patterns…

Pattern 1: Many business people, especially the "Type A personalities", feel lazy, bad, or even guilty when trying to calm down and recharge. Even though they understand intellectually that recovery supports their performance and health, they still have this nasty, nagging voice in the back of their heads telling them that breaks are a waste of time only for the weak and not-so-busy people who are not tough enough.

Pattern 2: Busy people often treat their recovery breaks as the residual when all of their other business and social tasks and obligations are finished. But that almost never happens so consequently, they never recharge adequately.

 This is a big contrast to the world’s top changemakers and elite athletes, who follow a very strategic recovery approach and treat their breaks, nutrition, exercise, and sleep as a non-negotiable part of their work and training schedule.

 But both patterns are changing rapidly and in the right direction…

Tobias: In your experience, what helps busy business people change their behavior in a sustainable fashion?

Chris: The most powerful way is to make people feel and experience an instant boost in their energy level by showing them tiny changes they can make in their daily routines that don’t require any time or training. It creates powerful momentum that makes them want to learn more. Back up these micro-tactics with profound science from well-known sources such as Harvard or Stanford and even the busiest people want to engage and learn how to recover more strategically.

One more thing I’ve learned over the years – give people case studies they can relate to. It’s nice to know what a billionaire such as Richard Branson does to stay healthy (“I swim around my island every morning”), but is that adaptable for me?

Real-life transformation stories from my clients are way more inspirational because they are realistic.

Tobias: For all the skeptics reading this interview, what would you invite them to consider?

Chris: Start with 2 or 3 deep sleep densification tactics to increase your deep sleep by 30 minutes per night (without sleeping a single minute more!) and see how you feel and perform. Then decide if it makes sense to go further down the road. To be honest, not a single person with whom I’ve worked decided not to go deeper into this topic. It’s all about momentum and seeing quick results. 

Tobias: What is the biggest myth or misconception regarding performance recovery in high-stress environments that you see?

Chris: That we have to change our speed – or job or life – if we want to become good at it. The reality is that there are so many strategies, tools, and tactics that we can implement in our busy, high-stress day that boost us to a whole new level of energy, performance, and health.

But most people have forgotten how good they can really feel and perform. They have gotten used to performing at 50 or 60% over the years and they don’t even realize it. Since many people in the business world are equipped with an above-average IQ and will power, they can get away with it in the workplace. But just imagine how much better they could feel and perform if they operated at 80, 90, or even 95% of their potential?

Tobias: What are the top 3 things that help you personally be at your best?

Chris: 1. Get 90 minutes of deep sleep per night.

2. Take a micro-break every 50 minutes to switch my autonomous nervous system into rest mode (parasympathetic).

3. Get up at the same time every single day (including the weekends) to avoid “social jet lag”.

For more information, see Chris Surel.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and his guest contributor and do not reflect the views of McKinsey & Company.