Never Underestimate the Power of Sleep

By: Admiral James Stavridis , USN (Ret)

Welcome to Navigating Leadership, an eight-part series of articles and videos by Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret), Vice Chair of Global Affairs at Carlyle. Drawing from his 37-year naval career, including his role as Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, Admiral Stavridis shares key leadership insights and wisdom for today’s increasingly complex and changing world. Subscribe here to be notified of future editions.

I recently read about a Japanese entrepreneur and competitive bodybuilder who claims he’s trained himself to sleep just 30 minutes a day. He says he has energy to spare, accomplishing more in a day than most people do in a week. I’ll leave it to medical experts to determine if his regimen is safe, but he seems to embody a growing belief in some circles that sleep is merely wasted time. ?

In my experience, being well-rested is essential for clear thinking, effective leadership, and successful, safe decision-making.

As a Navy officer at sea for months at a time, I often worked 18 to 20 hours per day, sometimes more—leaving little time for sleep. This can be a potentially dangerous situation. As I’ve shared before, exhaustion nearly cost me my naval command. While captaining a ship through the shallow, narrow Suez Canal after a particularly grueling mission, I made a judgment error that could have run us aground. Thankfully, my navigator recognized that I was too fatigued to think clearly, took control of the helm, and averted disaster. Though this action violated protocol, it saved both the mission and my career.

This experience underscored how dangerous exhaustion can be. For military officers in combat, fatigue can have fatal consequences—whether through unintended harm to civilians or risking the lives of those under an exhausted commander’s impaired judgment. While a poor decision from a tired executive might not result in such tragic outcomes, the cost of exhaustion is still high—wasted time, money, effort, and potential harm to morale or an organization’s reputation.

Practical needs for rested decision-makers often conflict with cultural stigmas around sleep. In the military, some commanders feel they must show their resilience by powering through on coffee, energy drinks, and little to no sleep, fearing that rest will weaken their authority. This approach is a mistake.

“Good leaders are smart enough to know when they're exhausted. Find the courage to get rest.”

For years, I have urged military leaders to view sleep as a performance enhancer, as essential as any technology. Sleep is foundational to making sound ethical, moral, and tactical decisions. Just as rested commanders make the best leaders in the military, rested leaders are the most effective in every field.

Here are a few tips to help leaders counter the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) cultural biases against sleep and foster healthier, more productive habits:

1. Set a good example

Actions speak louder than words. Why would your team value rest if you boast about sleeping four hours a night and working from dawn till midnight? Show them that rest is essential for high performance.

2. Encourage naps

If coffee breaks and exercise time are accepted parts of the workday, why not naps? When I was commanding ships, we carefully scheduled sleep cycles and encouraged naps when needed. Civilian workplaces may be different, but removing the stigma around napping can lead to a more energized, effective team.

3. Avoid overscheduling

Remote work and video conferencing often lead to boundary-less workdays. Conferences and retreats can add nonstop meetings, meals, and late-night social events. Encourage team bonding, but also ensure team members have adequate time for rest.

Whenever I speak about the importance of sleep for effective leadership, I often see initial surprise—and maybe some disbelief—from the audience. That’s probably because sleep is not a subject they expect a retired admiral to discuss. But effective, competent leadership is something I care deeply about, and effective, competent leaders require adequate sleep.

As we conclude Part I in this series, I hoped you have enjoyed reading and watching my thoughts on leadership. More importantly, I hope you’ve had a chance to learn from them and apply them in your own life. ??

Godspeed and open water in your own leadership voyage.