Leaders do not sleep enough

Survey on the sleeping habits of German executives

07/19/2011

Significantly reduced sleep times seem to be a prerequisite for professional success in German management. A recent survey found that on average, bosses slept just over six hours a night, many even well below five.

The executives of our country sleep much less than the average of the population, according to a recent survey by the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy. On behalf of the business magazine „Capital“ The Institute had interviewed 519 leaders from business, politics and administration about their sleeping habits.

Top politicians sleep the least
The survey by the Institute for Demoscopy concludes that German executives receive on average only six hours and ten minutes of sleep per night. Top politicians sleep according to the latest survey, each night especially little. Almost a third (31 percent) of them have only five or fewer hours sleep per night, according to the Institute for Demoscopy. In business, 18 percent of executives also only sleep a maximum of 5 hours. However, according to the surveyed executives, such reduced sleep times are obviously not unusual, but a basic prerequisite for getting into a leadership position at all. More than half (57 percent) of respondents said that normal sleepers would not stand a chance of holding such leadership. However, the executives also sleep 40 minutes less per night than they say they would need to start well rested the next day, reports the Institute for Demoscopy Allensbach.

Health risks due to lack of sleep
Sleep deprivation is not only bad for occupational negotiations, as every second respondent (57 percent) was able to report this in the context of the current study of their own experiences, but it also threatens significant health complaints. For example, Francesco Cappuccio and colleagues from the English University of Warwick at the beginning of the year „European Heart Journal“ A study suggests that less than six hours of sleep a night carries an increased risk of overweight, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. In addition, there is a 15 percent increase in stroke risk, the experts at the University of Warwick reported in the relevant article. However, according to the results of the current survey conducted by the Institute for Demoscopy, most executives seem unaware of the health risks they face with their significantly reduced sleep times. (Fp)

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Picture credits: Dieter Schütz