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Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg: “I’d force myself to get more sleep.”

It’s hard to imagine that anyone holding a COO position at Facebook and ranked among the most powerful and influential business leaders would admit to many regrets in the building of their career, but Sheryl Sandberg has one thing she would go back and change – the amount of sleep she got. In her widely popular book ‘Lean In‘ (currently in it’s 24th week on the NY Times bestseller list), Sheryl addresses the need for people to feel like they can do it all and the “new normal” in the American workplace – including longer working hours and technology that makes it difficult for us to turn off work and go to sleep. Feeling like there were never enough hours in the day to juggle work and family, she dealt with the demands “by skimping on sleep” and admits that it was “a common but often counterproductive approach… Sleep deprivation just makes people anxious, irritable and confused.”

Sheryl backs up her statements on work and sleep with a number of studies and resources, including the Harvard Business Review’s publication on ‘Sleep Deficit”, which equates mental impairment by sleep deprivation from four or five hours of sleep a night with that of a legally impaired blood alcohol level.

“If I could go back and change one thing about how I lived in those early years,” Sheryl says, “I would force myself to get more sleep.”

Hindsight is always 20/20, but the understanding that a good night’s sleep can actually help, not hinder your career doesn’t have to be.

5 great benefits of sleep

We all know we feel better when we sleep, but the benefits of sleep go far beyond a feel-good day at the office. Here are my top 5 reasons to get your 8 hours a night:

5. Get cat-like reflexes – You don’t have to be a professional athlete to enjoy beating your buddies at hockey. Need proof? Ask the Canucks what they think.

4. Find your keys – I’m serious, getting enough sleep can improve your memory. Check out this Scientific American podcast if you don’t believe me.

3. Lose weight – Turns out sleep has a direct impact on your weight.  A recent study shows that “women who slept 5 hours per night were 32% more likely to experience major weight gain (an increase of 33 pounds or more) and 15% more likely to become obese over the course of the 16-year study” .

2. Be better looking –  A story published by Men’s Health takes a look at some interesting effects of sleep apnea.  Turns out the patients who had been diagnosed with the sleep disorder were deemed “more attractive” after treatment.

1. You’ll have more friends – Another insight from Men’s Health makes reference to a study that shows you may be more likely to stereotype others if you are tired.  Specifically, your self-control is affected by a lack of sleep, and it is gets progressively worse.

Even if you think you are getting 8 hours a night, most people greatly underestimate the amount of sleep they are getting.  Many people suffering from sleep-deprivation have no idea why.  Trust your instincts, if you feel tired, grumpy and have a hard time finding your keys, your first steps should be to look to your personal sleep data.  You could be missing out on a better-looking, nicer, more popular you.