AFTER WORK | 57

CREATIVE SLEEP

A study conducted in Greece involving

23,681 individuals and spread out

8 Jan G. has been on the road for 10 days.

His stops have been Singapore, South Korea,
Japan and China. Altogether, he visits seven
customers in four countries. A product man-
ager at a big Dutch software concern, he jets
around from meeting to meeting, presenta-
tion to presentation. Changing time zones,
deadlines and differing climates are standard
features of such trips—as is the lack of sleep.
“Usually, you don’t get more than four hours
of sleep a night," he says, describing the cir-
cumstances of such a business trip. And this
frequent flyer is by no means an exceptional
case. Countless fellow managers share the
same fate—and their numbers are growing.
According to expert estimates, the working
hours of managers have risen by 50 percent
since the mid-1990s.
Far from well rested—but admired
over six years came to the conclusion
that people who take a 30-minute
nap during the day, at least three
times a week, reduce the risk of a
heart attack by 37 percent.
In France, a study by the Centre for
Health Economics demonstrates that
people suffering from insomnia are
more frequently ill and are out sick
more often than those whose sleep
patterns are normal.
The most recent experiments, for
example those conducted at Harvard
University, have proven that people
who get an adequate amount of sleep
process their impressions from the
day during the night, and thus are
better able to store what they have
learned in their long-term memory.
Sleep researchers have discovered
percent of those surveyed who slept less than
five hours a night admitted that they had
made mistakes on numerous occasions. And
only 6 percent of those questioned who slept
eight hours a night stated that they had inad-
vertently committed mistakes. The shocking
conclusion is that if a person sleeps around
four hours a night for five consecutive
nights, he or she will be on the same level as
if having worked 24 hours straight.
Drunken behavior
Charles Czeisler, a sleep researcher at
Harvard Medical School, goes a step further
in this regard: “A person who is suffering
from shortage of sleep is out of it, similar to
being drunk." One week with just four or five
hours of sleep per night would in his view
result in a decline in performance correspon-
ding to a 0.1 percent blood alcohol level.

Sleep well! With such a heavy workload, a peaceful

Managers with a packed schedule and L I T T L E S L E E P are viewed as stress-
resistant and successful. But the reality looks rather different: Insomnia not
only causes stress, but can also result in dire mismanagement.
BY MARKUS HOWEST
night is literally a matter of life and death—
because too little sleep plus professional
stress can lead to pathological insomnia,
resulting in a vicious circle of still more
stress, says Göran Hajak, CEO and chairman
of DGSM, the German Sleep Society. Yet the
consequences of a chronic lack of sleep con-
tinue to be underestimated. Even worse: Peo-
ple who get by with short nights are viewed
as tough, enduring and successful. In the
work culture of the Western world, lack of
sleep is actually rewarded. And yet those who
suffer from insomnia in the long term have
been proven irritable and lacking in concen-
tration—as shown by a survey of 150,000
employees carried out by the corporate con-
sultants Circadian Technologies, an offshoot
of the Harvard Medical School. Fourteen
that a good night’s sleep is an advan-
tage for the development of innova-
tive thinking and creative solutions.
It is certainly the case that a clear
mental break between work and
leisure hours will improve the
quality and quantity of sleep.
Overly tired managers are therefore grumpi-
er, make unwise decisions, and come across
to colleagues, customers and the general
public as being confused, summarizes
Czeisler. And their fatigue cripples produc-
tivity overall. Experts estimate that the total
value of the economic damage worldwide is
several hundred billion euros annually.
So how much sleep does an executive really
need? Leading researchers recommend
between seven and eight hours. This will vary
by individual case, depending on each per-
son's stamina, biological rhythm and the
quality of sleep. The essential criterion, how-
ever, is that managers must feel well rested.
Quite a few resort to a simple trick—the con-
sumption of sleeping pills. Those who attempt
to handle their sleeping problems that way
should know about the side-effects, however,
58 | AFTER WORK SERVICE | 59

More know-how
PETER BUCHENAU, HR COACH IMPRINT
AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF “THE
R I G H T WAY, ” A C O N S U LT I N G Publisher: Barbara Schädler
NETWORK, ON SLEEP GUIDELINES (Address of Publisher: Fujitsu Siemens Computers,
Domagkstrasse 28, 80807 Munich, Germany,
AND THE HABIT OF SELF-SABOTAGE Tel.: +49 (0) 1805/372-100)

Further information on the topics covered in impact Publishing Company: BurdaYukom Publishing GmbH,
Konrad-Zuse-Platz 11, 81829 Munich, Germany,
Tel.: +49 (0) 89/30620-0
can be obtained by using the enclosed fax form or via
especially if taking them regularly. Many
executives underestimate the damaging effect
of the drugs, and neglect the simplest alterna-
‘Guidelines are the Internet addresses provided.
Project Coordination Fujitsu Siemens Computers:
Claudia Schubert, E-Mail: claudia.schubert@
fujitsu-siemens.com, Tel.: +49 (0) 211/6178-1172
Editor in Chief, BurdaYukom Publishing:
tives, such as relaxation techniques, mas-
sages, light reading or listening to music, as a
way to doze off. On the other hand, nobody
not a solution’ VISIT – THE EUROPEAN IT FORUM
“For a better business. For a better planet.” is the motto of this year’s
Markus Czeslik (resp.)
Editorial: Thomas Escher, Dr. Christian Fill,
Alexander Gutzmer

will find it easy to go to sleep if tossing and
turning over problems in bed, ruminating
on personal conflicts, or watching disturbing
television programs.
US sleep researcher Czeisler goes so far as to
think that sleep guidelines in the office are
called for—in much the same way as the pro-
tection for non-smokers or job security. He
thinks companies that follow such rules are
“verifiably more creative and productive.”
The key points of Czeisler's guidelines stipu-
late that no one should work more than 12
hours at a stretch (which is against the law in
several countries anyway), executives who
travel a lot should avoid night flights if pos-
sible, and managerial staff should really take
their sleep seriously.
Fit after a power nap
He believes that it is far easier to last if the
occasional nap is permitted. Even though
napping is looked down on in today’s mod-
ern society, which is so focused on achieve-
ment, research is practically unanimous
about the positive effects of it. “Short periods
of sleep, up to 30 minutes, are amazingly
restorative," confirms Göran Hajak of the
German Sleep Society. Sleep researcher
Czeisler thinks that just 20 minutes is
enough—otherwise the risk of feeling drowsy
afterwards becomes too high.
Power napping is an accepted fact in many
Japanese and American companies, but it
is still comparatively rare in Europe. At
the Zurich head office of business auditors
I M PA C T: How can managers make sure that their employees are getting a
sufficient amount sleep?
BUCHENA U: Sleep guidelines are not a solution—they just put restraints
on employees. Managers would do better to encourage their staff to engage in
sports—that is always a good alternative.
What can stressed managers do to get a better night's sleep?
It's generally just a case of a lack of discipline. Managers invent a thousand excuses
for not doing it. Here a personal coach or a stress-regulation trainer can help. But
that trainer must actually participate when it’s time for athletic activities. A coach
who just sits on the couch isn't going to be a lot of use.
As for stress regulation—what are the key points of this concept?
In the initial interviews we analyze how stress affects managers. Then we develop
an individually tailored stress-regulation program, taking into account factors
such as organization, work, diet and exercise and bringing them into balance.
Demand has risen, but we can’t list any references by name. After all, people
do not like to admit that they are stressed or have been in the past.
Why does our working culture tend to respect somebody who sleeps little rather
than a person who gets a good night’s sleep?
It's the result of a wrong scale of values. In Germany, for example, the only
people who are respected are the ones who work themselves into a stage of
burnout. And yet, improving the working culture and one’s own internal organ-
ization is far more essential. In Scandinavia, for example, you hardly find any-
one who is still at work after 5 p.m., even at management level. And in the Far
East, exercise is writ large. I think we can learn a lot from this.
Mario Filoxenidis, head of Siesta-Consulting
in Vienna, however, merely providing rooms More information on the subject of sleep and
for resting is not sufficient on its own. He power napping can be found at:
demands a corporate culture that makes pro- http://stress.about.com and wwww.umm.edu/
visions for such breaks. “Companies should sleep/, or see Take a Nap! Change Your Life.
VISIT, taking place in Augsburg, Germany, from November 7 to
November 8. If you are interested in technologies relevant in both
business matters and environmental matters and wish to keep energy
consumption as low as possible, you will find valuable inspiration
here. More information at: www.fujitsu-siemens.com/visit
C O R P O R AT E S O C I A L R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y
Fujitsu Siemens Computers pledges responsibility in all aspects
of corporate activity—ranging from development to production
and the daily interaction with customers and suppliers. On this
Web site, you will find information on how the company meets
its obligations to society and the environment:
www.fujitsu-siemens.com/aboutus/sor
PRIMERGY AND ESPRIMO
Green IT has long been practiced by Fujitsu Siemens Computers. The com-
pany continues to invest in innovative technologies, used by CIOs to lower
energy consumption and thus reduce their IT budget. Find current examples
such as the PRIMERGY TX 120 and the ESPRIMO Professional series at these
links: www.fujitsu-siemens.com/products/standard_servers/tower
www.fujitsu-siemens.com/products/deskbound/personal_computers
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stories, we show you what pillars form the
basis of a green data center and how BMW
calls attention to itself with new car models.
In connection with the latter, you can listen
Editors, International Edition: Patricia Preston,
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PricewaterhouseCoopers, employees can openly communicate that power napping is by Sara C. Mednick (Workman Publishing) or to the original interview with BMW design
retire to “sphere rooms” to listen to relaxing desirable, and will not result in any disad- Permission to Nap: Taking Time to Restore Your expert Adrian van Hooydonk.
music or take a short nap. According to vantages for employees," he urges. Spirit by Jill Murphy Long (Sourcebooks).