Talent Centric
ARIANNA
HUFFINGTON’S
BEDTIME
RITUAL –
First, I turn off
my electronic
devices and
escort them out of
my bedroom.
Arianna Huffington
WHY WELLBEING IS
CRUCIAL FOR LEADERSHIP
Huffington Post and Thrive Global founder,
Arianna Huffington, consistently appears in Forbes’ 100
Most Powerful Women list. In 2007, she fainted from
exhaustion, a “painful wake-up call” that transformed
her approach to work.
F
or years, I bought
into our collective
delusion that
burnout is the
price we pay for success.
When I had my wake-up
call, I’d just returned home
after taking my daughter
Christina, then a junior in
high school, on a tour of
prospective colleges. We’d
agreed that, during the
days, I would not be on my
BlackBerry. But each night
we’d eat dinner late and get
back to the hotel exhausted.
Christina would go to sleep
while I acted the sneaky
teenager and stayed up late.
I’d respond to all the
‘urgent’ emails and attempt
to squeeze a day’s work into
what should have been sleep
time. This would go on until
about 3am, when I could no
longer keep my eyes open.
After three hours’ sleep, I’d
be up for the day shift.
Work was more important
than sleep to my 2007 self,
because “hey, I’m running
a start-up, one with my
name on it”. Then I fainted
from sleep deprivation and
exhaustion, hit my head
on my desk and broke my
cheekbone. From then on,
I knew I had to make sleep
a priority, starting with
creating a mindful bedtime
routine. I now treat my
transition to sleep as a
sacrosanct ritual.
Then, I take a
hot bath with
Epsom Salts
and a candle nearby.
I don’t sleep
in my workout
clothes as I used
to (think of the mixed
message that sends to
our brains)
but have
pyjamas,
nightdresses,
even T-shirts
dedicated
to sleep.
Sometimes
I have a cup
of camomile
or lavender tea. I love
reading real, physical
books – especially
poetry and novels
that have nothing to
do with work.
“For years, I bought into
the delusion that burnout is the
price we pay for success”
Issue 2 - 2017
31