Sleep Your Way to the Top

>> We're always smart to people who sleep their way to the top but now we've got a new take on that, a literal definition. It's the right thing to do--literally sleep to succeed. Here to explain the link is Jill Schlesinger assumed spelling, our Editor-at-Large for the newly launched CBS Moneywatch.com. Good morning Jill.

>> Jill Schlesinger: Good morning.

>> We were talking about this; what's interesting is the think that keeps people awake is the thing they're going to make worse by not sleeping.

>> Jill: Yeah and it's a terrible time, obviously a recession, you're worried and anxious about your job, maybe you're working even harder, and now you're also worried about your portfolio losses. What happens--you can't sleep at night and this is self-perpetuating because the lack of sleep can cause some really significant damage to you on the job.

>> People don't realize how significant.

>> Jill: Absolutely.

>> In fact if you get six or less, I think the studies showed, hours of sleep it's equivalent to being drunk.

>> Jill: Well you know it's a funny thing; when you think like wow I'm drunk, I can't do stuff that's cognitive impairment, same thing with sleep deprivation. So what does that really mean? Well you can't do things that you normally can do. Your abilities to do tasks is impaired, your memory is reduced, you can't even just do simple things maybe that you were doing previously on a good night's sleep, it also will contribute to you getting sicker--that's the scary thing. You're three times as likely to get sick so you're going to take more sick days, could lead to even more accidents, a lot of driving accidents for commuters. So sleeplessness on the jobs can really harm you.

>> You make more mistakes; these are all the things that you don't want to do right now in this economic climate at your job. You want to be at your peak.

>> Jill: Exactly and you know the funny thing is when you don't get a lot of sleep, probably not you, but some people get a little moody, so forgetting about when you have all of that you get this un pleasant mood; and if you have a sour mood at work in the middle of a recession, five million jobs are lost, if your boss says, "Well she never smiles. She always seems unhappy at work. She seems so grouchy." Don't you think you'd be first on the list to go? So again, this can have a tremendous impact on your work life--very important here.

>> Okay so the solution obviously is get more sleep which is easier said than done. I go to bed so early how can any human being sleep when it's still light out?

>> Jill: Well, they do talk about getting your room very dark, so having sleep shades, but getting into a routine so that you're really trying to go to sleep the same time every single night, set that schedule, stick to it and don't do work or chores one hour before bed. The funniest thing in some of these studies says limit overstimulation. Don't watch a scary movie unless it's on CBS or something that's disturbing to you--don't read a horror novel. Those kinds of things can have an impact. Again, it's a terrible time in the economy; we want you at peak performance, and oddly enough this is something that's in your control and at Money Watch we are all about how are we going to get you in control of your financial life; so moneywatch.com that's where you're going to find it.

>> That's where we will go. Jill Schlesinger thank you so much.

>> Jill: Thank you.

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