And yes – you heard me right.

Not a fancy new productivity hack. Not the “hammer your coffee and emails before sunrise” after a run and ice bath routine.

It’s sleep. You cannot underestimate the importance of sleep for performance.

Why I say this as a recruiter

A few years back I read an article in Time Magazine that really changed my perspecive on sleep. It basically said: dropping from 8 hours to 6-7 hours of sleep can trigger:

• increased chance of false memories
• slower reaction times
• reduced ability to retain and recall information
• impaired decision-making

That’s only potentially dropping 1 hour a night. That hit me hard, because in recruitment we live in the detail lane: candidate names, role specs, client projects, hundred-plus relationships in motion. One poorly slept night? Your brain’s playing catch-up while you’re still in the game.

So I got ultra-protective over my 8 hours and honestly, I am so much sharper at work. I have better recall. I get through more work with less downtime and just generally have more energy.

But don’t just take my word for it, here’s why science ranks the importance of sleep for performance.

What the research says

Memory & retention

Sleep isn’t optional brain downtime. It’s when your brain processes what you’ve learned, what you’ve experienced — and stores it. One recent chapter review (Juginović et al.) stated: sleep plays a “critical role in learning and cognitive function… …fundamentally shaping how the brain processes, stores and retains information.” Source

In simple terms: if you skip or shorten sleep, your ability to lock in what you just learnt weakens.

Decision-making, reaction time & mental clarity

According to the Sleep Foundation: lack of sleep causes short- & long-term cognitive impairment — messing with thinking, memory and attention. Sleep Foundation

Another study in Sleep Health examined regular adults under varying sleep durations. They found that insufficient sleep led to measurable decline in cognitive performance. sleephealthjournal.org

Real-world performance vs “just feeling tired”

Here’s the thing you need to consider: you might feel fine after 6–7 hours, but your cognitive edge is still compromised. Studies show things like reaction times and recall degrade before you feel deeply sleepy.

And data from the UK Biobank group found that shorter sleep durations and worse sleep health predicted lower cognitive performance, even after controlling for other health/lifestyle factors. BMJ Public Health

Why recruiters (and professionals) should give a damn

• You’re juggling lots of variables: names, roles, clients, candidates, roadblocks. The job demands mental agility and clarity.
• When you skip sleep: slower recall, fuzzy thinking, weaker links between candidate ↔ role ↔ client.
• In high-volume/high-stakes environments, those small deficits stack up and they’re not obvious day-to-day.
• It’s not just “I’ll sleep when I’m older” or “I’ll sleep when I’m less busy” – your work self now is paying the price.

My simple challenge for you

Zero judgement. No highly-polished “must-do” list. Here’s a practical experiment you can do for yourself:

👉 From Sunday to Thursday nights, aim for 8 hours of sleep.
👉 Every morning, track how you feel: clarity, focus, recall, decision-making.
👉 After two weeks, compare: Are you sharper? Faster? Less mental drag?

That’s it.

Quick tips to lock in better sleep (because yes, you will still hit roadblocks)

• Pick a consistent bed and wake time – yes, even when you don’t “feel tired”.
• In the hour before bed: reduce screen time, bright lights & big caffeine hits.
• Make your bedroom a sleep-only zone (no work, no heavy email revisions).
• If you wake up and your brain’s whirring – don’t fight it. Get up, write the thoughts down, go back when you’re calmer.
• And yes: Believing sleep is optional kills your performance. Drop the myth. It doesn’t serve you.

If you’re chasing higher performance, consistency and resilience – guess what? The “secret weapon” isn’t necessarily a new tool or routine. It’s sleep. The 8-hour night is a competitive edge. It’s not sexy. It’s overlooked. But it works.

Try the challenge. See how your brain runs. Then decide: is this worth undervaluing?

Let’s f*cking go.

AND if you want to go deeper on baseline biometrics and why they play such an important part in high-performance, this is the first pillar we will be tackling at LAUNCH 2026 – The Mindset of a Million Dollar Biller. Click Here for more info!