"Going without sleep is as much a personal and public safety haard as going to work drunk in the morning." Stanley Coren
From Management Mess-Ups by Mark Eppler:
Managers who become sleep deprived expose themselves to a wide variety of problems ranging from reduced efficiency and effeiveness (studies indicate lack of sleep can lower creativ capacity by as much as 30 percent), to chronic fatigue. When a person fails to get the proper amount of rest, the body tends to "cycle down" until exhasution sets in. Sleep obtained at this poine, while beneficieal, does not take us back to a fully restored level. When the cycle is repeated, we sink a little further because we don't start with a full tank to begin with. As the cycle repeats itself, our sleep resources are depleted to the point that chronic fatigue kicks in.
The bottom line is this: regardless of what you may feel about your capacity for work, you cannot bring your best to the office every day if you are failing to get a proper amount of rest.
Develop a procedure. Studies indicate that by establishing a regular routine for going to bed and rising, the human body can maximize its opportuinity to restore iteslf. Visit sleepfoundation.org for more information on developing a good (consisnent) sleep routine.
