Jono Nicholas: Why We Need to Become Better Sleepers
If you want to get better at a musical instrument, you practise. If you strive to build fitness, you exercise. And that’s why Jono Nicholas reckons our willingness to simply accept that we’re bad sleepers is weird.
“It doesn’t make sense,” says the founder and managing director of Wellbeing Outfit, a consulting firm that helps organisations deliver mental health programs that in turn build thriving cultures. “One of the foundations for high wellbeing and cognitive performance is good sleep but about 80 per cent of Australians say they sleep badly,” he says. People seem to think that being a poor sleeper is part of their identity, however it can – and should – be fixed, says Nicholas.
He shared his views at the final 2024 event in Qantas magazine’s Think. thought leadership series, held at Society’s Lillian Brasserie in the heart of Melbourne. The panel focused on balancing wellbeing and high performance.
Given that sleep is a foundation of good health for every human, it follows that learning to excel at it should be a KPI for leaders, says Nicholas. “If you’re a senior executive, your brain is more valuable to the company than other brains – literally – because you’re paid more,” he says. “It would be odd not to invest in the thing that you’re monetising for others. You have a responsibility to look after your brain.”
Nicholas is also the chief mental health advisor for EY Oceania and has a master’s degree in public health. In addition to prioritising sleep, he says it’s important to have a well-rounded life outside of work. He adds that the best predictor of a long life is curiosity.
“The question I ask executives is: ‘Are you interesting and are you interested?’” he says. He follows by asking them to consider what they’ve done during the week to become a more multifaceted human being. “If your only answer is, ‘I went to work’, then you don’t meet the criteria.”
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“Executives should model this for their employees,” says Nicholas. Getting enough sleep, spending time with people you love and staying curious is a winning recipe for most people. And once you get that balance right? “In terms of wellbeing, everything will start sorting itself out for the vast majority of people,” he says. It’s something to think about when your head hits the pillow tonight – perhaps a little earlier than usual.
Think. is a thought leadership event and content series, presented by Qantas magazine in association with LSH Auto Australia, the country’s leading Mercedes-Benz dealer group. Find out more about LSH Auto Australia.
