Winter reshapes how we work and recover.

The days get shorter, yet the pace rarely slows. For business owners, leaders, and operators, the pressure to stay responsive, decisive, and steady often increases. Meanwhile, the time available for recovery quietly disappears.

Sleep is usually the first thing sacrificed.

But research shows sleep isn’t just about rest. It’s a core input into how we think, lead, regulate stress, and make decisions. When sleep is compromised, leadership capacity is compromised with it.

Winter Wellness for everyone begins with sleeping well.

What the Research Shows Us About Sleep Loss

Research from large-scale studies published by the National Institutes of Health, Harvard Medical School, and the Sleep Research Society, across disciplines, has consistent findings: chronic sleep disruption affects the systems leaders rely on most (NIH; Harvard Medical School; Sleep Research Society).

Insufficient sleep has been linked to:

• Reduced decision-making accuracy and cognitive flexibility (Walker)
• Increased emotional reactivity and stress sensitivity (Walker; Killgore)
• Impaired memory, focus, and learning (Killgore)
• Higher risk of burnout, anxiety, and cardiovascular disease (Walker)

It’s important to note, these effects appear even in individuals who believe they have adapted to sleeping less.

How Sleep Loss Shows Up at Work

Sleep deprivation doesn’t usually announce itself as exhaustion. It often appears as:

• Shorter patience in meetings
• Difficulty prioritizing or thinking strategically
• Emotional fatigue during high-stakes conversations
• Slower recovery from stress

Neurological research shows that sleep loss impairs the brain’s prefrontal cortex which is responsible for judgment, emotional regulation, and complex decision-making. At the same time, it amplifies stress responses in the amygdala (Walker; Harvard Medical School).

Winter intensifies this pattern. Reduced daylight disrupts circadian rhythms, while increased screen exposure and reduced movement delay sleep onset and reduce sleep quality (NIH).

A Lack of Sleep Is Not a Personal Failing

If you’re struggling to get enough rest, that’s not a discipline issue. It’s often a systems issue.

Occupational health research consistently shows that environments prioritizing constant availability over recovery increase burnout risk, reduce long-term productivity, and weaken leadership effectiveness (Sleep Research Society).

Winter Wellness exists to challenge that assumption quietly, practically, and without guilt. This series isn’t about optimizing our routines. It’s about supporting the communities doing the work. Here are helpful reminders from MTM Network members you can connect with when you join for free:

Supporting Sleep Through Systems and Structures

Winter Wellness is about supporting leaders, teams, and organizations by embedding structures that safeguard rest, rather than asking leaders to “optimize themselves.”

Examples of protective practices include:

• Setting consistent meeting start and end times so work doesn’t bleed into night
• Establishing boundaries for after-hours notifications or emails
• Creating team-wide norms that encourage rest and recovery as part of sustainable leadership
• Designing office or home environments to support natural circadian rhythms, including light exposure and movement breaks

These approaches shift the burden away from individual willpower and onto systems that support sustainable leadership, helping leaders maintain clarity, focus, and energy throughout the winter months.

What’s Ahead in the Winter Wellness Series

Winter Wellness is built around one principle: sustainable wellness.

In the months ahead, we’ll explore movement as an energy reset rather than a productivity hack, walking as a practical tool for mental clarity and daily rhythm, how small, repeatable habits support long-term leadership capacity, and the role of community and shared rhythms in staying well through winter.

Each piece is grounded in research, shaped by real-world leadership constraints, and designed to be doable rather than aspirational.

Staying well through winter isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what supports you—and your team—long enough to matter.

Works Cited (MLA)

Harvard Medical School. Sleep and Mental Health. Harvard Health Publishing, https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/sleep.

Killgore, William D. S. “Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognition.” Progress in Brain Research, vol. 185, 2010, pp. 105–129.

National Institutes of Health. Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation.

Sleep Research Society. Sleep Health and Performance. https://sleepresearchsociety.org.

Walker, Matthew. Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Scribner, 2017.