A miracle drug for your productivity

Let’s say I developed a medicine that:

• increases your productivity;
• boosts your motivation;
• lowers your stress level;
• decreases your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease, various types of cancer, or diabetes;
• strengthens your immune system;
• makes it less likely that you’ll become overweight;
• reduces the chance that you’ll suffer from mental health problems;
• and just all around makes you feel better.

How much would you pay for this drug? How many dollars, euros, rupees, or rubles per month?I’d pay quite a bit for such a medicine.And what if you could buy this medicine with time? How much time would this medicine be worth to you?See, this medicine exists: it’s sleep.Getting a full night’s sleep—compared with sleeping only six or seven hours a night—has all the benefits I listed above, and more. But many people consistently get too little sleep. What about you?I know it’s difficult to get that full night’s sleep every night. It’s difficult for me sometimes too. Competing priorities get in the way. But sleep is so good for us that we do ourselves a disservice when we don’t get enough of it.If you’re not sleeping eight hours a night or more, how could I convince you to?Are you more easily convinced by scientific studies? In that case, read Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep on the science behind the benefits I listed above.Or would it convince you to learn that many spectacularly productive people, such as Arianna Huffington, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, and Sheryl Sandberg and Jeff Bezos get plenty of sleep? Productivity does not require sacrificing sleep.Either way, if you’re serious about working productively, please try this miracle drug.Yours,— Peter