SLEEP
The sleep routines high performers swear by, from bedtime habits to cooler bedrooms
Sharon Brandwein, Certified Sleep Science Coach
Special to USA TODAY
Oct. 1, 2026, 8:51 a.m. ET
- A new survey suggests high performers prioritize sleep quality over quantity.
- High performers are more likely to maintain a consistent sleep schedule than the general workforce.
- Practicing good sleep hygiene, such as limiting screen time and optimizing room temperature, is common among high performers.
While it may be tempting to believe highly successful people have figured out how to add an extra hour or two to every night, a new survey of 795 employed U.S. adults commissioned by Eachnight suggests that high performers’ approach to better sleep is far less magical than you might think.
Eachnight’s survey reveals that improved sleep may have less to do with the clock and more to do with how seriously high performers protect the sleep they do get. From a sleep science perspective, the keys to better sleep for the group seem to lie in solid sleep hygiene: keeping consistent sleep schedules and taking deliberate steps to make their bedrooms more sleep-friendly.
A note before we continue: Eachnight commissioned this survey, which included 795 employed U.S. adults. Because the findings are based on self-reported data, they show associations rather than cause-and-effect relationships
Not more sleep. Just better sleep
In terms of duration, 60% of respondents classified as high performers said they get at least seven hours of sleep a night, compared with 58% of the general workforce — hardly a dramatic difference. However, a considerable gap emerged in subjective quality reports: 60% of high performers described their sleep as good or excellent, compared with 43% of the general workforce.
And judging from the survey, boosting sleep quality means paying attention to what happens before your head hits the pillow—and to the environment in which you’re sleeping.
High performers are more likely to stick to a sleep schedule
While many of us hold a stereotypical image of ultra-successful people waking at 4 a.m. to grind, Eachnight’s survey shows that high performers weren’t necessarily going to bed dramatically earlier or sacrificing sleep for an early start. The median wake time for high performers was 6 a.m., compared with 6:45 a.m. among the general workforce. Bedtime, interestingly, was the same for both groups: 11 p.m.
Another notable distinction was that high performers reported keeping a more consistent sleep schedule and better sleep than their counterparts in the general workforce.
| Sleep measure | High performers | General workforce |
| Consistent sleep schedule | 80% | 73% |
| Good sleep | 71% | 7% |
While these findings don’t imply causation, they may suggest that a predictable sleep rhythm may be one piece of the better-sleep picture for high performers. While high performers weren’t going to bed dramatically earlier than everyone else, their sleep advantage appears to be less about radically changing their schedule and more about maintaining a consistent one
The science: Sleep isn’t just a numbers game. Our circadian rhythms — the roughly 24-hour biological clock that helps regulate sleep and wakefulness — play an important role in when our body expects to sleep. Consistent sleep and wake times can reinforce that rhythm and are crucial for healthy sleep.
High performers are more likely to practice good sleep hygiene
Eachnight’s survey revealed that high performers also take a more proactive approach to their sleep environment and mind their sleep-related habits. By the numbers:
- 26% said they enforce strict bedroom rules, while only 18% of the general workforce said the same.
- 22% said they curbed their screen time before bed, whereas only 15% of other workers did.
- High performers are less likely to hit the snooze bar and wake up on the first alarm than their general workforce counterparts (54% vs. 47%)
- 15% of high performers reported using a cooling mattress or cooling sheets; only 10% of the general workforce elevated their bedding.
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Regarding that last touchpoint: temperature is a legitimate piece of the puzzle for healthy sleep
The science: “Your body temperature drops a few hours before bedtime and continues to drop while you sleep, and rising body temperature helps you wake up,” says Dr. Jordan Burns, D.C., Licensed Chiropractor and sleep health expert at Eachnight. Moreover, an overly warm environment can make it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep.
But expensive mattresses and cooling tech aren’t the only ways to manage temperature. “There are a few solutions to this problem,” says Burns. “First, try keeping your bedroom cool. Ideally, room temperatures should be between 65°F and 68°F at night. Beyond that, opt for breathable natural fibers over synthetics in your bedding and sleepwear, and if you run hot, cooling bedding or a mattress designed to promote temperature regulation may be worth considering”
But high performers may also be at risk of taking sleep too seriously
While any sleep expert would applaud being proactive about sleep, excessive sleep optimization can have some downsides.
Depending on the changes you make to your sleep space (i.e., cooling mattresses) and how you monitor your sleep (wearable tech like ring trackers), improving your sleep can be pricey.
According to the survey, high performers spent some pretty serious money trying to improve their sleep. Thirty-four percent reported spending at least $500 on sleep improvements, compared with 23% of the general workforce. They’re also more likely to incorporate technology into their bedrooms, with 31% reporting that they keep a smart speaker in the bedroom, compared with 13% of the general workforce.
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And while sleep tracking has become increasingly popular over the last 15 years or so, and there’s plenty of sleep tech out there to help us “optimize,” the practice introduces an interesting wrinkle – orthosomnia. Sleep medicine uses the term to describe an unhealthy preoccupation with achieving“perfect” sleep based on sleep-tracker data. This is where sleep optimization becomes counterproductive.
Wearable devices that show you had a “bad” night (even if you woke up feeling perfectly fine) can fuel sleep anxiety rather than improve it. Ultimately, worrying about whether you’re sleeping correctly or what you can do to improve can become yet another
Burns cautions users to tread lightly here. “To get the best results with your sleep tracker, treat the score as a general guide rather than something to take too seriously,” he says. Trackers are best when used sparingly to gain a general idea of your sleep quality. If you find yourself worrying and feeling anxiety about your scores, perhaps you should take a break from using the tracker, or just check it once per week rather than once per day.”
High-performers don’t reinvent the wheel for better sleep; neither should you
While high performers may have the re aspects of their sleep spaces to get more shut-eye than the rest of us, Eachnight’s survey revealed that their approach to better sleep includes things that any of us can do.
The fact is, high performers in this survey weren’t sleeping dramatically longer than everyone else — they were just more likely to maintain a consistent schedule and make deliberate choices about their sleep environment and habits.
So, if optimizing your sleep has become another item on your lengthy to-do list (which can cause more anxiety and further impair your sleep, by the way), it may be worth remembering one final thing:
The goal isn’t perfect sleep because there’s no such thing. The goal is to get enough good-quality sleep, so you feel refreshed and restored the next day
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