I am a sleep neuroscientist, adjunct professor at IE Business School in Madrid, lecturer at St. Gallen and IMD Business Schools, keynote speaker, and internationally recognized authority on sleep. I have been named by Thrive Global as one of the top 5 sleep experts in the world. I advise corporations around the globe on sleep, performance, and well-being. I support CEOs and decision-makers worldwide to help them get the best out of themselves, their teams, and their organizations.

I began my career in sleep during my Master of Neurosciences degree, studying the effect of sleep on cognitive performance at the Netherlands Institute of Neurosciences and Harvard Medical School. I studied the effect of sleep on the brain and performance as a Fulbright scholar during my Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley before making a switch to a corporate career at McKinsey & Company as a management consultant.

Now, I design science-based corporate sleep programs including sleep assessments and I host workshops and webinars. I have shown a great impact on every corporate client: reducing sleep debt by 53%, decreasing stress by 25%, and improving productivity by 20%. Separately, I also support companies as a boardroom advisor, educating their workforce on sleep and creating science-based sleep content for product and marketing purposes (videos, blogs, and podcasts).

My work on has been featured in HBR, the McKinsey Quarterly, The Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine, The Atlantic, Forbes, BBC, and many others. I regularly appear in the media: talk shows, news & radio shows. I hosted a Max Masterclass on prime-time tv and online videos for the Huffington Post with millions of viewers.

I am a wife, mother of 2, and passionate about finding ways to improve sleep and performance through small tweaks in our lifestyle, such as exercise, nutrition, light exposure, and relaxation techniques. 

I am based in Lucerne, Switzerland but work with companies across the globe.

Contact for inquiries: info@elsvanderhelm.com

It’s my birthday 🎂!! Excited about turning 𝟰𝟮 today.

I’ve noticed that with every passing year, I care less about the number. I care more about how I’m living each year.

I actually started celebrating last night, with a birthday dinner with a few of my closest friends.

Not one of those “𝘥𝘢𝘺-𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦-𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴-𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵-𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭-𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵” parties 😆. You know me 😁.

Instead, it was one of those evenings that reminds me how lucky I am to have people who’ve known me for so long.

I've been thinking about this more recently.

As my five-year-old is currently in a phase where he keeps asking how old I’ll be when he’s 10… or 40… or 80.

He’s trying to figure out whether I’ll still be alive.

It’s a bit morbid 😅. But also strangely touching. It’s the first time he’s realizing that life isn’t endless.

And it’s made me even more aware of the balance I want to strike:

👉Living in a way that gives me the best chance to grow old and stay healthy—so I’ll still be around as long as possible—while also fully enjoying my life right now.

So…

To balance out the late-night dinner, I kicked off this morning with an outdoor exercise class with a friend.

In the rain. At 4 degrees 😅.
I'm committed 😃.

Tomorrow, I’ll head home to celebrate with my husband and kids.

Thankfully, my kids believe my birthday is actually on Sunday.

So I get to celebrate multiple times!

Another year. Another candle. And thankfully, another chance to invest in the future AND live fully.

Here’s to 𝟰𝟮 ✨

Dr Els van der Helm

Your sleep tracker says you’re “below average.”
But below average compared to what, exactly?

One of the most common patterns I see with sleep trackers isn’t poor sleep. 
It’s unnecessary worry.

People compare their sleep stages to app “norms,” see a number that looks off, and immediately assume something is wrong. 

In reality, even in a sleep lab, sleep isn’t measured perfectly.
Two trained experts scoring the same night of brain data don’t fully agree.

Age, hormones, stress, health, and lifestyle all shift sleep architecture—often in completely normal ways.

So a single number—especially deep sleep—rarely tells the full story.

What matters more is:

 • how long you sleep
 • how consistent your rhythm is
 • whether your sleep is fragmented
 • and how you actually feel during the day

That’s what I unpack in this week’s newsletter:

 – how sleep is measured (and why it’s never exact)
 – what deep sleep “norms” really mean across the lifespan
 – what trackers can and can’t tell you
 – and when low energy is a signal worth acting on

If you’ve ever checked your app in the morning and felt worse instead of better, this one is for you.

👉 You can read it on LinkedIn or sign up for the email version via the link in my profile.

(Next month, I’ll share how to use sleep trackers without letting them ruin your sleep.)

Dr. Els van der Helm is a neuroscientist, adjunct professor at IE Business School, has been named one of the top 5 sleep experts in the world* and now advises corporations around sleep, performance and wellbeing. She supports CEOs and decision makers worldwide to help them get the best out of themselves, their team members, and their organization. 

She hosts keynotes, workshops, webinars, Sleep & Wellbeing Months, in combination with science-based assessments. Separately she also supports players in the sleep and wellbeing space as a boardroom advisor, educating their workforce on sleep and assisting in the creation of science-based sleep content for product and marketing purposes. 
 
Els began her career in sleep during her Masters in Neurosciences (VU Amsterdam) studying the effect of sleep on cognitive performance at the Netherlands Institute of Neurosciences and Harvard Medical School. She also holds a summa cum laude Masters in Clinical Neuropsychology (University of Amsterdam).

Els then went on to study the effect of sleep on the brain and performance as a Fulbright scholar during her PhD in Psychology at UC Berkeley before working at McKinsey & Company as a management consultant. 

Her work on has been featured in HBR, the McKinsey Quarterly, The Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine, The Atlantic, Forbes, BBC, and many others. She regularly appears in the media: talk shows, news & radio shows. She hosted a Max Masterclass on prime time tv and online videos for the Huffington Post with millions of viewers.

Els is a mother of 2, a strong advocate of taking care of yourself (not just through sleep, but also exercise, nutrition, meditation, retreats, therapy, silence, whatever works for you).

She is currently based in Lucerne Switzerland but works with companies across the globe.

Contact for inquiries: info@elsvanderhelm.com 

*selected as one of the top 5 sleep experts in the world by Arianna Huffington’s company Thrive Global.

Anyone else find the first week back after vacation harder than expected?
Here are a few science-based ways I manage the transition.

Even after a relaxing break, that first week back can feel off. Not because your break wasn't relaxing, but because your circadian rhythm is adjusting.

I was reminded of this earlier this week when I hosted an early-morning webinar, which meant making sure my own sleep-wake rhythm was back in sync.

Vacations often shift 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 we sleep, move, eat, and see light, even if we don’t cross any time zones. 

The good news: your rhythm adapts quickly when you give it the right cues.

Here are 𝟱 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 to ease the transition:


1️⃣ 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 
Move your bedtime and wake-up time by ~15 minutes per day. 
If it takes you more than 30 minutes to fall asleep, pause and hold that time for a day or two.

2️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 
Early daylight is the strongest signal for shifting your rhythm earlier.
Open the curtains right away. Sit outside, take a short walk, or have your coffee in daylight—even 10–20 minutes helps.

3️⃣ 𝗗𝗶𝗺 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 
Darkness in the evening allows melatonin to rise.
Close curtains and dim lights earlier to help your body get sleepy.

4️⃣ 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 (𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲) 
If you want to shift your rhythm earlier, morning exercise works better than evening workouts.
Doing it outdoors gives you a double boost: movement 𝘢𝘯𝘥 light.

5️⃣ 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 
Back at work, time flies by. A reminder to start winding down—even 15–30 minutes—helps signal your brain that it’s time to sleep.

One last thing: 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, even on weekends. 
That’s what stabilizes your rhythm fastest.

If this week feels a bit off, don't worry. 
You’re just recalibrating.

What helps 𝘺𝘰𝘶 most when getting back into a routine after time off?

One of the hardest parts of sharing your work—through writing, speaking, or a podcast—is that you rarely know what happens after.

You move on. 
Others do too.

Or so you think.

Which is why the moments when something 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 come back are so special.

Last year, I joined Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt on his podcast 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘐𝘴 𝘏𝘖𝘞. 

We talked about sleep, naturally.

But more specifically, we spoke about wakefulness at night not as a problem to solve, but as a system that needs safety and permission.

Honestly, I had almost forgotten that part of our conversation.

Until Frederik reached out the other day.

He told me that our conversation had stayed with him, it had kept working in the background.

That in fact, it had become the seed for something new!

This February, he’s hosting a small, quiet 11-night practice called 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁. 

Not a sleep program. 
Not optimization. 

But a shared journey for people who arrive in the evening tired, wired, and carrying the day with them.

What moved me most wasn’t the idea, but the person who brought it to life.

Frederik is one of the most impressive people I’ve met precisely because he is so unassuming: thoughtful, generous, deeply principled.

An introvert among loud extroverts. Always working from care, not urgency.

Captured here with other speakers at the Presidents Summit, where we first met.

So when he asked whether I’d like to join him on this journey—and contribute a small evening practice in my own voice—of course, I didn’t hesitate.

I’ll be offering a short reflection during NightShift.
Simple and designed to help end the day, without forcing sleep.

If this resonates, you’re very welcome to join us. 

And Frederik, thank you for showing what can happen when ideas are allowed to land slowly, and then be carried forward with such care.

𝗜𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀.
𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗗𝗠 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀.

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