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Els Van der Helm - <p>Sleep neuroscientist helping leaders and teams unlock performance through better sleep.</p>

Dr. Els Van der Helm

Sleep neuroscientist helping leaders and teams unlock performance through better sleep.

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5 of 5

"A good night of sleep is the most critical element in maintaining a healthy mind and positive energy. Els and her team conducted a very insightful session around this topic with my senior leadership team. This session provided us with valuable insights and gave effective tools that helped us understand and improve our sleep patterns. This had a very positive effect on the team."

Yuneeb Kahn, Global President

NielsenIQ

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Why you should book Dr. Els Van der Helm for your next event

  • Proven results: up to 50% better sleep, 21% higher performance, and 30% less stress in organizations worldwide.
  • Combines neuroscience, psychology, and strategy experience from McKinsey and top universities.
  • Trusted by McKinsey, PwC, Swiss Re, Meta, and AWS to elevate leaders and teams.

Non-binding request for Els Van der Helm

Sleep Intelligence expert driving sharper thinking and stronger leadership

Dr. Els van der Helm is a sleep neuroscientist and former McKinsey consultant who helps organizations boost performance by improving the sleep of leaders and teams. With a background in neuroscience and psychology, and experience inside one of the world’s most respected consulting firms, she bridges science and strategy in a way that resonates with executives. Her programs have improved sleep quality by up to 50%, enhanced performance by 21%, and reduced stress by 30% across global organizations.

 

Who is Dr. Els van der Helm?

Dr. Els van der Helm is a sleep neuroscientist dedicated to transforming the way organizations think about performance. Her work centers on one powerful insight: sleep is a strategic advantage. By improving how leaders and teams sleep, she helps companies unlock sharper thinking, better decision-making, and stronger leadership.

Her clients include McKinsey, PwC, Swiss Re, Meta, and AWS. Across these organizations, her work has led to measurable impact: sleep quality improved by up to 50%, performance increased by 21%, and stress levels dropped by 30%. These outcomes position sleep as a core driver of sustainable high performance.

 

From Neuroscience to the Boardroom

Dr. van der Helm began her career in neuroscience, exploring how sleep shapes the brain and behavior. At the Netherlands Institute of Neurosciences, she studied the impact of sleep on cognitive performance. At Harvard Medical School, she researched how sleep influences emotional processing, deepening her understanding of how rest affects resilience, judgment, and interpersonal effectiveness.

She earned her PhD in Psychology at UC Berkeley, further strengthening her scientific foundation. Her academic path equipped her with rigorous research expertise and a deep understanding of how sleep influences attention, memory, emotional regulation, and leadership capacity.

After completing her PhD, she joined McKinsey, where she experienced firsthand the demands placed on leaders and teams in high-performance environments. This experience sharpened her ability to translate complex science into practical strategies that work in real-world business settings. She also served as Adjunct Professor at IE University in Madrid, where she taught and engaged with global executives.

 

Sleep Intelligence: A High-Performance Blueprint

Dr. van der Helm’s work culminates in her upcoming book, Sleep Intelligence: The High-Performance Blueprint for Sharper Thinking and Leadership, to be published globally in January 2027 by Penguin Random House. The book outlines a clear framework for using sleep as a lever for cognitive excellence, emotional balance, and leadership impact.

Her concept of Sleep Intelligence reframes sleep from a personal wellness issue to a leadership capability. When leaders sleep better, they think more clearly, regulate emotions more effectively, and make stronger decisions. When teams sleep better, collaboration improves, stress decreases, and performance rises.

This approach resonates strongly with organizations seeking sustainable results. Rather than pushing for longer hours, Dr. van der Helm shows how smarter recovery drives sharper execution.

 

Trusted by Global Organizations

Dr. van der Helm has worked with leading organizations including:

  • McKinsey

  • PwC

  • Swiss Re

  • Meta

  • AWS

These companies turn to her to address burnout, decision fatigue, and performance pressure at the highest levels. Her sessions combine scientific depth with practical tools, giving leaders actionable strategies they can implement immediately.

Her insights and research have been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, Huffington Post, Inc. Magazine, and McKinsey Quarterly, among others. This visibility reflects both the credibility of her science and the relevance of her message.

 

Book Dr. Els van der Helm for Your Event

Booking Dr. Els van der Helm means bringing cutting-edge neuroscience directly to your audience. She delivers compelling keynotes and executive sessions that challenge conventional thinking about productivity and leadership.

Audiences leave with a new understanding of how sleep influences cognitive performance, emotional intelligence, stress resilience, and strategic clarity. More importantly, they gain concrete tools to improve sleep in realistic, demanding environments.

Dr. van der Helm speaks to senior leaders, high-performing teams, and organizations ready to elevate results without sacrificing wellbeing. Her combination of scientific authority, consulting experience, and measurable impact makes her a powerful voice on modern performance.

If you are looking to inspire lasting change, reduce stress, and unlock sharper thinking across your organization, book Dr. Els van der Helm for your event and introduce your audience to the science of Sleep Intelligence.

Els Van der Helm - <p>Sleep neuroscientist helping leaders and teams unlock performance through better sleep.</p>

Customer Reviews

5 of 5

"A good night of sleep is the most critical element in maintaining a healthy mind and positive energy. Els and her team conducted a very insightful session around this topic with my senior leadership team. This session provided us with valuable insights and gave effective tools that helped us understand and improve our sleep patterns. This had a very positive effect on the team."

5 of 5

“I invited Els to host a session for my leadership team and was blown away by her presence on stage. Her session was vibrant and dynamic. She improvised and joked when something fell on stage, winning everyone over. I highly recommend Els to any company or senior leader to inspire their people on performance, sleep and energy management - so crucial, yet often neglected.“

Rated 5.00/5 based on 2 customer reviews

Keynotes

Keynote by Dr. Els Van der Helm:

The Power of Sleep

The Power of Sleep addresses the fundamentals of sleep - how it impacts your brain, emotional balance and performance.

Learn what the consequences are of sleep deprivation, how you build up your sleep debt but also what you can do to repay it. 

Walk away with tips and tricks on how to start improving your sleep tonight and get crystal clear insights on how your daily activities influence your nights. Unlock your potential by harnessing the Power of Sleep!

Request a quote: Els Van der Helm The Power of Sleep

Keynote by Dr. Els Van der Helm:

Sleep & Sustained Energy

Sleep & Sustained Energy is designed for anyone who understands the importance of sleep but still finds themselves tired, unfocused, or running low during the day.

Building on The Power of Sleep, this session uncovers why that happens — and how to feel more consistently energized.

Discover how your daily rhythm, light exposure, movement, nutrition, and chronotype shape your energy far more than you realize. Learn how to work with your natural energy curve, rather than pushing through it, and how realistic changes can help your days feel steadier, clearer, and more productive.

This session is the perfect next step if you want to translate good sleep into lasting energy, emotional balance, and greater presence at work and at home.

Request a quote: Els Van der Helm Sleep & Sustained Energy

Keynote by Dr. Els Van der Helm:

Sleep Leadership - Building Resilient, High-Impact Leaders

In this keynote, Dr. Els van der Helm reveals sleep as the hidden lever of high-impact leadership, grounded in compelling science and translated into practical strategies that leaders can apply immediately.

Drawing on the Sleep Intelligence framework from her upcoming book, she debunks the myth that achievement requires sacrificing rest and shows how sleep can become a true competitive advantage.

Leaders will gain insight into the real cost of sleep-deprived leadership and learn how with the six principles of Sleep Intelligence (Quantity, Quality, Chronotype, Consistency, Routines, and Resilience) they can strengthen their leadership impact, boost team performance, and help build a resilient, sleep-positive culture.

Request a quote: Els Van der Helm Sleep Leadership - Building Resilient, High-Impact Leaders

Keynote by Dr. Els Van der Helm:

Sleep & Mental Health

Sleep is a cornerstone of mental health and emotional resilience. Quality sleep strengthens your ability to regulate emotions, maintain perspective, and cope effectively with ongoing demands and uncertainty.

When sleep is compromised, resilience drops and even manageable challenges can feel overwhelming.

In this session, participants gain a clear understanding of the bidirectional relationship between sleep and mental health, grounded in neuroscience. You’ll learn how sleep supports emotional balance, stress tolerance, and cognitive clarity, and walk away with practical, evidence-based strategies to protect your mental well-being through better sleep.

Request a quote: Els Van der Helm Sleep & Mental Health

Keynote by Dr. Els Van der Helm:

Women’s Sleep - Unlocking resilience, clarity and high performance

Women face unique sleep challenges - ranging from higher rates of insomnia to the physiological shifts of the menstrual cycle and (peri)menopause.

These disruptions don’t just affect health; they directly influence resilience, emotional balance, and performance.

In this session, we unpack the biology behind these differences and translate the science into practical, actionable strategies to help women strengthen their sleep, protect their energy, and perform at their best.

This is a science-backed, empowering session designed to help women harness the full performance and health benefits of restorative sleep.

Request a quote: Els Van der Helm Women’s Sleep - Unlocking resilience, clarity and high performance

Keynote by Dr. Els Van der Helm:

Stress & Sleep

Stress and sleep are deeply interconnected, often reinforcing each other in a self-perpetuating cycle. Chronic stress disrupts sleep, while insufficient or poor-quality sleep amplifies the body’s stress response.

In the Stress & Sleep session, participants explore how stress affects the brain and body, why it interferes with sleep, and how sleep can be used as a powerful tool to increase resilience to external stressors.

By understanding the underlying physiology and behavioral patterns, you’ll learn practical strategies to break the stress-sleep cycle and restore calm, focus, and recovery.

Request a quote: Els Van der Helm Stress & Sleep

Keynote by Dr. Els Van der Helm:

The Future of Intelligent Leadership

Explore the future of leadership - where the real differentiator is no longer information, but energy intelligence: the ability to sustain focus, empathy, and creativity as technology accelerates the pace of work. Learn what neuroscience reveals about clarity, decision-making, and emotional balance, and why managing energy, not time, is becoming the defining leadership capability. 

Discover how sleep and recovery fuel sound judgement, authentic leadership, and deeper connection. You’ll walk away with practical, evidence-based tools to protect and elevate cognitive and emotional energy - for yourself, your team, and your clients.

Request a quote: Els Van der Helm The Future of Intelligent Leadership

Keynote by Dr. Els Van der Helm:

Reset Your Sleep — Practical Steps to Overcome Sleep Challenges

Reset Your Sleep dives into the real reasons why falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early can become such a struggle — and what you can do to change that. Building on The Power of Sleep, this session explains the science behind sleep difficulties in a clear and accessible way, helping you understand what’s happening in your body and how to shift it.

Learn how your sleep system works, what commonly disrupts it, and how everyday habits like inconsistent wake-up times, late caffeine, or spending too much time in bed can unintentionally keep sleep problems going.

Walk away with straightforward, science-based strategies that give you a clear and confident starting point to finally improve your nights.

Request a quote: Els Van der Helm Reset Your Sleep — Practical Steps to Overcome Sleep Challenges

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