Getting enough sleep at night is essential for business owners and career-focused individuals. Unfortunately, our society, and sometimes our employers, encourage long hours and no breaks. So, if you’re tempted to forgo sleep for business reasons, you may want to think twice.
Why Getting Enough Sleep is Crucial for Business Success
If you frequently run on 5 hours of sleep, you’re missing out on the benefits of 7-9 hours of Z’s. There’s no way to “hack sleep” and still cash in on the following business-boosting positives.
1. Adequate Sleep Improves Your Memory
Running a startup business will leave you with a hectic schedule, lots of names to remember, and projects you need to finish. If you keep missing important appointments with your clients or calling your employee “Susie” instead of “Victoria,” you’re going to lose their respect.
If you keep racking up sleep debt, your memory can become so bad that you may forget to write things down that you have to remember! To stay sharp, get enough sleep every single night.
2. Adequate Sleep Improves Your Focus
It’s common for business owners to think, “if I sleep less, I’ll have more time to work,” but you’ve probably found that isn’t the case. An unhealthy sleep pattern can make it harder for you to stay focused, which increases time spent on projects. You’ll work more, but you’ll accomplish less.
Remember that establishing productive habits can make you a better business owner. Setting up a consistent sleep schedule is just one of those essential habits you need to adopt.
3. Adequate Sleep Improves Your Creativity
A paper reviewed by clinical psychologist Colleen Ehrnstrom found that poor sleep severely impacts a freelancer’s ability to think creatively. It can also damage a startup owner’s perception of what makes a “good” or “bad” business deal, which may have life-altering consequences.
Business owners need to think of a variety of creative ideas in order to stay competitive. That means sleep can give you an edge in your market, which you absolutely need when you start.
4. Adequate Sleep Improves Your Problem-Solving Skills
Startup owners are expected to be “jacks-of-all-trades,” mainly because they don’t have the funds to hire outside talent. Throughout your day, you have to make decisions based on what may be best for the business, but if you’re sleep-deprived, that process becomes even harder.
If you suffer from indecision, you may be sleep-deprived. It’s never a good idea to solve problems when you’re tired, so go get some sleep and come back to the issue later.
5. Adequate Sleep Improves Your Social Skills
Poor sleep habits affect your mood. The expression “waking up on the wrong side of the bed” will apply to you if you’re snappy, aggressive, or impatient after you don’t get your usual 8 hours. Unless you want to experience a lot of awkward or relationship-ruining moments, start sleeping!
Business owners need great people skills to find clients, customers, and investors. By making a good impression, you’ll receive more referrals for your products and services.
6. Adequate Sleep Improves Your Mental and Physical Health
With the challenges and stresses that come from running a company, business owners are more at risk of developing depression, anxiety, and physical health issues. As a positive, most of these problems can be solved by getting enough sleep and seeing a professional psychiatrist.
Your mental and physical health go hand in hand, so if you’re constantly stressed, your immune system will suffer. Make sure you take care of yourself first before focusing on your business.
