Sleep for the entrepreneur is very important, so dear entrepreneur, get some sleep.
A new year has just begun. A new business year if you are an entrepreneur. There are business goals set down for the year and execution is paramount on the mind of the team.
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“How do we ace 2021?”
Questions and more questions.
We want to avoid the pitfalls of the last business year. Understandably.
So we double down on the tasks we have assigned, and have been assigned. The money will not make itself after all. We commit wholly to achieving those numbers and push ourselves, and our team, to the limits. Whatever it takes!
No pain, no gain. Right?
There is a very common notion in business that being successful requires burning the midnight oil and putting in work while ‘men slept’.
What does science say?
Before we are anything, we are human first. The anatomy and physiology may differ very slightly but you would probably have around 206 bones and six liters of blood also.
That is a fact.
What each person does with these variables is a different discourse entirely but yes, we all start the day with 24 hours. And blood and bones.
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The importance of this is that laws of nature are likely to apply to us all in very similar ways. Conditioning over many years may alter how we adapt to these laws, but eventually, we all get to answer nature’s call, sooner or later.
Blood and bones!
Let us get back to science and what it says about human beings and the concept of sleep.
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Effects Of Poor Sleep On The Entrepreneur
Insomnia is known to affect virtually every body organ, either directly or remotely. However, here are a few critical and noteworthy ones;
Poor Judgment
In a place like Nigeria, being not just decisive, but making the right judgment calls is absolutely vital for success on a daily basis. You will be confronted with a myriad of issues you will need to deconstruct on your feet with very limited time. Insomnia disrupts this, and eventually, such poor judgments start to impact the bottom-line.
Reduced Life Expectancy
Empirical evidence supports this. It is bad enough to be domiciled in an emerging economy like Nigeria, where life expectancy is already low. To then have this compounded by insomnia must be avoided. Lack of sleep for the entrepreneur kills. It does so by destroying the heart and the brain and eventually all the organs.
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Obesity
Funny right? There are hormones in the human brain that control appetite. These hormones are disrupted by insomnia. It basically confuses the brain, so it cannot tell the body that enough food has gone in. Obesity then worsens the end-organ damage suffered by the heart and culminates in death.
Memory Loss
As an entrepreneur, you really should be on top of your numbers. It does not augur well to have to constantly ask for reminders in places like Lagos, where everyone is trying to make a buck off you.
While you are asleep, the brain consolidates information thereby weeding out trivialities and shoring up important details. As a businessman, a great soft skill to have is remembering names of people you meet, and you will meet so many in the line of work. A great memory is sacrosanct.
Ageing
Aesthetics are important in business. Believe it or not, people judge books by their covers, and it is essential you look the part as much as possible. Beyond clothes; walking into meetings looking tired, sullen, and subdued is inimical to business.
You want to show up sharp, confident, and positive. Stress hormones are released more in people lacking sleep and this tells on the skin, which happens to be the single largest organ in the human body. Insomnia will cause the skin to wrinkle, and will cause you to look five times your age.
Mental Health
Poor sleep is heavily linked to development of depression and anxiety disorders. This is a well proven fact from numerous researches that suggest that insomniacs are five times more likely to suffer from depression.
Sleep helps the brain and indeed, the entire body, repair and restore. As a business person, you should take really good care of your mental health, ensuring you get above average quality sleep is essential.
Sex
Remember we are all blood and bones after all, and so, sex is also quite important. I will expound on the many benefits of a good sex life in another post in the future but for now, know that lack of good sleep can kill your libido/sex drive.
Sex is designed to be enjoyed and it ties into work-life balance. Some research findings even suggest a decline in testosterone, the male sex hormone, in people lacking sleep. Sleep well, have great sex and sleep even better. What a cycle!
Chronic Illness
Remember those bad stress hormones that surge in the body during insomnia? They cause end-organ damage by chronic inflammation. This can lead to heart diseases, strokes and diabetes. Ultimately, death. It is thought that nine out of ten people with insomnia also have one of these illnesses concurrently. Your business needs you around and alive.
Mental Acuity
Everyday, you are confronted with an overload of data and details. You consume all of these but during sleep, a filtration process occurs. The body enters auto-repair mode. This helps learning and recall, and is the major reason why school age children are encouraged to sleep for very long hours at night. Simply to optimise learning. Same applies to you. You are able to concentrate better, learn faster, recall quicker, and be more attentive when you are getting good quality sleep regularly.
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Incidents and Accidents
This ties back into better judgment. The risk of accidents exponentially rises when sleep is sparse. It is akin to the warning on labels of drowsiness inducing medication. They often warn you to not drive or operate heavy machinery. Same applies here. Accidents are more likely to occur when concentration and reaction times are poor.
So there you have it. The many deleterious effects of poor sleep.
How To Improve Your Sleep Quality As An Entrepreneur
A few tips to help improve your overall sleep quality include, but not limited to;
Exercise
Run, walk, hop, or squat. Just get yourself sweating. This ensures you are tired enough to fall sleep.
Diet
Have supper early. That way, your body metabolism would have slowed down remarkably before you get into bed. Avoid stimulants like coffee too late in the day.
Power Naps
Do not hesitate to take a few minutes to knock off during the day. At your desk or in the car, just get a few minutes.
Invest In A Good Bed
It is a huge but worthy investment. This should include the entire sleep area. You want to get into a zone-out mode once you retire for the day. This means actively creating an ambience that encourages you to relax. Soft lights, even softer music, scented candles, warm and fluffy beddings/pillows, ideal ambient temperature, and noise-proof spaces. No price is too great to pay for this.
Reading In Bed
Not on your phone or laptop or any source of bright light but the good old paperback.
Routines
Develop a bedtime routine that trains your body to shut down. Over time, the body learns this routine. Pick a bedtime and try very hard to stick to it.
See A Doctor
Perhaps the insomnia is from an organic cause that needs medical care. Seek it and solve it.
In 2021, entrepreneurs like everyone else must take particular care of their bodies and minds. It is only from healthy bodies and sound minds that great and innovative ideas sprout from.
Get some sleep.
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