The Power of Sleep: How Restful Nights Can Boost Your Business Operations

“I don’t have time to sleep.”

How many times have you heard people make this statement? How many times have you said it yourself?

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, we know how to hustle and grind. We readily make sacrifices for our businesses and know how to push through one more hour (or five) over an already maxed-out workday to get the job done. When it comes to our delayed gratification of choice, sleep often tops the list.

But should it be this way?

Science shows that we lose more than comfort when we skimp on sleep. Read on to learn how sleep is one of the world’s most significant business assets and how you might be wasting both dollars and years by ignoring its power.

The Insufficient Sleep Epidemic

While entrepreneurs might be especially prone to sleep deprivation, we are not the only ones choosing less time on the mattress. Consider the following graphic, which shows the recommended number of hours of sleep for each age group:

Here is how much sleep you need as you age.

How many of your friends, family members, and associates reach their required level of Z’s? Chances are, most of them don’t. sources have identified that 35% of the American population and 62% of people worldwide struggle with sleep. And sadly, these difficulties don’t end with adults. statistics also show that 25-50% of children suffer from a sleep condition at some point and that 60% of college students and 97% of teenagers don’t sleep enough.

Clearly, sleep deprivation is at epidemic levels and needs to stop! When we consider the negative consequences of sleep deficiencies, our tendency to downplay them and pretend they don’t exist becomes alarming.

Consider the following:

• the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) links insufficient sleep to the development and management of several chronic diseases, including obesity, depression, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. This link becomes especially interesting if we consider the rise in chronic diseases in premature death and illnesses in recent years.

• Each year, about 100,000 deaths occur in the U.S. because of medical errors, of which sleep deprivation is a significant factor.

• Studies have shown that unhealthy sleep durations were associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events and that healthy sleep durations contribute to a lower risk of these events.

• Sleep-deprived people are likely to work slowly on regular tasks, make mistakes and poor decisions, and develop memory issues.

• Sleep-deprived people are more likely to experience irritability, anxiety/mood disorders, hormone imbalances, increased stress, relational issues, and decreased creativity.

• Sleep deprivation has become severe enough for the CDC to declare insufficient sleep a Public health problem.

These results, terrible though they are, comprise the shortlist. What we can learn from this list is that sleep is not a novelty to be sacrificed; it is not a superhero move or a mark of entrepreneurial dedication. Or at least it should not be. Sleep deprivation is a silent killer.

Sleep Deprivation and Your Business

When we hear about the damaging effects of sleep deprivation, we usually do so through health contexts. However, skimping on sleep causes severe destruction in the business sector as well. It is true that we may occasionally get ahead or gain a new client by missing some Z’s, but the choice will come back to bite us. Many sources have commented on the correlation between sleep and business success, and we owe it to ourselves to pay attention.

Christopher m. barnes , professor of management at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, acknowledges that while adding hours to the workday increases the amount of work you can get done thanks to “simple math,” it is also a “mirage” because it only lasts the short term. As Barnes explains, “[The] 18-hour workday will destroy your effectiveness through the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.”

A worldwide research projects conducted by Rand Europe confirms Barnes’s statements, finding that tired or absent employees had a significant impact on a country's economy (“significant” as in $411 billion in annual losses) and that the United States is the highest sufferer. These deficits are not only caused by a loss of work productivity and work mistakes but also by deaths due to drowsy driving.

When we consider the extra costs involved in remediating the problem, more debts add up. Sleep center and at-home sleep studies can range from $500-3,000, while insomnia treatment (typically involving a generic sleeping pill and behavioral therapy) can cost upward of $1,500 per year.

Ironically, none of these losses are necessary. Economic casualties could be lessened by half if people slept even one extra hour per night, not to mention the resulting increases in mental health boosts and career satisfaction. With this in mind, it is unsurprising that harvard business review considers a good night’s sleep “One of the best ways to ensure a productive day at the office.”

Why Sleep?

What about sleep makes it so essential? In other words, we’ve all heard, “Sleep is good for you!” but what does it actually do? Understanding the science of sleep may provide the motivation we need to change our habits and behaviors.

During sleep, the body detoxifies (physical and mental) and recovers (in all body systems). When sleep is disrupted, these undertakings cannot occur.

the sleep foundation notes that “Virtually every part of the body experiences notable changes during sleep” and that a lack of sleep causes “neurons in the brain [to] become overworked, impairing thinking, slowing physical reactions, and leaving people feeling emotionally drained. ”

the harvard business review indicates that sleep’s primary function is to eliminate “mental wastage – toxins that build up between your neurons throughout the day and that can impair your normal cognitive functioning in both the short and long term.”

Clearly, skipping sleep forces the body to operate sub-optimally, making the idea that sleeping less is essential to work more as “logical the notion that not stopping for gas will help you arrive at your destination faster” (thanks again, harvard business review , for telling it straight!).

With these biological consequences, it is little wonder that is linked to many positive benefits, including:

• Improved memory
• Knowledge acquisition
• Better learning
• Work competence
• Employee engagement
• Emotional wellbeing

Sleep is essential to the body functioning not only at its best but also as it should. It’s easy to see that many of us need to update the way we think about sleep and start to see it as vital to our work as payroll or gas for commuters.

Why We Skip It

If sleep is so vital, why is the modern world increasingly skimping on it (the percentage of adults getting less than six hours of sleep has Increased by 31% since 1985)?

For all vices, there are deceptive “payoffs” that continue to drive the harmful behavior. When it comes to sleep, there are three primary culprits: work, life, and sleep problems. While some aspects of these may be outside our control, most are within our power to adjust.

Part 2 of this article series will go into these culprits in more detail and provide practical suggestions for how to fight for sleep (spoiler alert! It’s not that difficult!).

Hope for Change

When we choose to work more hours instead of sleeping enough, we may think we are working toward a higher quality of life. In reality, to be the best versions of ourselves in our lives and businesses, we need to take advantage of what a good night’s sleep can offer.

While we can take strategic action against this malady, it is enough for now to know for now that no matter how pressing the deadline, how full the kids’ school calendar, or how tempting binging that new show may be, we really can’t afford to lose our sleep.

Need an instant change? contact us to get you set up with a virtual assistant to manage your affairs for the month while you reset. The investment will make a world of difference in your business for years to come.

WRITTEN BY: KATIE BARNETT