How Much Sleep Should an Entrepreneur Really Get?

We live in a time where sleep has become the anti-norm for anyone who wants to get things done, make their dreams happen, hustle with all the muscle and of course the famous phrase – hustlers don’t sleep.

Well, how true is that and can this thought be taken a bit too seriously, so much that it becomes a danger to overall physical, spiritual and mental health?

The truth is that entrepreneurs work hard. Business owners are some of the hardest working people on the planet, however, forget what you heard – entrepreneurs need sleep and they better get it. Here’s why.

BURN OUT

Burn out comes in many forms. It can happen mentally, physically and also spiritually, separately or all at the same time. Burn Out generally happens when one becomes overburdened with workload when it isn’t managed properly. As a result of this burn out, bodily processes will slow or even terminate due to lack of sleep. Decisions become irrational and one may even land himself into treatment for stress related illness.

DECREASE IN CREATIVITY

With entrepreneurship comes a decent amount of creativity. Without it, business owners are sure to fail miserably because of the need to change with the times while creating innovative ways to remain afloat. Business owners who fail to get adequate rest, especially entrepreneurs who haven’t delegated responsibilities to others, will find themselves in a mental block when it comes be being innovative. As a matter of fact, they may even decide they hate it.
Sleep provides the resting state for creativity, and without it, during a great idea, you will doze off, forgetting what that great idea was in the first place.

WORKING TO GET NOTHING DONE

Have you ever felt busy to just be busy, but nothing is getting done at all? Many times, it’s because of lack of sleep which dampens your focus and drive because all your body simply wants to do is sleep for goodness sake! Don’t sit there for hours on end with a pen, pad and laptop when the only thing you’re doing is fighting sleep, drifting off, refilling the coffee cup, drinking soda after soda, exercising, scrolling social media for the blue light to keep you awake and the list goes on and on. All of these are time wasters, and by nightfall, you still have gotten nothing done although you feel like you “got your hustle on”. Don’t kid yourself.

The proper amount of adequate sleep all depends on the person, but a healthy dose is between six and nine hours of sleep daily, and if you can’t do daily, then at least four times a week with naps on the days you can’t complete the full rest time all in one set. With the proper about of sleep, any business owner can keep their minds focused, reaction time quick, and actually follow the set schedule without delay. What would have taken nine hours due to lack of sleep would only have taken half the time.

Therefore, business owner, sleep. Consider it a part of your work day.