One of the major movements that has come out of the pandemic is the boom of people opening their own business. The great resignation has seen a mass movement of people quitting their jobs and starting their own. They feel like they have more control over their schedules and are better appreciate and compensated than when they worked a standard 9-5. This sounds great until it's 11pm at night and anxiety and a long to-do list are threatening your beauty sleep. Continue reading to find out more about entrepreneurial insomnia and how to shut down your brain for a good night of sleep.
Sleep is extremely important
It can be sort of a pissing contest about who slept the least when entrepreneurs start talking to each other. It's almost a symbol of pride that you are working so hard you slept for only a couple of hours. Even some of the biggest CEOs try to dramatically reduce their sleep because they feel like they can get more done if they're awake.
And although a lack of sleep could definitely lead to more dollars in the short-term, it definitely will hurt in the long-run. One experiment found that getting four hours of sleep for five consecutive nights can lead to the same cognition as those who are above the legal alcohol limit. So if you're not sleeping, your brain is functioning the same as if you were intoxicated. So how much work are you truly getting done?
Sleep deprivation occurs when you get less than the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep. It can result in excessive daytime sleepiness, lack of attention and focus, negative health consequences, mood dysfunction and other mental health disorders.
It's important to get your own sleep, and although running your own business can be stressful, getting sleep and being a CEO do not have to be mutually exclusive. Here are a few tips to help you get a handle on your life so you can increase the quantity and quality of your sleep.
Re-evaluate your relationship with caffeine
Caffeine is a stimulant that is designed to overrule melatonin and any other hormones that may induce sleep. It really helps with productivity levels, however, it can also interfere with your sleep. Because it's a stimulant, it's designed to counteract sleep. If you're drinking it in the afternoon and late at night, that definitely is not helping your sleep. But even if you are not, the withdrawal symptoms you experience at night can lead to teeth grinding and other various behaviors that keep you up at night.
If you wake up with a headache that tells you you need coffee right that moment, you sleep quality is not as good as it could be. It may be time to learn how to be productive without caffeine and see if that helps improve your sleep quality and quantity.
What are you eating before bed?
High sugar foods before bed will lead to a sugar spike and crash that will destroy your sleep quality. You will toss and turn much longer than you should be, decreasing the amount of sleep that you're actually getting. If you are very hungry before bed, instead of diving into that tub of ice cream, try snacking on good fats and protein to avoid a dramatic increase in your blood sugar. Emotions could also play a role in a late night sweets, so if you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, try meditating and drinking a glass of water instead of grabbing some cookies.
Remove the electronics
When you're the CEO, your electronics seem like a lifeline. Every time it rings, money could be on the other line. So, if you sleep with your phone right next to you, it is a huge distraction and everytime it rings, you're going to pop up and see what it is. Also, just the thought of emails and other messages flooding in increases the amount of stress you may feel. If you can begin leaving your phone in the other room, it may be a little stressful, and you may miss some things here and there, but at the end of the day, you'll start stressing out about whatever is happening when you wake up and have a fresh brain to process what's happening.
Do a late night braindump
Great ideas are always flooding when you run your own business and it can be so tempting to jump up and start working on something as soon as you thought of it because you don't want to forget. However, this isn't helping your ability to get a good night of sleep. So, find a way to do a brain dump which is where you write down all of the things you don't want to forget and you save them for the next day. Maybe you do forget some details, and that's okay, but the really good ideas will be there once you record them, and you can work on them when you actually have the energy and focus to carry them out.
Wind down before bed
It's very difficult to transition from emailing/working straight into sleep mode. Your brain is still finishing processing everything you just did and your melatonin release has been delayed by the blue light from your laptop. Add some space between working and going to bed to give your body and mind a chance to wind down. This can be a relaxing bath or a book you've been dying to read. Something that reduces your exposure to blue light and helps your mind come down off the busy high of the day.
Don't work in your bed
The only things your bed should be used for are sleep and sex, nothing else. It's important when cultivating your sleep environment, that you make it a space your brain associates with sleep ONLY. Once you start working in your bed and taking calls and blending the office and your sleep space, your brain becomes confused on what that room is used for. So, when you enter it, it doesn't automatically think sleep, it thinks maybe sleep or maybe work. This can cause your brain to stay on when you're really trying to turn it off. Find a designated space outside of your room to work and keep it separate from spaces of relaxation.
If you are an entrepreneur and find yourself having trouble sleeping, please click the orange button below to take a free online sleep test and talk with a professional today.
Resources:
https://www.petershallard.com/entrepreneurial-insomnia-how-to-shut-off-your-brain-when-you-cant-stop-thinking/