The importance of sleep for entrepreneurs

By Thomas Mackie

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead” seems to be the motto of the 21st century, but research suggests adults need between seven to eight hours sleep a night for optimal health and mental clarity

Getting less than 6 hours shut-eye a night could even shorten your lifespan. Photo courtesy of Wix

Being sleep deprived negatively affects work performance and productivity, disrupting concentration, distracting you, and making tasks which are normally straightforward become difficult.

The three richest people in the world - Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett - all get between seven to eight hours sleep a night and they have a combined net worth of over £200 billion.

International sleep coach Max Kirsten says: “We are in the midst of a sleep deprivation epidemic,” as nearly half of the UK’s population don’t get enough sleep.

“In my work as a sleep coach, I see more and more people in business who are completely sleep deprived, trying to get by with what they consider to be just enough sleep to function.”

Sometimes not hitting the pillow for eight hours a night is unavoidable because of deadlines or international business travel.

But research suggests napping for just 10 to 30 minutes has been shown to build readiness and enhance productivity levels.

Mr Kirsten believes “sleep should be considered the first pillar of health and peak performance (the other two pillars are nutrition and exercise).”

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