Why #TeamNoSleep is Bad For Your Success
If you spend any amount of time on Twitter or Instagram, you’ve probably seen #TeamNoSleep before. People use it, almost as a brag, to let you know that they are depriving themselves of sleep in their efforts to do whatever tf it is that they aren’t sleeping for — which is usually #BossShit.
I think that not sleeping is one of the most ridiculous things you can choose to pretend to be proud of. Have you ever had insomnia? It’s not fun. Insomniacs are really #TeamNoSleep and I never see or hear them bragging about it.
Not sleeping is not a good thing. It’s actually really bad for that thing you live in called, your body. I got this straight from the government - according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, “ Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety.”
Our bodies were not designed to go for long periods of time without ample sleep. If you’ve ever experienced sleep deprivation, you know how difficult it can be to even think when you’re really tired.
Sleeping improves brain function. Depriving your body of it can cause mood swings, rob you of your motivation, and make you depressed.
Physically, sleep keeps your heart and blood vessels healthy, helps your body maintain a healthy hormonal balance, and keeps your immune system functioning properly.
When it comes to running your business when you’ve deprived yourself of sleep for long periods of time, best believe that you’ll under perform and under deliver. Here are just a few of the things you’ll experience…
- Difficulty focusing
- Poor decision making
- An increased amount of unnecessary mistakes and errors
- Microsleeps where your body just shuts down without your permission — which can be dangerous
- Decreased productivity
None of those are qualities that we, as entrepreneurs, strive to have. We usually work hard days and long hours because we want to exhibit the exact opposite.
As an entrepreneur, I know that there’s never enough time in the day. When you’re running your business and working a full time job or running your business and taking care of your family or just running your business, you always have a million and one things to do and never enough time to do them. You’re constantly looking to borrow time from somewhere, and it usually ends up coming out of your sleep time. It’s definitely a dangerous version of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Depriving yourself of sleep in order to run your business sounds like a great idea until you start experiencing the adverse affects of not sleeping. While I do understand the drive to succeed that makes you willing to make sacrifices wherever you need to — namely sleep, it’s not a wise choice. I’m pretty sure I know you well enough to know that you don’t want any of those problems I listed anywhere near your baby (your business).
I’m not saying you shouldn’t put in hard work and long hours for your business, but I am saying that you need to make time for sleep. Your healthy mind and body are your business’ greatest assets.
Have you ever sacrificed sleep for your business and paid the price? Find me on Instagram or Facebook and let me know.
Also, if you know someone who might enjoy this article, please share it with them. And listen to my podcast, Master Your Mission, for daily motivation and inspiration to pursue your dreams.