Running your own business is kind of synonymous with spending sleepless nights almost every other day of the week. The general notion is that you have to work long hours in intensely (read insanely!) stressful conditions without getting much sleep. In the world of CEOs and managing directors, this kind of super hectic lifestyle is considered to be pretty standard.
Ramifications of Not Getting Adequate Sleep
“So what if I had slept only for a couple of hours? At most I’ll be a little woozy the next day.”
Sorry, to burst your bubble of misconception but lack of sleep could have much more serious implications than making you feel just ‘a little woozy the next day’. It can become the major cause of stress, irritability, and anxiety which can then lead to clinical depression, it can weaken your immune system as well as your digestive system, and it can even lead to serious heart ailments like hypertension and high HP. Above all, it affects your decision-making powers, which means if you are sleeping less, you aren’t working at your fullest potential. Armm, not an ideal scenario for a CEO, right?
Here are some of the most amazing benefits of developing a healthy sleeping pattern. There are many other advantages as well but if you are an entrepreneur, these 3 will especially make a difference –
Proper Sleep Improves the Memory Function
The modern scientific community now agrees that there’s a direct link between the quality of your sleep and your memory function. Getting enough sleep boosts the gelling of memory from the information or data you’ve recently acquired in the state of wakefulness. This simply means that it strengthens your memory and at the same time, it connects new memories to the older ones.
It Promotes Creativity or Creative Problem Solving
Our sleeping hours can be divided into two main categories - the lighter phase called the non-REM and the deep slumber phase called the REM (rapid eye movement) phase. When you are in the REM phase, a chemical called acetylcholine is released in the brain that helps build connections between your neurons. These connections allow you to identify the similarities between arguably unrelated concepts, theories, or problems. As a result, your brain starts functioning in a somewhat different manner which can be utilized to formulate creative ideas that can be termed as ‘completely out of the box’ or ‘work of a genius’. Good sleep also increases your mental alertness which aids in decision making.
Sleep is When the Maintenance Work Begins
When you sleep your body prepares itself to relax, repair, and rewind. It’s actually like going for a daily servicing job! Your cortisol levels drop (the damned stress hormone) so you get to truly relax, the cytokines (a form of proteins whose job is to repair) are released to heal any injuries or infections, the function of your liver improves, and your brain releases the growth hormone that regulates the metabolic activity and growth of the muscle tissues. Lack of sleep can also affect your mental acuity.
If you aren’t getting enough sleep, you are preventing your body and mind from reaping the benefits of these amazing healing sessions. As a result, you start losing your ability to maintain a strong mental balance and stability, and you lose your physical agility as well.
Takeaways
Besides these activities, many more things happen as you get down for your daily dose of free rejuvenation. But in short, we can conclude that getting sound sleep for a good 6 to 8 hours allows you to function at your best. It keeps you mentally, physically, emotionally, and energetically active and that’s how a powerful leader should be!
