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Why you want to optimize your sleep for high performance

When you sleep better, you lead better

With the new year, everyone has personal and entrepreneurial resolutions. Resolutions have never been more important and pertinent to entrepreneurial growth and success as they are this year. The most important key to success at any goal is finding a routine that will support continual growth! Today we will discuss why establishing a solid evening routine is so pivotal to reach quality sleep and increase your overall performance. 

Especially as an aspiring high-performance entrepreneur, sleep is important. Numerous studies have been lining the quality of sleep to the performance and longevity. Not only that, but sleep is also linked to your cognitive abilities, which simultaneously enhance with the amount of quality sleep. 

This means that your overall quality of life quality enhances the more quality sleep you get: you get a healthier and longer life. 

Daily routine

Begin your day by being focused on gratitude and appreciate all your blessings. Visualize the goals you have set for yourself, both small and large. Truly take the time to imagine yourself living a day where your current goals have been achieved. 

Your daily routine can influence the quality of your sleep, because it is influenced from outside stimulations and habits of all sorts. Especially, finding time for mindfulness and physical exercise can be a challenge, but crucial. Daily exercise is critical for staying healthy, which only translates to better sleep and therefore higher productivity.

Meditation has many benefits for both mental and physical health. Studies have found that it can reduce blood pressure, help treat mental health issues such as PTSD, and even IBS. Further, it can increase your alertness, mindfulness, and even help with age related memory loss. Further, meditating right before sleep as a decompression method can calm your central nervous system, leading you to fall asleep faster and easier.

Therefore, finding a solid 10-15 minutes to meditate will do a world of wonders. 

While it is tempting for a high-performance business owner to drink multiple cups of coffee daily in hope to increase productivity, it often does the opposite – especially if it’s too close to sleep. Therefore, coffee should only be consumed in the morning and no later than 6h prior sleep. 

This has to do with the coffee metabolism. Meaning, if it isn’t properly metabolized in time, it will keep you awake. So, while you wish to increase your productivity, it has a counteractive effect when enjoyed too much or too late.

The before-bed-routine is crucial, because it can determine the quality of your sleep. Therefore, you need to establish a master routine that will lead to success. 

Going to sleep late or having trouble falling asleep will be detrimental to your sleep quality. And because you’re not going through all the cycles of sleep without influence, your performance will decrease and you will be less alert. 

Especially at the beginning when building your business, you need to be on high-alert to notice trends and changes. That will give you time to adapt and change course if necessary. 

Reserve your seat for my next Sunday Study Power Hour, where I will teach habits that will skyrocket your productivity. 

The planner

Some of the best ideas are coming right before you fall asleep or when you wake up – the so-called sleep epiphanies. I personally use a physical planner not only to record my activities as well as the weekly goal, but also to record any ideas I’ve had right before falling asleep. Because your brain will keep wanting to add more to your mental to-do list, this is a way to release it and fall asleep quietly.

Some of the most productive and well thought out ideas occur as we are trying to fall asleep, between dreaming at night, or the first lucid thoughts in the morning. 

A nightstand notepad – not an electronic device – is one of the most empowering entrepreneurial tools and best kept secrets of our time.

Record your ideas and thoughts and reflect on them the next day.

If you end up staying up late and overthinking scenarios or thinking over ideas, your lack of quality sleep will also cause a lack in authority. Studies have shown that lack of sleep makes you feel less confident due to disorientation, which would lead to a broken image of your leadership. 

Unsure about the proper set up of efficient routines? I have a dedicated program to take your life and business to your next breakthrough here.

Electronics

While electronics are life changing tools and needed, they can also lead to a disturbed sleep pattern. This has to do with the blue emitted light from the screens, that cause trouble falling and staying asleep.  

Staying away from the screen for at least an hour before sleep will give your body enough time to adjust.

Start this habit by charging your phone and any other electronic devices on the other side of the room, or even in another room completely. Out of reach. 

Not only does the screenlight matter, but also the type of media you are consuming. There can be two outcomes if you are focusing on emails. You could receive positive news, which would lead to a late night because you will be going over new ideas. On the other side, you could receive bad news, which would lead to a sleepless night of overthinking. 

If you focus on emails and receive bad news, your sleep will be disturbed by you overthinking and stressing for the next few hours.

When you’re well rested, you are much easier to spot high-quality ideas during the thought process. Studies show that if you’ve had sleepless nights, you are more likely to rely on superficial ideas, and therefore choose the less advantageous ones.

The Overachiever 

Restful sleep is crucial within a hectic schedule of an entrepreneur, which is why you need to pay attention to a few things. Especially at the beginning when you’re building your business, you have the adrenaline rush to take on everything, even if it’s overwhelming. Especially then, proper sleep is crucial, otherwise you might face consequences that can lead up to burn out or damage your physical health. 

Don’t sacrifice your sleep. It will reduce your chances to be successful long term.

You probably heard that business legends such as Nikola Tesla, Jack Dorsey, or Marissa Mayer slept only a few hours per night (averaging less than 5!). Let me explain why they were able to do it: Thatcher Gene. 

The Thatcher Gene allows carriers to highly function on less sleep than the average person. Therefore, when you hear of these entrepreneurs – don’t compare yourself, even if you’re idolizing them. Statistically speaking, you likely don’t have that gene and you shouldn’t risk your health or business trying to find out if you do (chances are, if you’ve had it, you’d already know).

Dismiss temptations to sacrifice sleep.

Routines have a way of creating more time and energy where there seemingly was not enough before. Finding the perfect balance is something that may take trial and error, and most of all, commitment.

Especially decompressing right before sleep is pivotal, because often our stress interferes with the ability to sleep. In business, you have to manage stress daily in an effective way such as meditation, creating a sleep friendly environment, or mental processing. 

Don’t forget to unwind and focus on your inner self to reach a state of relaxation. 

By ensuring that quality sleep is not a scarcity, you provide a foundation for structural thinking. Studies showed that there is a strong connection between structural alignments and sleep, and therefore your performance. 

If you want to learn more, consider enrolling in my risk-free 7-day high performance program, where I will personally coach you and help you set up your ideal night and morning routine because we are serious about our training.

Sleep – your weapon for success

Now that you know various hacks to improve your sleep, implement some of these hacks and record them. Overtime, you will see a trend and an improvement in your performance. 

If you enjoyed reading this post, let me know what sleep routines you’re implementing!

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