SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!
By: Alexander Lim
Tags: Sleep, Startup, Founders, Founder Stories, Productivity

SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

I know what you’re thinking the answer is “WHEN SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!!” and while I do agree to a certain extent, I think that sleep is very important.

The problem is that when you are running a startup, if you have employees, if you are working on your own or even if you have a family and/or a full-time job then it can be hard to make time for yourself and get the right amount of sleep.

I used to be able to get by on very little sleep but now as an entrepreneur with an international team of people working for me, I find that my sleeping habits have suffered greatly.

I’ve had many discussions with other entrepreneurs about how much sleep they get and each one has said different things. Some say they get by on anywhere from 3–5 hours of sleep per night, some say they need 8–10 hours, some say more than 10.

My recommendation is this:

First off take a good look at your lifestyle and make sure your diet is in check and that you are getting the right amount of exercise (which for me personally has been difficult to do).

If that doesn’t help then try reducing your time spent on social media (because even though we love it it can really suck away valuable hours from our day).

Finally if all else fails then go ahead and take a look at trying to get more sleep but just make sure you are doing everything possible before trying this because people tend to slack off on this after the first week or so because they think “hey I’m not getting enough sleep anyways so might as well stay up later.”

It can be easy for startups especially if everyone else around you is doing it too but just remember we all know how important putting our best foot forward is when trying to raise money or acquire new customers/clients so don’t let yourself go overboard on this one either because as we all know too much isn’t good!

What are the best tips for getting more sleep as a startup founder?

First off make sure you are taking care of your body. This means eating healthy, trying to get enough exercise and if you have any medical conditions then make sure you take care of those too.

Next, make sure you aren’t spending too much time on social media (again I know I know but it can really suck) and finally just remember that it is okay to say “no” to things and that you shouldn’t feel bad about taking time for yourself either.

A lot of people don’t take this seriously but I can tell you from personal experience that when I was in Junior College I got less than 6 hours of sleep per night consistently for years. As a result I had trouble focusing in class and most importantly suffered from extreme brain fog throughout the day.

It wasn’t until I started taking more time off and sleeping longer that I noticed how much more focused and productive I was. This is why if you are an entrepreneur then you need to value your time and just be aware that it is okay to take some downtime to allow yourself to recharge.

I hope this post has helped you out in some way and as always if you have any questions or comments feel free to drop them below in the comment section.

About the Author

I am the Founder of Cudy Technologies (www.cudy.co), a full-stack EdTech startup helping teachers and students teach and learn better. I am also a mentor and angel investor in other Startups of my other interests (Proptech, Fintech, HRtech, Ride-hailing, C2C marketplaces and SaaS). You can also find me on Cudy for early-stage Startup Founder mentorship and advice.

You can connect with me on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderlhk) and let me know that you are a reader of my Medium posts in your invitation message.