When Sacrificing Sleep For Success Backfires

I am still amazed how, to this day, some motivational entrepreneurs preach sacrificing sleep in exchange for success.

Sure, your increased waking hours might make you available to take that next big deal, but it’s going to be a big deal when your restorative sleep disappears and health issues begin to appear.

You need good sleep: namely, sleep that produces Delta Waves. One way to get there every night is to manage a hormone that does the “opposite of help”, to quote Shrek: cortisol.

What are Delta Waves?

The pinnacle of restorative sleep is marked by the presence of Delta waves in your brain. They are the slow moving electrical impulses that indicate your body is restoring and repairing.

Delta waves typically appear in the 3rd stage of sleep. Stage 1 is the pre-sleep stage where you are drifting off, and even have a little bit of rapid eye movement (REM) that, in theory, is when your brain is managing memories.

Stage 2 is marked with shallow breathing and slowed heart rate. There is still a little brain energy happening, but for the most part your body is sliding towards a very relaxed state.

Stage 3 is when the most restorative sleep happens. You are nearly catatonic as your cells go through growth and repair. This is when the Delta waves are most present.

Cortisol and Sleep

Cortisol is the hormone typically associated with fight-or-flight. It’s designed to help your body prepare and respond to high stress situations. It secretes into your bloodstream and enhances your major muscle groups to take on whatever is coming next.

Yet your brain also gets flooded with cortisol. The eyes focus on immediate threats. The ears attune to low-frequency, deep sounds. Your brain also stops learning and focuses its energy on what it takes to escape or fight.

When your brain has too much cortisol, you don’t really get to those solid stages of restorative sleep. It causes your mind to be on the edge, ready to wake up and go in case something dangerous is about to happen. Losing sleep can end up increasing cortisol levels the next night, perpetuating the negative cycle.

Trust me, I know this feeling. I served in the Active Duty Air Force for 10 years, and they prepare our brains for this the minute you step into basic training. You may shut your eyes from sheer, physical and mental exhaustion, but you aren’t getting quality sleep.

Sleeping with a cortisol-filled brain is like trying to boil water but turning the temperature down 50% every 5 minutes.

Living a similar lifestyle can have the same negative effects. That “be ready for anything at anytime!” mentality can keep you from building up long term memories, building up an immune system, and building up the sharp, responsive edges you need to make quick and rational decisions.

The Solution? Sleep as a Necessity, Not Interruption

I may not be a professional businessman, but I understand how taking a big loan with high interest rates can chew up your funds over time, especially if those loans don’t turn into a profit sizeable enough to overcome the interest when the payments are due. You can end up taking out more loans to cover the other debts, and working twice as hard to hopefully catch a big break that covers everything. Instead of focusing on trying to gain immediate success via high risk maneuvers, put your money into long term investments that reap bigger dividends in the future.

In other words, build your day around getting that restorative sleep, even if it means the potential of missing a high risk, big deal. Your improved health and cognitive abilities will help you find better deals during the day. Continuous, restorative sleep will keep you alive longer to enjoy that success.

Start looking at sleep as a necessity, and not an interruption of your day. Start by blocking off 6 to 8 hours a night, the same time every night, no matter what happens. Stop doing business at least an hour before that time to give those cortisol levels a chance to die down. It might be a struggle at first. But eventually you will find a rhythm and start getting into that good, restorative sleep and wake up ahead of the pack with a sharper mind.