I remember starting my business and being told that if I wasn’t working enormous hours, I’d never make it.
Entrepreneurs don’t sleep.
They hustle.
They grind.
They work until they can’t work anymore.
Go to bed before midnight? You obviously don’t want success badly enough.
As someone who has always loved my sleep, I remember feeling the pressure. Was I missing something? Was everyone else somehow capable of surviving on four or five hours a night while I needed seven or eight?
Of course, this isn’t just an entrepreneurial mindset.
It’s alive and well in corporate too.
The people who send emails at midnight.
The leaders responding to messages at 4am.
The long hours that are worn like a badge of honour.
Somewhere along the way, we started confusing exhaustion with commitment, and busyness with performance.
I honestly hate the beliefs we’ve built around sleep.
“Sleep is for the dead.”
“I’ll sleep when this project is finished.”
“There’s too much to do.”
“Successful people don’t need much sleep.”
Really?
If that’s true, why are burnout, depression, chronic fatigue and overwhelm continuing to rise?
Why are so many intelligent, capable people struggling to think clearly, make good decisions and regulate their emotions?
Sleep is often the first thing we sacrifice in the name of productivity.
Ironically, it’s one of the first things that reduces our ability to be productive.
I’ve always protected my sleep because I know I need it. Since my melanoma diagnosis, that boundary has become even firmer. My health gave me a very different perspective on what success actually looks like, and sacrificing my wellbeing is no longer part of the deal.
Then I sat down with behavioural scientist and sleep expert Dr Jemma King for this week’s episode of Leading You.
She confirmed what many of us probably need to hear.
Sleep isn’t a luxury.
It’s one of the most powerful performance strategies we have.
We spoke about why so many people wake at 2am or 3am, how cortisol, caffeine and our daily habits affect the quality of our sleep, and one insight that genuinely surprised me… why the hours of sleep before midnight are some of the most important for brain recovery and long-term health.
If you’re serious about performing at your best, leading well and looking after your long-term health, this is a conversation I think you’ll genuinely value.
And while you’re at it, I’d also recommend picking up Dr Jemma King’s book, The Sleep Advantage. It’s practical, grounded in science and full of strategies to help you get the quality sleep your brain and body deserve.
Perhaps it’s time we stopped glorifying the leaders who burn themselves out… and started celebrating the ones who are wise enough to recover well.
