Sleep has quietly become one of the most misunderstood performance strategies in business. We celebrate long hours, packed calendars and the ability to keep pushing, but we rarely stop to ask what that constant pace is costing us. For a long time, I thought getting by on less sleep was just part of being ambitious. I wore it almost like a badge of honour. Looking back now, I can see I had built up a significant sleep debt without even realising it, and I had no real understanding of how much better life and work could feel when I finally started prioritising recovery.
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One of the biggest lessons I have learnt is that there is no perfect number of hours that applies to everyone. Most people will thrive somewhere between seven and nine hours, but the goal is not chasing a magic number. The goal is waking up feeling genuinely restored. That sounds obvious, yet many business owners spend years convincing themselves that feeling permanently tired is simply the price of success.
I used to be the person who stayed up late because there was always one more thing to do or one more exciting idea to chase. Then I met my wife, Dr Kirstey Holland, who has spent decades helping people understand the relationship between sleep, stress and health. Watching her approach sleep completely changed my perspective. I realised that sleep is not something that just happens when you turn the lights off. It is something you prepare for throughout the day.
That shift in thinking changed everything for me. I now know what good sleep feels like, and I also know exactly what happens when I don’t get enough. In fact, the night before this Masterclass I slept very little, so I was experiencing the effects firsthand. I felt slower getting out of bed, less energetic and definitely less like the best version of myself. The difference was that this time I understood why it was happening, and more importantly, I knew exactly what I needed to do to recover the following night. That confidence alone removes so much frustration.
One idea that really resonates with business leaders is the concept of a sleep deficit. If your body functions best with eight hours of sleep but you’re consistently getting six, you’re carrying a two-hour deficit every day. Over a week, over a month and certainly over years, that adds up to an enormous performance cost. We would never knowingly accept that kind of deficit in our finances or our operations, yet many of us quietly accept it in our health.
The cost is far greater than simply feeling tired. Poor sleep affects how clearly we think, how patient we are with our families and colleagues, how creative we become and how well we solve problems. It also affects the decisions we make. As business owners, our judgement is one of our most valuable assets. If that judgement is compromised because we haven’t recovered properly, the consequences can ripple through every part of our business.
One of the concepts Kirstey explained so well is that sleep is deeply connected to our biology. Cortisol, often called the stress hormone, isn’t actually the villain people make it out to be. We need it to rise in the morning because it helps us wake up feeling energised and ready for the day. At night, however, cortisol needs to fall so melatonin can rise and allow restorative sleep. When stress stays high or sleep becomes disrupted, that natural rhythm starts to break down. Suddenly we rely on coffee just to function, we feel groggy in the mornings and we assume that’s normal. It isn’t.
What fascinated me most was realising that sleep isn’t simply a nighttime activity. The day makes the night, and the night makes the day. The choices we make from the moment we wake up influence how well we’ll sleep later. That includes when we have our last coffee, when we eat dinner, how we manage stress and whether we allow ourselves time to properly wind down before bed.
One practical habit that completely changed my routine was using an alarm clock to remind me to go to bed instead of reminding me to wake up. That sounds almost backwards, but it works brilliantly. If I know I want to be asleep by 10 o’clock, then I need to begin winding down well before that. That means finishing dinner early, stepping away from stimulating conversations and screens, and giving my mind permission to slow down.
At first that felt like a sacrifice. Now it feels like an investment. Those quiet moments before bed have become some of the most valuable parts of my day. They’re an opportunity to reconnect with family, read a book, have a conversation or simply let the pace of the day settle before sleep begins.
There are plenty of other simple habits that make a difference. Keep your bedroom dark and cool. Leave phones and televisions outside the bedroom. Give your body consistency by following a regular routine. If you share a bed with someone who snores, tosses and turns or keeps a different schedule, don’t feel guilty about occasionally sleeping separately. Kirstey and I have two comfortable bedrooms available when we need them. It isn’t about sleeping apart. It’s about making sure we both get the recovery we need so we can show up well for each other the next day.
Another helpful lesson is to become more aware of your own patterns. Technology like sleep trackers can provide useful trends, not because they diagnose you, but because they help build awareness. Data often starts conversations we might otherwise avoid. The goal isn’t perfection or obsessing over scores. The goal is understanding yourself better so you can make better decisions.
One of the most encouraging messages Kirstey shared is that poor sleep is not a personal failure. It isn’t simply about discipline or willpower. Sleep is influenced by biological, psychological and social factors. Stress, work, relationships, eating habits, hormones and our environment all play a role. When we recognise that, we stop blaming ourselves and start making practical changes that work with our biology instead of fighting against it.
The wonderful thing is that meaningful improvements don’t necessarily take months. Once you begin supporting your body’s natural rhythm consistently, many people notice positive changes within a week or two. That doesn’t require perfection. It simply requires consistency and a willingness to treat sleep as something worth protecting.
For me, this has become much bigger than feeling less tired. Better sleep means better conversations, better decisions, better relationships and ultimately better leadership. It allows me to be more present with the people who matter most and more effective in the work I care about. When we protect our sleep, we protect our mood, our creativity, our resilience and our ability to build something meaningful over the long term.
If this has prompted you to think differently about your own routine, I encourage you to start with one small change rather than trying to overhaul everything at once. Sleep is not time lost. It is one of the most valuable investments you can make in yourself, your leadership and your business. If this struck a chord, I’d love to continue the conversation. I hope to see you at a future Masterclass.