The Case for More (and Better) Sleep

In this series, professionals predict the ideas and trends that will shape 2016. Read the posts here, then write your own (use #BigIdeas2016 in your piece).

In 2012, the American Medical Association issued a statement that struck fear into the hearts of iPhone users worldwide: “Exposure to excessive light at night, including extended use of various electronic media, can disrupt sleep or exacerbate sleep disorders.”

This didn’t come as a surprise to anyone who falls asleep with his or her phone inches away. But what is surprising is the extent of the damage caused by poor-quality sleep. A 2011 study published in Sleep, the journal of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, suggested that the annual cost in lost productivity from insomnia is $63.2 billion in the United States.

While I can’t exactly quantify my own productivity losses due to sleep deprivation, I know they exist. When my sleep is poor, my creativity suffers, my patience is lower, and my decision-making ability degrades. Being an entrepreneur with a baby doesn’t exactly enhance my odds of getting eight hours per night — but that’s no excuse. 

This year, my goal is to sleep more and sleep better. I recently started wearing a Jawbone UP which means that I can no longer live in blissful ignorance that the quantity of my sleep — on average, less than six hours per night — and my quality of sleep are both pretty subpar. Among other data points, the UP and its app track how many times you get up in the night and how deeply you sleep.  NBA finals MVP Andre Iguodala wore the UP and found that when he slept more than 8 hours a night, he saw a +8.9% gain on free throws and a +29% gain on points per minute. (Pretty mind-blowing.)

This year, I’m setting five goals to help keep my sleep on track:

1. Insert a “work pause” at least an hour before I go to bed. Translation: No checking email.
2. No iPhone use in bed.The bed is a strict “sleeping zone.”
3. Make sure my room is dark. Not only does New York City never sleep, but it never turns off the lights. Keeping my bedroom darker will help block out the visual noise of the city.
4. Be more disciplined about keeping a consistent bedtime. I may not get to the point where I go to sleep at 9 p.m. on the dot like Tom Brady, but I can strive to fall asleep at vaguely the same time every night.
5. Stay in more. The line between “work engagement” and “social engagement” can be blurry for entrepreneurs, but I’m going to make an effort to stay in more.

We live in a culture where busy-ness is prestigious and down time is scarce. The effects of sleep deprivation aren’t as visible as other vices, but they’re often more severe. This year, my number one resolution will be to treat sleep hygiene like any other skill and hone it.

After all, I’d never go to bed without brushing my teeth.