Entrepreneurs are always looking for that “one trick” or that “one hack” that will give them a leg up on their competition. Really though, the edge they seek is already right under their noses…
What the hell am I talking about? Sleep, that’s what!
By changing your sleep habits and daily rituals, you can get a sound sleep, so you can wake up in the morning ready to perform at your best. For entrepreneurs, this isn’t optional; if you expect to be massively successful, then you need to be firing on all cylinders.
My pal Shawn Stevenson recently stopped by our HQ, and I got the chance to talk with him about performance, sleep. and hydration. He told me stuff that every entrepreneur needs to hear, stuff that I want to share with you right now…
Move in the Mornings
Science backs this up: everyone—especially entrepreneurs—should exercise in the mornings.
Shawn told me about a study that Appalachian State University conducted to determine the best time of the day to exercise. They found out that people who worked out in the mornings spent more time in the deep, anabolic sleep cycles.
Anabolic processes build our bodies up. This is when we build more tissue and generate more human growth hormone—both of these build the body up. When you exercise, you also reset your cortisol levels, which allows you to sleep more at night, and you get an energy boost for the remainder of the day too.
Shawn always says, “A great night of sleep starts the moment you wake up in the morning.” As an entrepreneur with a busy schedule, you need to make the most of every second you get, because entrepreneurship is about keeping your body at peak performance. You can only do that when you sleep well and exercise regularly.
Feed Your Brain
The brain is made up of fat and water. We need omega-3 fatty acids, for example, to facilitate the synaptic connections in our brains and to maintain the integrity of our brain cells.
You need your brain for everything you do. As an entrepreneur, your ability to survey a situation and then make rapid-fire decisions is critical. You can only do that if your brain is well-nourished.
How do you get more omega-3 into your diet? Fish oils! There are plenty of supplements out there that will add omega-3 to your diet, but you want to make sure you don’t increase your omega-6 at the same time (your omega-3:omega-6 ratio should be 1:1 or 1:2)
Take care of your brain—it needs to be sharp if you want to make moves and build your empire.
Hydrate Right!
All water is not created equal. In fact, water is a universal solvent that can pick up chemicals and particles with ease. If you want to perform at your peak, drink the cleanest, least polluted water you can find.
But what in the world does this have to do with business? You want an edge? You want to feel prime and ready to make big decisions in the heat of the moment? Proper hydration helps you work at your best and reduces your chances of getting sick.
How do you find the cleanest water? Shawn says that filters are a great way to purify your water. However, since some don’t filter out all the harmful chemicals and particles inside of regular water, he suggests to invest in a reverse osmosis filter, which runs the water through tiny pores so that it’s clean and ready to drink.
Shawn also has a morning ritual he describes as “taking an inner bath.” See, as we’re asleep, our bodies process the stuff inside us. That builds up a lot of metabolic waste that needs to be flushed out of our bodies when we wake up. To do that, Shawn drinks 20-30 oz. of water within the first 10 minutes he’s awake. That keeps him from being dehydrated and constipated.
Sleep Like a Baby
No one knows sleep like Shawn does. The man’s built his reputation as one of the world’s leading sleep experts.
His advice to you? Protect your sleep.
We all know what it feels like to wake up groggy and out of sorts. As an entrepreneur, that’s damaging. If it takes someone 5-6 hours to get their engine revved up to go, then they should probably reevaluate the quality of your sleep, because their lack of efficiency loses them money.
Notice how I didn’t say to reevaluate how long you sleep. Shawn’s big on this too: it’s not about how long you sleep; it’s about the quality of the sleep you get.
Shawn adamantly protects his sleep. He powers down electronics 30 minutes before bed so that his brain can wind down. As I mentioned earlier, he wakes up in the mornings to move and reset his cortisol levels, which affects how much melatonin—the hormone that makes us sleep—we have in our bodies.
Want more performance-maximizing sleeping tips? Click here to listen to the full-length podcast Shawn and I recorded together, filled with tips and the science to back them up.