The Tribune

By Bettyjoe Cooper

Leonardo da Vinci reportedly survived on two hours sleep per night whilst painting the Mona Lisa. Donald Trump sleeps a few hours each night to “stay ahead of the competition”. We have heard the stories of people who rarely seem to sleep, and sometimes are envious of their capacity.

We may admire these people, their determination and ‘sleep is for wimps’ kind of attitude. They are warriors of almost inhuman capabilities. We think we’d like to be like them but we know we can’t, and in fact we shouldn’t. The sleepless entrepreneur is more of a legend than reality.

Forget the idea that successful entrepreneurs don’t eat, sleep, relax or have fun. To run a successful business, we entrepreneurs must take care of ourselves first. Below are some tips I use to improve my output. I focus on managing and enhancing my energy and mood so I can maximize my day, in all aspects of my life.

1 Sleep in if you can

Whenever possible, sleep as late as you need to. Sleep influences your effectiveness during the day and can help to fend off sickness. Sleep deprivation will affect your decision-making ability, short-term memory and focus. If like me you are an entrepreneur, you may have some control over your schedule. I wouldn’t be able to afford that luxury if I was in a traditional career path 9 to 5 job.

Make sure and sleep enough every day. If that means sleeping until 10am during the workweek because you stayed up the night before to finish a project, then do it. Aim to wake up each day without an alarm clock and ready to take on the world all the time. Besides, who likes alarm clocks anyway?

2 Enjoy a routine after work

Having a routine relaxes and flushes the stress hormone cortisol out of your body. Do some level of physical activity to end each work day. My work gives me the opportunity to do that sometimes. The rest of the time I may go walking, cook or even enjoy some bedroom gymnastics (you know what I mean!). Or try the gym, do Pilates or some body weight training. What’s important is that whatever you do requires physical exertion and mental focus. By refocusing the mind away from the business, you will find it performs better the next work day.

3 Ditch the cell phone

When smartphones arrived it wasn’t long before Blackberry earned the ‘Crackberry’ nickname. The smartphone is a great business tool but also the enemy of peak performance. Messaging services, social media and ‘dog-wearing-spider-suits’ videos keep the mind overstimulated.

It’s difficult to relax when the mind is in such a state. Blue light emitted from smart devices inhibits secretion of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, preventing a good night’s sleep. Newer devices include a feature that eliminates the blue light at night time. But responding to notifications will also affect relaxation and performance. At a certain time, I forward my calls to the business line and don’t turn it off until my mind is ready for work. You may want to put your phone out of sight or even turn it off. Whatever your solution, give yourself chance to plan the day and to get excited before picking it up. Your phone may be important, but it shouldn’t consume every hour of the day. If I’m honest, there’s a lot of distractions that your mind can live without.

4 Cool down

Our body temperature naturally lowers by a couple of degrees when we begin to fall asleep. Taking a cold shower can stimulate this process and a warm shower can have the opposite effect. If taking a cold shower is uncomfortable for you, start with a warm shower and cool it down for the last minute or so. It will feel refreshing but also relaxing.

There are countless studies to show that exposure to the cold improves your immunity. In Sweden, it’s common practice to let small babies take naps outdoors in the cold. These babies end up more resistant to disease. Cold showers improve immune function, reduce stress and relieve symptoms of mild depression. These effects are due to increased blood flow to the internal organs, and stimulation of the mitochondria, which happens when the nerve endings in our skin are initially shocked from the cold water.

5 Read fiction

By getting in bed and reading some fiction, you engage the imagination. When the imagination engages, requiring present state attention, the logical mind disengages. This helps you to relax. Reading non-fiction encourages projection into the future which can increase production of stress hormones. Stress deters sleep and can affect your ability to be successful the next work day.

If you follow these tips, you may only get through a couple of pages anyway. You should already feel relaxed and on your way to a good snooze. It works for me, and should work for you.

• Bettyjoe Cooper is a self-published author and the founder of Brand New Mattress Company, a retailer of bedding products located in the Hummingbird Plaza, Coral Harbour Road, Nassau.