A founder argues that asking startup leaders "what keeps you up at night" glorifies exhaustion and misses the point. He says founders need about nine hours of sleep to stay sharp, and that chronic sleep deprivation actually tanks your IQ and decision-making. Rest isn't a luxury; it's how you stay productive.
You know, we often ask this question in startup land, what keeps you up at night? You've probably been asked this question. And just take a step back from this question for one second. It is such a symbol, an emblem of the disease of the thinking about entrepreneurship that we casually, without even questioning it, we're talking about how your company literally undermines the most important thing in your life for your health, which is sleep, right? It's literally like, how are you sacrificing the most important thing for your longevity and health and mental well-being for your startup? And everyone just asks and answers this question like it's no big deal. And it's like, no, like, if you need 9 hours to be your most productive, you know, 9 hours of sleep to be super productive and intelligent and driven and motivated, then I want you to get the 9 hours of sleep because honestly, your startup isn't going to you can go anywhere if you're getting 4 hours of sleep every night, but you need 9. You know what ends up happening after a while? You end up like literally losing IQ points and making worse and worse and worse decisions. It's not like you can't push yourself past some of these like appropriate contours of yourself and your own health. So I would say understand what the limitations are, understand your limitations, try to get those. Work your startup into what you are capable of doing.
