Stop! You're running your business like a drunk.

I have a confession to make. I’m drunk right now.

Yep. It’s true. And you know what? I bet that 95% of you reading this are practically drunk, too.

Right about now you’re raising your eyebrows. “Nicki, what the heck are you talking about?”

I have a hard time finding the right words when speaking and find myself using really basic vocabulary.

I go into the kitchen to get something, then stand there for 10 seconds trying to remember what it was I went to get.

I listen to a colleague’s presentation and find myself struggling to follow and retain.

I’m not slurring words, thankfully. But I’m cognitively impaired.

I’m talking about sleep.

Now, don’t roll your eyes. Let me explain.

Many of you know that I had a baby girl seven weeks ago. She’s a healthy little cutiepie, and my husband and I couldn’t be happier to have her join our family.

That said, as all of you parents out there are aware, a newborn baby means a significant disturbance in one’s sleep. I’m waking up three to four times a night to feed and change her. Not to mention the weeks of broken sleep during pregnancy as I waddled to the bathroom to pee. And no, to any of you who are thinking it, getting up to pee while pregnant is not nature’s way of preparing you for sleep deprivation when baby arrives. There’s no preparing for sleep deprivation—you just amass more sleep debt.

Now I realize most of you didn’t just have a new baby. Still, most of you are business owners. Most of you are trying to get more than is humanly possible done in a 24-hour day. Many of you are parents of active kids with extracurricular schedules that result in late bedtimes. Some of you might work nights. And many of you get up at 4 AM to teach 5 AM classes or to commute to work. You are all sleep-deprived. You are all essentially drunk.

Research has shown that getting six or fewer hours of sleep a night results in performance on par with a blood alcohol level of .05. Yep. Admit it, you’re drunk.

And now you’re all thinking, “Yeah, but I can get by on four or five hours. No problem. I’ve been doing it for years, and I feel just fine.”

We’ve all been doing it more or less for years. We’ve been taught that the ability to get by on little sleep is a marker of success (all-nighters in college, anyone?)

We’ve bought this conventional wisdom, and it’s costing us dearly, both with declining physical and financial health.

Consider what more sleep means for your body and your business:

• More sleep means increased productivity. Imagine that! Getting more done in less time!

• More sleep means you feel better. Feeling better means decreased anxiety and greater enjoyment of your day. Who doesn’t want that?

• More sleep means decreased risk for accidents and other errors of judgment.

• More sleep means a happier business person (you) running a happier place of business.

Not convinced? Still think you’re the invincible unsleeping human? Check out this powerful TEDx talk by good friend, Navy SEAL, and physician, Kirk Parsley, America's BIGGEST Problem.

And then join me in doing our collective darndest to spend more time in the rack and becoming happier business people running happier places of business!

photo credit: fuzzcat via photopin cc