Your Business(And Life) Problems Might Be Solved With More Sleep.

I started sleeping 2 hours every afternoon.

I’m a thoroughly underslept mama of two boys and a solopreneur.

My first baby was an okay sleeper. The first few months, he only woke up once per night. By the time he was 1.5 years old, he started waking up around 7–8 a.m. after nights of uninterrupted sleep.

A few months later, inspired by my “easy baby,” I gave birth to his brother, who’s slowly trying to kill me.

During his first year, he woke up a few times every night and usually stayed awake for at least two hours.

He’s almost 3 now, and he still wakes up 1–2 times every night. Then, at 6.30, he’s ready to start his day.

So. Yeah. That’s been my life for the past 5 years.

And don’t tell me to go to bed early, or I swear to God! My evenings are the only time I have left to just be.

You get used to not sleeping.

You don’t, but you also do. You adapt.

Before I had kids, I never drank coffee. Then, I started drinking a small latte from time to time, just after a difficult night.

Fast forward to now, when I have two cappuccinos per day just to be able to function.

Between the cappuccinos and my random 20-minute afternoon naps, I thought I’d found my way to co-exist with my kids. I had it under control.

Until I didn’t.

I’ve been feeling completely wiped out lately.

I don’t know what it is; it’s like my need for sleep is starting to catch up with me. My body is saying, nope, nu-huh. Won’t do this shit anymore.

I’ve been non-productive, on edge, and even had a few panic attacks. My natural positive outlook on life turned into perpetual grumpiness.

Most work tasks remained unfinished; deadlines got pushed further and further. I only wanted to watch TV and binge on sugar.

I couldn’t recognize myself. I missed my old me.

So, I decided to take radical action.

Why was I even a solopreneur if not to design my work schedule around what I needed most? In this case, it was sleep.

A story poured out of me.

For over a week now, I’ve been sleeping for 2 hours every afternoon.

I’d take the kids to preschool (thank God that started again; August was difficult), then work from 9.30 till about 1, have lunch, and go to bed. I’d put on my pajamas, shut the drapes, and sleep.

I’d sleep until 3 p.m. when I either wake up on my own, or my husband wakes me up.

After my first long nap, I woke up refreshed and happy. I thought I was good. Done with the sleepiness.

The following day, I was still tired. I went for another 2 hours nap. I woke up with an idea for a story that just poured out of me. I skipped the afternoon coffee and didn’t need the sugar.

Hm. Were all my troubles — moodiness, lack of creativity, lack of productivity — really sleep-related?

That’s when I decided to turn this into an experiment.

I wanted to know what happens when you prioritize sleep.

Whether you have kids or not, few people actually prioritize sleep. Other things seem either more important or more fun.

So what happened to me after I decided to sleep through half the afternoon? Even though it’s only been a week, the results are already amazing.

I stopped having panic attacks.

I haven’t had panic attacks in 13 years, but lately, they’re coming back, and they’re intense.

They’re the result of multiple factors, and I’m not going to get into it all now but sleep definitely helped reduce the tension.

Also, my rested mind gave me a few solutions to problems that my exhausted mind found unsolvable. For example —

I made a few key decisions.

My grandmother is in a dementia care facility.

It’s been a difficult few months. First, my mom tried to look after her, which proved impossible. Then, she was kicked out of two nursing homes for being aggressive.

While the current setup is literally the best we could’ve done for her, it’s not that great. The home is in average condition (putting it mildly), the staff is overworked, and the food can only be called suitable if you find yourself really hungry.

But no other place will take her, and we can’t look after her 24/7.

I’ve been driving myself crazy trying to go visit her as much as possible until I realized this is really beyond my control. I can’t make her life better. Sometimes, she even refuses to see me.

I wish I could do more for her, but I can’t. Making myself miserable by putting another emotionally charged task on my already full to-do list wasn’t helping me or my family.

My rested brain gave me the solution: go see her once a week. Some weeks, if you’re too busy, just don’t go. It’s okay. Doing your best doesn’t mean torturing yourself. Plus, there are other people who need you now.

This decision alone helped me breathe easier. Trust me, there’s a hidden genius inside of you — it just needs some rest to show up.

I handled failure better.

My writing output suffered the last few weeks, and so did my results.

My exhausted self started to panic.

Even though I knew that the slump in views, money, clients & subscribers was normal, considering the fact that I’d done less work, my brain started going into overload.

What if it’s over? What if you lost it? What if they changed the platform again?

Sleep woke me up for the truth. It was just a moment. Just a down on the way to another up. It meant nothing in the long game. All I had to do was keep showing up and keep improving.

That’s how you’re supposed to handle “failure.” If you can’t handle it that way, get some sleep and see if it helps.

I felt more in control of my choices.

I put on a few pounds this summer, and I’ve felt powerless in addressing that. I’d survive on sugar highs and laziness.

I haven’t lost any weight yet, but these days, I feel energetic. With energy came the power to control my choices, and I made much better ones.

I’d either skip the afternoon sugar binge or replace it with fruit. I’d do a little yoga or walk more.

The scale hasn’t moved, but my pants already fit better. And how funny that I found the time to exercise now, even though I “waste” two hours per day sleeping?

Just another proof that it’s not about time management; it’s about energy management.

I have a cleaner home.

Instead of passing out on the couch the moment I put the kids to bed, I started taking 20–30 minutes to “put my home to bed,” as I saw one mom influencer call it.

Spending some time cleaning up made a huge difference.

First, it set me up for success in the mornings. Second, it gave me a bit of mental space to think through my day and prepare for the next.

Don’t forget that our environments match our minds. When it’s clean around you, and you’re on top of what needs to be done, everything changes.

I became a better parent.

Don’t get me wrong, I still yell.

But I yell less and explain more. Sometimes, I let them do their silly kids' stuff because I’m okay with the fact that I’ll have to clean up after.

I’ve done the laundry so I can dress them up the way a mother should.

I’ve had a moment to think about meals so they eat better.

Little things matter. It’s those little things that build their big lives, and while I can’t get it all right, I can try for just a bit more.

Final words.

Let me end with a disclaimer.

Fatigue doesn’t always equal sleepiness. Sometimes, you just need a break.

Also, your brain is very good at dealing with sleep debt.

So this isn’t about me trying to get you to sleep 8 hours per day.

It also isn’t me trying to convince you that sleep is a magic pill that solves anything.

However, I would like to invite you to consider lack of sleep as a potential cause for your problems, especially if you know kids, work, health issues, or other stress-inducing factors have affected your sleep over months or years.

It’s easy to understand if that’s the problem. Go to bed this afternoon and see when you’ll wake up.

If you’re having trouble falling asleep or you wake up after 20 minutes feeling good, then you might be alright for sleep right now. Maybe you’re experiencing a different kind of fatigue you need to deal with.

But if you feel like you can sleep through the day, consider it a sign.

Help your brain help you.

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