Nearly half of the polled population of the US reports that they are sleep deprived. Look around you: every other person you can see is likely suffering from a lack of restful sleep. Part of this huge epidemic is due to the feeling of creeping anxiety* that is pounded into us at every opportunity, and part of it is the hustle-bro work ethic that says, “You can sleep when you’re dead.” Here’s the real scoop: your choice is actually “sleep or die.”

The Myth of Sleepless Success: Why the No-Sleep Hustle Hurts You

We love to think that sleep deprivation is a sign of Groggins-like grit; a badge of honor that says “I grind harder and longer than anyone, so my success is ensured.” It has become a flex of work-ethic bravado: “No one can outwork me. Just try to keep up!”

In 1976, Warren Zevon wrote “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” (his anthology is even titled I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon.) In 1993, Jon Bon Jovi released a song called “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” which helped cement the sentiment in the work/hustle vernacular. But the cultural mindset behind it (that rest is a luxury, work is paramount) existed in American life even earlier, as a product of the “workaholic” concept that came from the post-WWII productivity boom.

The most successful and well known titans of industry personally report a different story:

Elon Musk has stated that he gets about six hours of sleep per night, and later told Joe Rogan: “I tried sleeping less, but…total productivity decreases.”

Jeff Bezos’s approach aligns more closely with “rest as resource” than “rest as sacrifice.” He has said, “I get eight hours of sleep, I prioritize it… I think better, I have better energy. My mood is better.” He schedules his most mentally challenging meetings earlier in the day and tries to stop demanding decisions by late afternoon because his mental sharpness fades: “By 5 pm, I can’t think about that today… Let’s try this again at 10 tomorrow.”

Mark Zuckerberg has stated he aims for about eight hours of sleep per night, and uses tracking tools (like an Oura Ring) and smart-mattress technologies to monitor his rest. He told Forbes in 2023: “I don’t stay up super late at night … I aim for eight hours.” His “tech-enabled rest” model: shows how to use simple habit structures and monitoring tools to optimize rest.

So the reality of those who actually live the ultra-successful lifestyle is much different from the “grind and hustle” culture. The myth may be, “You can sleep when you’re dead,” but the reality is: “You thrive when you sleep while you’re alive.”

The Science of Sleep Deprivation: How Your Body and Brain Pay the Price

Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. Extended periods of sleep deprivation, in terms of quantity or quality, is physically and mentally harmful.

Even short periods of poor sleep increase your risk of reduced cognitive function, emotional instability, and long-term health risks. As the sleep deprivation increases, so do the inevitable injuries to your mind and body.

Taken to extremes, your mind will take over in a self-protective attempt to save you: after a number of hours without sleep, you will start to dream while you’re awake, a sort of protective hallucination called REM pressure. Nobody really knows why we are built so that we have to sleep to survive, but we are well-versed in what happens when we don’t.

And the “sleep or die” title isn’t mere hyperbole: extended sleep deprivation eventually leads to

- Severe metabolic dysregulation

- Immune system collapse
- Massive weight loss despite increased food intake
- Ulcers and skin lesions
- Hypothermia, and 
- Organ dysfunction.

There is a (thankfully) rare condition called Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) that progresses ruthlessly from progressive insomnia to a total inability to sleep. The patient suffers from autonomic failure (blood pressure spikes, sweating, heart stress), hallucinations (the REM pressure we talked about), total cognitive collapse, and an immune system breakdown.

Death typically ensues within 7–36 months after onset of symptoms.

Perhaps the word, “grind” is appropriate here, as energy drink-fueled orgies of work with minimal sleep definitely grind away your health, in every respect.

And it’s not a matter of sacrificing rest for the good of your business; as Elon Musk noted, productivity declines sharply when you are ill-rested.

Why Lack of Sleep Is Killing Your Productivity

We have known for some time that there is an inverse relationship between productivity and bad sleep.

In a quasi-experiment of novice software developers, one night of sleep deprivation led to a reduction of 50% in the quality of the code implemented.

A RAND study estimated that chronic insomnia results in the U.S. losing ~$200 billion per year in productivity and lost economic output.

A Sleep Foundation study found that 40% of respondents reported being impatient at work; 27% found it hard to concentrate; 20% reported lower productivity than expected — all tied to poor sleep.

Studies of daily-workplace functioning repeatedly come to the same conclusions: 

Sleep deprivation reduces focus, attention, and vigilance.
It increases errors and omissions — relevant for high-stakes creative/counseling work.

The idea of working more to catch up after sleeping less actually becomes a vicious cycle (sacrifice sleep → lower productivity → more hours → less sleep).


Even in the purely physical realm, sleep is an essential ingredient. Bodybuilders have known for a long time that sleep is as important as protein if you want to make gains.

In short, from building muscles to building an empire, sleep is your friend.

How to Improve Your Sleep and Boost Your Performance

Here are some pro-tips on improving your sleep:

1. Stay away from artificial substances designed to help you sleep.

Drugs advertised as “sleep aids” (prescription or over-the-counter) are notorious for knocking you out as promised, but the quality of sleep is progressively abysmal. Soon, you may feel worse even though you are going to sleep faster. And by all mans, avoid the trap of thinking that more of those drugs will equate to better sleep. This line of thought is erroneous and dangerous. Many prescription meds are addictive and don’t help natural, restful sleep.

If you want to try THC/CBD/melatonin, go for it; but as with all things, don’t overdo it.

2. Practice sleep hygiene.

First, the obvious: stop doing stimulants. Yes, that includes caffeine, the world’s most often-used psychoactive substance. If you are using something stronger, you already know that shit is bad for you. Just stop.

Give yourself a few days to let your brain reset (and no, that pounding headache won’t kill you; it’s just your neurotransmitters rearranging blood vessels as they normalize).

Get up in the morning (like before 9…) Yes, you may be tired. Sleeping in won’t help you establish a normal circadian rhythm.

When you get up, get in the sunlight if you can. Get some exercise.

Don’t nap. The goal is to be tired enough to actually sleep. At night. At a normal hour.

Here is something you may not have heard: the time of your sleep also matters. Eight hours from 10 PM to 6 AM is better than 8 hours from 3 AM to 11 AM.

Use your bedroom for sleeping and sex. Period. Condition yourself to sleep where sleeping happens; don’t watch TV, surf the ‘Net, eat, or do anything else in bed.

Speaking of watching screens, stop looking at electronic devices (yes, all of them) at least 2 hours before sleep. Blue blockers don’t count.

Stop drinking liquids of any sort at least 1-2 hours before bed. Getting up to pee should be kept to a minimum.

Speaking of drinking, alcohol will most definitely NOT improve your sleep. Don’t use it as a tranquilizer. Passing out is not the same as going to sleep.

There’s more, but sticking to just these for a couple of weeks will make a difference. And be prepared for it to absolutely suck for the first few days; it takes a while to undo the bad habits you may have gotten into.

3. Get enough exercise.

When you feel sleepy because you actually pulled your butt out of bed at a decent hour—even if you aren’t yet sleeping well—go take a walk. No, you won’t “feel like it.” Yes, it will rapidly start to improve your sleep.

And in general, do the exercise you are able to do, for all of the reasons you already know about (I’m a mentor, not your mom).

4. Take anxiety seriously*.

If you are plagued with anxiety, deal with it. It’s not normal to go around feeling like something is coming to get you. How you “deal with it” is an entirely different subject that we can investigate further. You might want to start with my eBook on the topic*.

5. Look into (naturally) induced altered states of consciousness.

Hypnosis is the all-time mack-daddy, no side effects GOAT of treating insomnia. “Sleep” is in the name. Find a good, professionally-trained (my advice is someone who is trained in clinical psychology, just in case there is something else you need to deal with) hypnotherapist with sound experience.

Meditation/prayer/visualization and many other modalities are available to you. Experiment.

6. In cases where sleep is disrupted (schedule changes, jet lag, etc.) try non-sleep deep rest (NSDR)/Yoga Nidra.

Easy peasy: go to YouTube, type in NSDR or Yoga Nidra. Try it out. Don’t use it as a substitute for all of the above.

Sleep or Die

Try it for yourself: prioritize your sleep by doing the tips in this section for 30 days and see how you feel. Trust me; it’s worth it.

None of my advice is a substitute for competent personal guidance from an experienced professional, of course. Check with the practitioner of your choice before making decisions about diet and substances (prescribed or otherwise), if you feel it necessary.

Sleep or Die

Whether “death” is taken metaphorically, as in the death of your quality of life and productivity, or—in the extreme case—actual physical death, forced insomnia is for losers, in the most profound sense.



My novel, The Calling is now available in print and as an eBook!

*Get my FREE guide, Five Ways to Calm Anxiety NOW! (just click this link)!


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To learn more about how to use these concepts or to inquire about working with me, go to the Jeff W Welsh website, subscribe to my Substack or Medium accounts or the Hardcore Happiness blog page, and follow my Instagram account for daily insights.




- JWW