Why Better Sleep May Boost Productivity

Whether we like it or not, many of us have been influenced by “hustle culture”—the notion that being productive is the most important thing in life, and that it’s OK to ignore basic needs to get the job done.

One main tenet of hustle culture is that sacrificing sleep so that you can achieve your goals is a virtue. You’ve probably seen those social media influencers who brag about thriving on four hours of sleep a night, or who talk about how they begin their days at 3 a.m. and then list all the amazing things they get done at the crack of dawn.

The thing is—not only can sleep deprivation make us feel like crap—but it also actually makes us less productive, not more. Not only that, but sleep deprivation—and hustle culture in general—can have serious negative effects on our health, mental health, and overall well-being.

Common Myths About Sleep And Hustle Culture

• Less sleep = more productivity: Perhaps the most common myth about sleep and hustle culture is that needing less sleep somehow signifies that you are a more driven or productive person, says Raj Dasgupta, M.D., a quadruple board-certified physician and chief medical advisor for Sleepopolis. “People love to brag about running on four hours a night,” he says. “But that’s not a badge of honor; it’s a health risk.”
• Successful people only need a few hours of sleep to survive: “Cutting corners on rest might buy you a few extra hours in the day, but the cost is high: poor concentration, irritability, weakened immunity, and long-term damage to mental health,” says Sanam Hafeez, PsyD, a neuropsychologist and director of Comprehend the Mind. Most adults really do need seven to nine hours of sleep to function best, she shares.
• You can “catch up” on sleep over the weekend: “Sleep is not a bank,” Hafeez says. “You can’t accrue sleep debt during the week and expect to recover in a matter of days.” The truth is that your brain and body function most optimally on a more predictable schedule.
• Over-caffeinate yourself to push through sleep deprivation. “There’s a mythic halo around the 24-hour caffeine buzz of pulling an all-nighter as if it’s a rite of passage,” she says. But stimulants like caffeine only mask your exhaustion. “They don’t restore the brain’s ability to process information, regulate emotions, or make sound decisions,” says Hafeez.

How a Lack of Sleep Impacts Your Brain

“When you’re sleep-deprived, your brain just doesn’t fire the way it should,” says Dasgupta. “Focus drops, memory takes a hit, and decision-making slows down.” Additionally, you’re more likely to make mistakes at work or miss key details that otherwise would have been clear to you.

But sleep deprivation doesn’t just cause you to make mistakes, have trouble concentrating,  and make poor decisions. “One of the more obvious ways in which it affects our cognitive abilities is in the area of emotional regulation,” says Hafeez. When you’re sleep-deprived, you’re more emotionally reactive, plus less able to manage your stress. “This kind of emotional volatility can strain relationships, cloud judgment, and heighten workplace tension,” Hafeez describes.

Sleep deprivation—especially when it happens chronically—can also dull your creative thinking skills, make it harder for you to learn new things, and even decrease your self-awareness. “You might not realize how poorly you’re functioning—because your insight into your own performance is one of the first things to go,” Hafeez shares.

What Real Productivity Looks Like When Sleep Is Prioritized

On the flip side, “When you’re well-rested, your brain works better, plain and simple,” Dasgupta says. You experience greater focus, you can make good decisions, and you can solve complex problems faster and more thoroughly.

But guess what else? You actually get more done when you’ve spent more of your day sleeping. Sleeping isn’t lazy or a waste of time—it saves you time.

There are so many ways that your productivity benefits when sleep becomes a priority for you. Here are some of the other positive impacts sleep can have, according to Hafeez:

• Focus longer and with less mental fatigue
• Less procrastination
• Higher quality output in less time
• Better able to organize your tasks
• Better able to handle setbacks
• More able to work through frustration
• More likely to stay composed under pressure
• Better able to communicate with others
• Better able to work on a team
• More flexible when things don’t go according to plan
• Boosted creativity
• Better able to think strategically

All of this happens because when you sleep, your brain works better and gets restored. During sleep, your prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain that’s in charge of executive functioning tasks like decision making and planning—gets to reset and recharge itself. “If it can’t reset, you’re more likely to act impulsively, ignore key variables, or resort to rote solutions instead of devising creative ones,” says Hafeez.

Protecting Your Sleep

Dasgupta has worked with high-performing individuals, and he sees one common thread across the board. “A lot of the high performers I’ve worked with are really intentional about protecting their sleep,” he says. “That means keeping a regular bedtime, powering down screens at least an hour before bed, and saying no to late-night commitments that throw off their routine.”

Hafeez sees similar trends. Here are some of her tips, based on habits from top performers who prioritize their sleep:

• Set a clear “digital sunset,” which means turning off devices and stepping away from screens at least one before before bed
• Spend time reading, stretching, journaling, or simply being quiet rather than on your screens
• Create a sleep-inducing environment: Blackout curtains, noise machines, no phones in the bedroom, and cool room temperature
• Think of your bedroom the way an athlete thinks of their training space, ensuring it supports recovery
• Make sure to get enough daytime light
• Stay consistent even while traveling, keeping the same sleep and wake times—even across time zones, when possible

“One of the most consistent habits I see in high performers is that they guard their sleep the way others guard meetings or deadlines; it’s non-negotiable,” Hafeez says. In fact, these high performers build sleep into their schedule directly.