How to Get Better Sleep and Perform Better as a Business Owner

How to Get Better Sleep to Perform at Your Best

I was addicted to ZzzQuil.

For a little over a year, I struggled with chronic sleep apnea.

If you’ve ever struggled to sleep for several nights in a row, you know how this can affect your business and performance.

In fact, one study shows how just one night of bad sleep slows down the neurons firing in the prefrontal cortex,

inhibiting your brain’s ability to consider alternate solutions to problems.

Let me share my journey of learning just how to get better sleep, so you can sleep well and perform at your best, too.

For me, it started in 2017, while we lived in Colorado.

Even with a CPAP, I could not get more than 3-4 hours of sleep a night.

I would usually go 4 nights in a row like this until I finally crashed and slept through the night.

Then it would start over again.

It was complicated to work, because my mind was not sharp, not to mention the dangers of lack of sleep.

I researched for hours, looking for a solution other than a doctor prescribed medication.

The Mayo Clinic says that you may experience: depression, irritability, mood swings, or weight gain.

I didn’t want to get hooked on any medication.

So I tried ZzQuil, you know, because it’s not addictive. 😉

And I slept!

BUT THEN…

Shortly after that, we moved back home to Venice, FL and that’s when I realized that it was the elevation causing my sleep apnea!

Great right!? Now I can quit taking ZzQuil.

Nope.

If I didn’t take it, I wouldn’t be able to sleep.

This led to my next research project, how to kick ZzzQuil.

But first, I needed some data and what were the key data points I should be tracking?

From my research, a read a report from Rich Schefren

(from whom I also learned a great note saving automation that I’ve updated and plan to share with you all in another article).

He said he had tried all of the sleep trackers on the market and the best one he found was the OURA Ring, so I bought one.

And thanks to the data that the OURA Ring provided, I was able to kick my ZzQuil addiction, praise the Lord!

Here’s how…

It showed me the most important KPI’s to track and how to get it to where it needs to be for a great night’s rest, naturally.

The key KPI to track

The most influential key for me was to make sure my heart rate dropped to its lowest point within the first half of the night.

If I did this, I awoke rested and ready to conquer the day.

“Great! But how do I force my heart rate to drop, Steve?”

I’m glad you asked.

Here’s how to get your heart rate to drop within the first half of the night.

No snacking before bed. Don’t eat anything after 6:30 pm.

If you do, you’ll put your heart to work pumping more while your stomach is processing that food– therefore not allowing it to relax to its lowest point by the first half of the night.

If you eat late or have a heavy dinner, your heart rate won’t drop until late into the early morning leaving you groggy and tired when you wake up.

Side note, this includes alcohol. I don’t drink, but this is also a drastic cause of not getting a good night’s sleep, if you do. Just one drink can through your night off. Don’t drink.

No screen time before bed.

The onslaught of the unnatural barrage of colors blasting out from your phone or tablet screen triggers massive dopamine which is an addictive endless cycle within itself and must be stopped.

Because I work on my phone all day, I turn my iPhone on the black and white screen with 3 clicks of the home button.

After you check your phone 2 or 3 times and the screen is on black and white you break the habit of checking it because it’s not alluring to you anymore.

Elevate your heart rate for 25 minutes each day.

Here’s the big to-do that makes the most difference, and that’s elevating your heart rate to your target heart rate zone for just 25 minutes, in the morning, or at least within 6 hours of walking.

Just a 25-minute speed walk, light jog, or bike ride can achieve this for you.

I’ll share more on the incredible benefits for your brain of elevating your heart rate for 25 minutes in another article.

Quick recap:

Stop eating or snacking after dinner
Turn your phone to black and white or lock it away until morning and don’t touch it for at least 1 hour before bed
Make sure you elevate your heart rate for 25 minutes in the morning.

Have you ever struggled with sleep? What did you do to overcome?

I’d love to hear your story.

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About the Author

As many of you know, my journey has been one of grit, grace, and transformation. At 19, I was a high school dropout, single father, and struggling paint contractor in Michigan. I later moved to Florida, where I faced both personal and professional hardships. With nothing left to lose, I turned to prayer—and was blessed with a relentless hunger to learn. I devoured books, attended seminars, and discovered better ways to streamline and grow my business—even through the Great Recession (and yes, I did hit the wife lottery along the way!). In 2014, I published How To Double Your Business and later sold the painting business, launching a new chapter: coaching others to grow their businesses. For the past 10 years, I’ve dedicated myself to helping business owners scale through the DYB System, while also drawing from frameworks like EOS, Scaling Up, and The Four Disciplines of Execution. Yet something was still missing—something more adaptive, integrated, and complete. Then I found Pinnacle. After months of research and interviews with other Guides, I joined Pinnacle. Their tools and strategies have exceeded every expectation. Now, as a Pinnacle Business Guide, I help leadership teams implement a custom-tailored operating system that draws from the best in the industry—but flexes with your unique business. It’s a dynamic, proven approach to achieve clarity, momentum, and lasting growth. I’m no longer taking on any more 1:1 coaching clients… Instead, I now specialize in working with visionary business owners who are ready to get their leadership teams aligned—around a clear vision, a focused strategy, and an actionable execution plan. With the tools and process I now have as a Pinnacle Business Guide, I help turn alignment into momentum, and momentum into results. If your business is growing—but your leadership team isn’t fully rowing in the same direction—let’s talk.