The Billion-Dollar Reason You Should Get More Sleep No rest is bad for business.

By Nina Zipkin

graphicstock

A team of researchers from UC Berkeley earlier this summer published a study that found not getting enough sleep led to a state they described as "viral loneliness."

"We humans are a social species. Yet sleep deprivation can turn us into social lepers," explained Matthew Walker, the study's senior author and a psychology and neuroscience professor, in a release about the findings. "The less sleep you get, the less you want to socially interact. In turn, other people perceive you as more socially repulsive, further increasing the grave social-isolation impact of sleep loss."

It makes sense that being sleep deprived leads to feeling socially adrift, but if you're still trying to convince yourself that you're not sleeping to spend more time on your business, we have some unfortunate news for you.

Related: Neurons in Your Brain Wake You Up and 16 Other Unexpected Things That Are Stealing Your Sleep

According to a recent study conducted by think tank The Rand Corporation, it turns out that the United States loses up to $411 billion a year because of a sleep-deprived workforce. The U.S. leads the pack with this figure globally, followed by Japan with $138 billion lost a year, although the study authors noted that the U.S. was out in front due in part to the size of the country's economy.

Not only that, but the U.S. also loses an equivalent of 1.23 million working days due to insufficient sleep. In terms of lost work time, the U.S. is followed by Japan with an average 604,000 working days lost annually, Germany at 209,000, the U.K. at 207,000 and Canada at 78,000.

So let that be a lesson. If you want to earn more and have a better social life, get some sleep.

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

Costco Is Now Offering an Additional Exclusive Perk to Members in All 50 States

Members can now access discounted outpatient medical care through a partnership with healthcare startup Sesame.

Business News

8 People Hospitalized on JetBlue Flight Headed to Florida Due to Turbulence

The turbulent conditions occurred near Jamaica on a flight coming from Ecuador.

Starting a Business

'There Is No Success Without Failure': How to Turn a Pitch Meeting Setback Into Success

On the new episode of "Fix My Pitch," business coaches Anthony Sullivan and Tina Frey explain how to reboot yourself when a meeting doesn't go your way.

Marketing

If You're Going to Be a Guest on a Podcast, Don't Make These 4 Mistakes — They Could Cost You Leads.

Many entrepreneurs are using podcast guesting as their go-to marketing strategy. If it hasn't quite worked for you yet, check if you are making any of these four mistakes.

Business Plans

10 Simple Tips to Write a Successful Business Plan

In the new book "Write Your Own Business Plan," business expert Eric Butow takes the anxiety and confusion out of planning and offers an easy-to-follow roadmap to success.

Business News

These Are the Most (And Least) Happy States in the U.S. 2023, According to a New Report

Utah was found to be the happiest state in the country, while West Virginia was the least.