Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you want to know about Sleep Again and sleep strategies for entrepreneurs.
About the Book
What is Sleep Again about?
Sleep Again is a practical guide for entrepreneurs who struggle with sleep. It covers the science of sleep, lifestyle habits that affect rest, mental strategies for calming a racing mind, and a toolkit of proven sleep improvements. The book draws on my 20 years of founding companies and interviews with dozens of founders who share the same challenges.
Who is Sleep Again for?
The book is written for entrepreneurs, startup founders, and business builders who have sacrificed sleep for their work and want to reclaim it. If you wake up at 3am with your mind racing about a product launch, a fundraise, or a team problem, this book was written for you. It also applies to anyone in high-pressure roles where the mind doesn't switch off at night.
How is Sleep Again different from other sleep books?
Most sleep books are written by scientists or doctors for a general audience. Sleep Again is written by a founder for founders. It addresses the specific challenges of entrepreneurial life: fundraising stress, decision fatigue, irregular schedules, overtraining, and the guilt of resting when there's work to do. It combines sleep science with first-person experience from 20 years of building companies.
Is Sleep Again based on science?
Yes. The book includes 87 endnotes referencing peer-reviewed studies, books by researchers like Matthew Walker and Peter Attia, and data from institutions like the CDC and the National Sleep Foundation. The science is presented in plain language and connected to real-world situations that founders actually face.
When does Sleep Again launch?
Sleep Again launches on April 9, 2026. It will be available as an ebook and paperback. You can join the waitlist at the top of this page to get notified on launch day.
Where can I buy Sleep Again?
Sleep Again will be available on Amazon as both an ebook and paperback starting April 9, 2026. A hardcover edition will also be available through select retailers. Join the waitlist to be notified the moment it goes live.
How long is Sleep Again?
Sleep Again is approximately 54,000 words across 27 chapters organized in 6 parts. It covers understanding sleep, sleep science, lifestyle habits, mental strategies, a practical sleep toolkit, and the road ahead. The audiobook version runs about 4 hours.
About the Author
Who is Joakim Achrén?
I'm a Finnish entrepreneur who has been founding companies for 20 years and investing in startups for 6 years. I'm also the author of The Long-Term Game: How to Build a Company. After years of battling poor sleep while running companies, I spent several years researching sleep science and experimenting with strategies that work within the demanding founder lifestyle.
Why did you write a sleep book?
I experienced years of early-morning insomnia triggered by the stress of building and investing in companies. Generic sleep advice didn't address the unique pressures of entrepreneurship. I spent years researching the science and testing strategies on myself. Sleep Again is the book I wished existed when I was lying awake at 4am wondering why I couldn't turn my brain off.
Sleep Strategies for Entrepreneurs
Why do entrepreneurs struggle with sleep?
Entrepreneurs face a unique combination of sleep disruptors: financial uncertainty that triggers cortisol spikes, decision fatigue that keeps the brain active at night, irregular schedules from travel and meetings, and a culture that glorifies hustle over rest. Fundraising is one of the worst triggers. Multiple founders I interviewed describe their worst sleep happening during funding rounds, when the mind cycles through scenarios all night long.
What is the best sleep book for entrepreneurs?
Sleep Again is the only sleep book written specifically for entrepreneurs and startup founders. While books like Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker cover the science comprehensively, and The Sleep Solution by Chris Winter offers clinical strategies, Sleep Again is the only one that addresses founder-specific challenges like fundraising stress, overtraining, and the mental load of building a company. It pairs the science with practical strategies tested in the real world of startups.
What is the Mental Bouncer Technique?
The Mental Bouncer Technique is a visualization method I developed for falling back asleep when your mind is racing. You imagine yourself as a bouncer clearing a room. Each thought that enters your mind is treated as a separate entity that you escort out. The goal is to maintain a clear mental space. You stay alert to new thoughts trying to sneak in and gently but firmly push them out. Combined with slow 4-7-8 breathing, this technique has consistently helped me fall back asleep during 3am and 5am wake-ups.
How can founders improve sleep without sacrificing productivity?
The book covers several strategies that improve sleep while maintaining or increasing output. These include matching your work schedule to your chronotype (Lion, Bear, Wolf, or Dolphin), building a 30-minute wind-down routine before bed, shifting workouts to mid-morning instead of early morning, and front-loading hydration earlier in the day. Many founders I interviewed report that sleeping 7 to 8 hours actually made them more productive, not less.
Does exercise hurt or help entrepreneur sleep?
Both. Regular moderate exercise improves sleep quality, but overtraining is one of the most common hidden causes of insomnia among founders. Heavy lifting on consecutive days spikes cortisol and can cause 4am wake-ups that last for weeks. The book covers how to restructure workouts for better sleep: keeping intense efforts under 30 seconds, taking 2-minute rest periods between sets, and capping sessions at 45 minutes. Workout timing also matters. Shifting from 6am to 9:30am made an immediate difference for me.
How does fundraising affect sleep?
Fundraising is consistently described as the worst sleep period by founders I interviewed. The financial uncertainty triggers cortisol, and the mind cycles through pitch scenarios, investor meetings, and worst-case outcomes all night. One founder reported sleeping only 2 to 3 hours per night during a critical funding period, which eventually led to burnout and medical leave. The book addresses fundraising stress specifically, with strategies for managing anticipatory anxiety and breaking the cycle of nighttime rumination.
What is the best sleep setup for under $50?
My recommended budget sleep setup: blackout curtains (around $20), a quality sleep mask ($10 to $15), foam earplugs ($5), and a basic HEPA air purifier ($20 to $25). These four items address the fundamentals of darkness, noise, and air quality. They outperform expensive gadgets because they solve the most common environmental sleep disruptors. You don't need a $3,000 smart mattress to sleep well.
What are sleep chronotypes and why do they matter for founders?
Sleep chronotypes describe your biological preference for when you feel most alert and when you naturally want to sleep. The four types are Lion (early riser, peaks in the morning), Bear (follows the solar cycle, peaks mid-morning), Wolf (evening person, peaks in late afternoon), and Dolphin (light sleeper, variable peaks). Your chronotype is largely genetic, influenced by the PER3 gene. For founders, understanding your chronotype means you can schedule deep work, meetings, and exercise at times that match your biology instead of fighting it.
Does Sleep Again cover caffeine and alcohol?
Yes. The Food and Sleep chapter covers how caffeine blocks adenosine receptors and why a 90-minute delay after waking before your first coffee works better than drinking it immediately. It also covers how alcohol damages sleep architecture by suppressing REM and disrupting deep sleep, even when it feels like it helps you fall asleep. The book includes a specific protocol for minimizing alcohol's impact when you do choose to drink.
Coming April 9th, 2026
Get notified when Sleep Again launches.