Is this a sustainable business model? Let's sleep on it.

There’s a looming crisis. And it’s not global warming, or terrorism, or even really the economy – although that plays into it a bit. This crisis is something we’re bringing upon ourselves: Stress.

Only one out of three Americans say that they’ve gotten enough sleep in the last month, according to a recent CDC report. The press release lays some of the blame on “busy schedules and shift work.”

Our friends to the North are in the same boat. A recently published study, called Sleep Patterns of Canadians, finds that “overall, the more we work, the less we sleep.”

The New York Times ran a story a while ago on the stressful nature of business blogging (In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Til They Drop), which cited the recent possibly-stress-related deaths of two prominent bloggers and the survived heart attack of a third.

And Alex Iskold at the Read Write Web believes that stress will be a constant part of our future. Not particularly uplifting reading.

So what should we do?

Take a vacation? Even though the Federal Reserve Board in their recent Beige Book summary finds that tourism is just about the only area of the economy that hasn’t sagged, I’m not sure that’ll hold for much longer. Gas prices plus airline woes probably won’t make travel an overly attractive option for many folks.

So we’re stuck at work. Reading a bleak blog post about the economy and stress. But maybe the initial panic response to all of this overwhelming stuff isn’t the appropriate response. Maybe instead of ramping up our activities in the face of uncertainty, we should sit back a little. Take it slow.

First, take a nap. Then slowly start to think about incorporating all of this into a business strategy. Relying on overworked and stressed-out employees will not get your business through hard economic times, nor will panic, but a well-reasoned strategy might.

You can find some guidance on creating a business strategy and taking things one goal at a time with these articles from the Biz Info Library. But take your time checking them out. There’s no rush.