Launching a business takes laser focus and gritty perseverance as entrepreneurs devote massive amounts of time to their ventures. It’s a lot of stress.
New research by an Arizona State University professor found that convincing entrepreneurs to devote time to exercising can result in lower stress levels for them.
Christopher Neck, an associate professor of management and entrepreneurship in the W. P. Carey School of Business, with two co-authorsThe co-authors were Michael Goldsby of Ball State University and Donald Kuratko of Indiana University., surveyed 472 small-business owners on how much they exercised, what type of exercise they did, their stress levels and job satisfaction. They also asked about personality traits.
“At the big-picture level, it validates what we thought — rigorous and high-intensity exercise can reduce job stress and, in turn, increase job satisfaction,” Neck said.
“That’s a very important finding.”
In addition, the analysis, published in the Journal of Leadership and Management, found that entrepreneurs whose personalities are more “open” and “agreeable” find more stress-busting benefits from exercise, he said.
Christopher Neck
Neck said he will further study the issue.
“Exercise is important to me, but I question from a pragmatic standpoint whether the exercise has to be rigorous and high intensity,” he said. “If you say, ‘Hey, you have to exercise two hours a day,’ that’s adding stress all on its own.”
Recent medical research has shown that shorter exercise periods that are more consistent over the week can be beneficial.
“I think that would provide a more practical recommendation to an entrepreneur,” he said.
Neck previously researched the impact of exercise on corporate managerial performance, using data from a big fitness center in Dallas.
“The idea of looking at entrepreneurs was a big void in that line of research, and that’s not surprising because the field of entrepreneurship as an academic field of discipline is relatively new,” he said.
Neck said that media attention on the most famous entrepreneurs doesn’t show a healthy lifestyle, and he wants to further study that.
“My whole crux is exercise, and the second thing is the impact of diet on entrepreneurial performance, longevity and stress,” he said.
“And the third thing is sleep. In the entrepreneurial world you say, ‘I stayed up for three weeks straight working on this project.’
“With our next generation of entrepreneurs that we’re training, do we really want them trained in the myth that you work 24 hours a day, don’t pay attention to diet and don’t sleep?”
That research will have practical applications, he said.
“I get a lot of personal satisfaction in research things that have personal applications to any entrepreneur, whether you’re running Apple or you’re a student with $500 thinking, ‘How can I start a business?’”
Entrepreneurship + Innovation will showcase the top ASU-affiliated ventures at Demo Day on Friday at 1951 @ ASU SkySong, 1475 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Student, staff, faculty and community members will pitch their ventures in several categories as they compete for more than $250,000 in funding and support. The event is free and open to the public.
Top image by Pixabay
More Health and medicine
10 companies, 5 nations, 1 accelerator: A wide range of innovative health care solutions
The 10 companies participating in the 2025 Mayo Clinic and ASU MedTech Accelerator program hail from five different nations and are the first cohort to have representation from life science companies…
'Incredible milestone': ASU, city of Phoenix announce location for ASU Health headquarters
Citing the need for a “new way” of doing things, Arizona State University President Michael Crow said that the headquarters for ASU Health will be the hub of the university’s efforts to improve…
Have a health question? This newsletter is for you
You sprain a knee while playing basketball. Your stomach hurts all the time. You keep getting bad headaches.What’s the first thing you do, besides making a doctor’s appointment?If you’re like most…