How to Avoid Entrepreneur Overload As an entrepreneur, you're probably either slightly frazzled, mildly frayed or full-on exhausted.

Overwork went straight to Douglas Heddings' back. The founder of Heddings Property Group in New York City, Heddings has suffered from chronic stress-related back pain for more than a decade. Even as he recuperated from spine surgery, the pace didn't let up. His inbox filled at the rate of 50 e-mails per hour. The back problem "has a great deal to do with the fact that I feel I have to be on call 24/7," Heddings says.

"This is not good for my mental and physical well-being."

Researchers agree. Frequent long hours can increase stress and touch off a host of health hazards, including insomnia and high blood pressure. Poor decision-making starts to creep in. And unlike your laptop, your system doesn't have an internal fan to cool it down.