Since it takes ages for my character to wake it from a good sleep I tend to often just walk away from the computer to get something to eat and/or play some other game while waiting. That is usually my solution.
I have Discord open on my second monitor, so I shift my focus to the ongoing conversation while my character is sleeping, reading or crafting an item. That said, these actions aren’t that long, they only last a few seconds at worst.
You may want to pay attention to the game in case your character suddenly starts feeling pain, gets thirsty, hungry, too hot or too cold; those will affect focus and morale negatively, so it may be worthwhile to stop for a second and readjust.
I also stop when I get Tired so I can get a good night’s sleep. Generally I don’t think any prolonged action in this game can just be safely left alone like that. Maybe I’m just paranoid.
Aye, my character just took 50 heat damage to one leg, and about 30 damage to every other part, while cooking for 10 minutes (in-game time). Definitely pays to pay attention.
If it’s taking long enough to be a problem, a bug report with a save so the performance problems can be found is always appreciated.