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When I was at my most anxious,
I never prioritized sleep.
I took it for granted, and the results were shocking:
- Anxiety and depression
- Productivity at an all-time low
- Poor quality food choices
- Easily triggered by friends and family
- A continuous state of feeling overwhelmed
- Avoiding social interactions, preferring to be alone
Sleep is the root cause of how we feel.
Poor quality sleep leads to us reaching for caffeine, creating a false state of energy because we feel so tired all the time.
We rely on external sources of energy to prop us up.
The more caffeine we consume, the worse our sleep becomes, perpetuating a vicious cycle.
Over the past few years, I’ve made small adjustments to build good sleeping habits and break bad ones.
Making 1% changes might not seem particularly notable; sometimes, it isn't even noticeable.
However, if you improve by just 1% each day for a year, you'll end up 37 times better by the time you're done. Tiny changes can lead to remarkable results.
Here are the 1% changes that have worked for me. Feel free to try them one at a time and see if they help. Remember, what works for you might be different:
- Using a Whoop Band to track sleep stages. "What gets measured, gets managed."
- Wearing a sleep mask.
- No food or liquid after 7 pm.
- A brisk walk after the last meal of the day to help manage blood glucose and insulin (discovered after trialling Zoe)
- No caffeine after midday
- No alcohol from Monday to Friday. If I have alcohol on Saturday, I know it affects my sleep and next-day performance
- Using f.lux to auto-optimize screen colors and brightness
- No phones or tech after 8 pm
- A 5–10 minute meditation before bed
- In bed by 10 pm (this is my optimal window; everyone is different)
- 7g of Hypnos Sleep Hot Chocolate two hours before bed
- A deep wave sound machine
Adding Hypnos to your routine is beneficial, but I thought these additional ideas could also be valuable.
Reliable, high-quality sleep is achievable.
Let me know what you are doing or testing at the moment.
Love and sweet dreams,
Chris Xx
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