Tired people become more socially withdrawn because so much of their energy goes into simply keeping themselves going. And yet we live in a society that values productivity more than recovery. Our athletes are overtrained and under-recovered. Our workforce is exhausted and unproductive. How did we forget how to rest?
I've spent a lot of time thinking about this question while also working on optimising my own sleep over several months. The result? I no longer need holidays just to recover. Instead, I go on holiday to enjoy myself and explore the world. Sounds great, doesn't it? But getting there hasn't been easy, and even now, my choices sometimes meet with resistance from the people around me.
If you also feel that sleep matters to you and would like to improve its quality, here are a few ideas to help you get started.
«You're missing out on life!»
When I go out in the evening, which admittedly doesn't happen very often, I'm usually the first one who wants to head home. Partly because, after a certain point, I become overstimulated. But also because my sleep matters to me. That's when I hear comments like: «You really don't know how to stay out late!» or «But you're missing out on life!»
I don't understand that. For me, sleep and recovery are just as much a part of life as going out. What's more, I often dream about things at night that I could never experience otherwise. For example, that I can breathe underwater (pretty cool, actually). My dreams are therefore a fascinating and valuable resource to me, as they offer the most direct access to my unconscious mind. But more on that another t
Since my daughter was born, I've got into the habit of falling asleep with her in the evening. My whole sleep schedule has shifted as a result. It's not unusual for me to be asleep by 8.30 pm. So, what difference has this made?
I'm clear-headed and focused: I have much more energy throughout the day and can direct it towards what I want and need to do. Since making this change, I've been reaching my goals more quickly.
I feel rested in everyday life: I rarely need weekends, holidays or time off to recover from the demanding workload of running two businesses and my responsibilities as a mother.
I rarely get ill: For example, I can't remember being ill at all this year.
Overall, I believe that getting good, consistent sleep has made me much happier, even though I recognise that my happiness depends on many other factors, too. But I do believe that good sleep gives me a much stronger foundation for every single day than I'd have without it. Because:
Tired people become more socially withdrawn because so much of their energy goes into simply keeping themselves going. And yet we live in a society that values productivity more than recovery. Our athletes are overtrained and under-recovered. Our workforce is exhausted and therefore unproductive. How did we forget how to rest?
There are many ways to recharge. In my view, sleep is the one that has the greatest impact on your health and energy levels.
What does good sleep do for you?
Good, consistent sleep offers numerous benefits for both your physical and mental health. Here are some of the most important psychological benefits:
Concentration and attention: Sleep improves your ability to focus and work efficiently.
Memory and learning: During sleep, your brain consolidates new information and strengthens your ability to solve problems.
Creativity: Good sleep supports creative thinking and helps you develop new ideas.
Mood and emotional stability: Sleep helps regulate emotional responses and can alleviate anxiety and depression.
Stress management: Getting enough sleep makes you more resilient to stress and helps you stay calm, partly by reducing cortisol levels.
Good sleep also offers numerous physical benefits. Here are some of them:
A stronger immune system: During sleep, your body produces cytokines, which play an important role in fighting infections and inflammation.
Heart health: Sleep deprivation can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
Hormonal regulation: Sleep helps maintain hormonal balance, including insulin and stress hormones, and influences your metabolism.
Muscle and tissue repair: During deep sleep, muscles recover and tissue regenerates.
Endurance and physical fitness: Sleep supports athletic performance by reducing recovery time and improving coordination.
Appetite regulation: Sleep deprivation can disrupt the balance between ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and leptin (the satiety hormone), potentially increasing cravings.
Studies show that people who enjoy regular, high-quality sleep tend to live longer and have a lower risk of chronic disease. Consistent sleep is therefore a fundamental pillar of health, wellbeing and performance. Making sleep a priority should be an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.
So, hopefully by now we're all in agreement that sleep matters. But how can you optimise yours?
Analyse your sleep and challenge your assumptions about it
My first step was to analyse my sleep patterns and understand my habits so I could make targeted changes. So I started tracking my sleep using a WHOOP wearable. However, sleep tracking has several advantages as well as drawbacks that you should be aware of.
The biggest benefit is the ability to analyse sleep patterns in detail and develop a better understanding of your sleep quality. This can help you make targeted changes to your habits, for example by adjusting your diet, exercise routine or evening rituals. Linking sleep data to recovery is particularly useful. For instance, measuring heart rate variability (HRV) can provide insights that allow for more personalised recommendations. Wearables can also flag patterns such as persistently poor sleep, potentially drawing attention to underlying health issues.
However, it's important to keep the limitations of this technology in mind. The data is often based on heart rate and movement, which means that sleep stages and specific conditions such as sleep apnoea may not always be detected accurately. Constantly checking your results can also cause stress, particularly when your sleep is labelled as «not good enough».
Repeatedly monitoring your sleep data can even lead to sleep-related anxiety, sometimes referred to as «orthosomnia»: the fear of not getting enough good-quality sleep. Focusing too heavily on the numbers can also undermine your intuition about your own wellbeing. Data privacy and the cost of wearable devices are further potential drawbacks worth considering.
Overall, sleep tracking can be useful when it serves as a tool for improving habits and supporting your health, as long as you avoid perfectionism or becoming overly reliant on it. Ultimately, what matters most is how rested you actually feel.
When I first decided to use a tracker, I made a promise to myself: how I felt about the quality of my sleep, or the intensity and frequency of my training, would always matter more than what my tracker told me.
After around two years of tracking, I managed to optimise my sleep. Not to achieve 100% scores, but to feel better. My WHOOP helps me question assumptions such as «I sleep eight hours a night». I've come to realise that we often confuse the number of hours we spend in bed with the amount of time we actually spend asleep.
Here you can see my stats: for the first time, I managed to achieve a six-month average of 100%.
My tracker also helps me stay consistent. The six-month trends, in particular, show me how my habits are changing in practice.
You can, of course, analyse your sleep without a tracker. For example, you could keep a record of when you go to bed and get up, how well you feel you've slept and whether you wake up feeling rested. It's also worth tracking your daytime habits, particularly what you eat in the evening, whether you've had a mentally demanding day and how much screen time you've had. My recommendation is to observe your sleep and routines as objectively as possible, without making assumptions. This will help you recognise patterns and make targeted changes.
Small steps towards a better quality of life
Once you understand your patterns, you can gradually introduce new habits. It's often best to start small, build new routines into your everyday life and stick with them consistently if you find they do you good. For more on this, see Atomic Habits by James Clear. Here are some areas you could focus on:
1. Sleep hygiene
Consistent sleep schedule: Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including at weekends.
Find your ideal sleep duration: Work out how many hours of sleep you need to feel rested.
Develop bedtime rituals: Activities such as reading, meditation or a warm bath can help prepare your body for sleep.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol: Caffeine in the afternoon and alcohol before bedtime can disrupt your sleep architecture.
2. Lifestyle
Regular exercise: Physical activity can improve sleep quality, but try not to exercise too late in the evening, as this may leave you overstimulated.
Balanced diet: Avoid heavy, fatty meals in the evening. Light snacks such as bananas or nuts may support better sleep.
Stay hydrated: Drink enough water throughout the day, but avoid drinking too much just before bed to reduce the likelihood of waking during the night.
3. Sleep environment
Darkness: A dark environment supports melatonin production. Blackout curtains or a sleep mask can help.
Quiet: Reduce noise, for example by using earplugs or a white noise machine.
Comfortable temperature: The ideal bedroom temperature for sleep is around 16–19°C.
A mattress and bedding that suit you: An ergonomic bed and breathable materials can make a significant difference to your comfort.
A screen-free zone: Reduce exposure to blue light from smartphones, tablets and televisions for at least an hour before bedtime.
4. Mental wellbeing
Stress management: Stress hormones such as cortisol can disrupt sleep. Relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga or breathing exercises can help.
Writing before bed: Jotting down your thoughts in a journal can help clear your mind.
Mindfulness and gratitude: Positive thoughts and a calming evening routine can help settle your mind.
Which of these approaches appeals to you?
I found it fascinating to observe how eating foods that are difficult to digest in the evening affects my sleep. I later learnt that digesting heavy meals puts enough strain on the body to raise both heart rate and body temperature. This can make it harder to enter the deep sleep and REM stages, which are essential for recovery.
Going to bed early also helps me. The hours I sleep before midnight seem to contribute more to my recovery than sleeping later into the morning. That's because deep sleep and REM sleep are particularly concentrated in the first few hours of sleep when I go to bed early. I also sleep noticeably better after an osteopathy session, when my body feels «back in balance».
What works best for you?
One important caveat: I'm not an expert in treating serious sleep disorders. If you're experiencing significant sleep problems, I recommend consulting a sleep specialist. I've explored sleep purely as part of my own personal development, so my findings may not necessarily apply to you.
Sleep: your underestimated superpower
I'm convinced that in a society where productivity is the ultimate measure of success, we've forgotten how to sleep well. We simply don't give it the importance it deserves. And stress has become a status symbol. Getting plenty of sleep and going to bed early are seen as uncool.
Personally, I love getting plenty of sleep. I admire people who want to live life to the fullest. When I'm well rested, I'm much more likely to achieve the things that matter to me. And even when I'm not trying to achieve anything, I feel more connected to myself.
«In the pursuit of constant optimisation, we mustn't forget to actually live our lives», someone rightly remarked recently during an interesting lunch discussion. Quite true. But here's the thing: my 100% sleep scores aren't about the statistics. They're about how much more myself I've become since finding my ideal sleep rhythm. And that feeling is unbeatable.
Sleep well!
