Why Sleep is the Most Important Thing You Can Do for Your Health

So, how are you sleeping?

Think about asking this instead of “How are you?” the next time you check in on your family, friends, and even teammates…

I know it sounds personal, but isn’t that the point?

We are all so busy — scanning, skimming, and scrolling mindlessly — that asking the obligatory, “how are you feeling” feels flat, no?

I lived most of my life until 5 years ago not feeling the need for a lot of rest or sleep.

In fact, hearing from people I am high energy and personally feeling like I have a direct connection to sourced energy helped me in my days of playing football to standing on stage for days at a time.

Oftentimes, I would even laugh at people telling me I needed more than 4–6 hours a night.

And then I watched this and read that from Matt Walker.

Mind = Blown.

The TLDR: Sleep is possibly the most important thing we can do for our physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as our creativity.

1. Sleep is an essential aspect of overall physical and mental health, and it is even more important than diet and exercise.
2. Humans experience a significant amount of REM sleep in comparison to other animals, which helps to fine-tune our emotional circuits and boost creativity.
3. While it may become more challenging to get quality sleep as we age, it remains just as crucial. In addition, sleep plays a vital role in learning and memory consolidation, as it helps to free up space in the brain for new information and aids in the retention of new memories.
4. It is not possible to compensate for lack of sleep by catching up on it at a later time.”

So what have I done with this information since?

1. Oura Ring to track my sleep and be my accountability partner. The data captured is really helpful.
2. Blue light blockers — they look weird, but this has helped give my eyes a break from that pesky blue light from our screens.
3. Gravity Blanket — I love the weight and find that with this, I am able to get into sleep mode quickly!

To be clear, I am not a doctor, but I have spent the past 20+ years optimizing for my health, performance, and longevity.

I am positive this is not a one-size-fits-all moment, but it could be. And let’s be honest, if we are only as good at our decisions and know that driving sleepy is worse than driving drunk, then what are we doing, folks?

What are your best sleeping hacks, tips, or tricks?