What Nobody Tells You About Sleep

Hi friend,

There’s a lot going on in the world right now. Like, a lot a lot.

The start to 2025 has been nothing short of overwhelming - from the tragic LA fires to this week’s DC plane crash - there’s been plenty happening to crank the wheel of anxiety.

In times like these, it's easy to lose sleep.

We toss & turn, with our minds racing through news headlines, notifications, & other random-ass thoughts.

But here’s what I’m realizing: While we can't control the chaos around us, we can control how we restore ourselves.

How we restore ourselves begins with sleep. It’s the foundation.

Humans cannot live (well) without sleeping (well).

The good news?

You don't need a complete lifestyle overhaul to see significant progress.

Small, strategic tweaks to your daily habits can transform your sleep quality – and by extension, your entire life.

In today's newsletter, we're diving into sleep optimization.

Not because it's trendy, but because it's fundamental to everything else you care about – your health, your relationships, and your ability to show up fully in a world that desperately needs you at your best.

Let's begin.

Why Sleep Is Your Superpower

Standard recommendations say that most adults need 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night.

But here's what nobody tells you: it's not just about logging hours in bed.

As Dr. Casey Means explains in her book Good Energy, quality sleep rests on three pillars:

1. Sleep Quantity: The 7-9 hour recommendation isn’t arbitrary. Your body cycles through crucial repair processes, each needing its own time slot.

2. Sleep Quality: Uninterrupted sleep key to cycling through all four sleep stages effectively. The first two cycles are considered light sleep, while the back two are where the real magic happens. Deep sleep takes care of physical restoration, and REM sleep is where your brain gets to work - strengthening memory, & processing emotions. See this article for more.

3. Sleep Consistency: Think of sleep like meal timing – your body thrives on routine. Keeping a consistent bed time & wake time makes a huge difference for our metabolic health.

Here's what happens when you nail these three elements:

• Your Body Restores Itself: While you sleep, your body launches into an intricate repair sequence. Muscles rebuild, tissues strengthen, & toxins flush out.

• Your Brain Upgrades Itself: Quality sleep is like a mental tune-up. Thoughts sharpen, processing speeds up, and memories consolidate. Sometimes, solutions to yesterday’s problems can even appear by morning.

• Your Hormones Rebalance: Sleep is your body's reset button for hormone balance. When you sleep well, everything else falls into place – your energy, your mood, even your appetite. It's not just rest; it's rehabilitation.

But skip out on quality sleep? That's when things get interesting (and not in a good way):

• Your Metabolism Goes Rogue: Poor sleep throws your body into survival mode. It clings to fat, cranks up stress hormones, and makes digestion way less efficient.

• Your Mental Clarity Takes a Dive: Ever notice how everything feels harder after a bad night's sleep? That's because your brain is operating at half-capacity. In a CDC study from 2020, it was found that “Being awake for 17 hours is similar to having a BAC of 0.05%.”

• Here's a shocking fact: Research shows that nighttime artificial light exposure is linked to 70% of excessive body mass worldwide – even when controlling for food intake. Let that sink in.

The Morning Reset: Setting the Tone for Your Day

What you do in the morning ripples into your night.

Here’s where to start:

Chase the Light: In the first hour, get outside. Letting sunlight hit your eyes directly kickstarts your circadian rhythm, helping your body know when it’s time to wake up and when it’s time to wind down. (Just don’t stare directly at the sun)

Delay the Coffee: Wait 60-90 minutes after waking. Why? Coffee doesn’t actually create energy, it simply masks fatigue. Delaying caffeine helps your body wake naturally and reduces the likelihood of that dreaded afternoon crash.

Hydrate First: Water before anything else. Your body just went 7+ hours without fluids. Simple, but game-changing. Add salt or electrolytes to turn it up a notch.

Screen-Free Start: Give yourself 30 minutes before diving into the digital world. Your brain (and nervous system) will thank you.

Evening Wind-Down: Preparing for Rest

The way you end your day is just as important as how you start it.

Here’s how to set yourself for a relaxed bedtime:

Cut Caffeine by 2 PM: Caffeine’s half-life is four hours. Meaning, four hours after that 100mg coffee you had, there’s still 50mg of coffee in your system. Speaking as a recovered coffee addict - that afternoon espresso might feel essential in the moment, but it's probably the reason you're staring at the ceiling at 1AM. Improved sleep quality is worth way more than another hit/boost, trust me.

Set an Eating Cutoff: Eating too close to bedtime keeps your digestion working overtime when your body should be resting. Start with stopping meals 30 minutes earlier than usual, and work up to leaving 3 hours between your last bite & bedtime. My Whoop data confirms, it works.

Dim the Lights: Bright, artificial lights (especially blue light) trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime. Use dim or red lights in the evening, or embrace the simplicity of candles.

Unplug & Unwind: One hour before bed, turn off the screens. Instead, try stretching, journaling, or reading a physical book to ease into sleep mode.

If you’re going to use your phone at night, consider using Red Light Mode. I’ve had this installed since writing about it last April, and it’s made a world of difference.

Check out the video from Dr. Paul Saladino at the bottom of the newsletter, with summarized iPhone instructions below.

Make It Stick: Build Your Sleep Blueprint

Ready to turn these ideas into action?

I recommend starting small. Pick one change from each list above.

Commit to it for a week & take note of how you feel.

Remember: You don't have to transform your sleep overnight. Small, consistent changes compound into massive results.

I’m cheering you on.

Thanks for reading,

Aidan

Resources for Deeper Learning:

• Why Sleep Matters in having Good Energy

• How Electronics Impact Sleep: The Hidden Effects

• Stages of Sleep: What Happens in a Sleep Cycle

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