Sleep: Your Key To A Successful Life

Welcome to another episode of how to twenty something, I have to say that today’s topic is probably one of my favorite things to talk about – well honestly everything i talk about on here is a favorite topic, but I guess this is the most important one to begin taking immediate action on and if you recently came to my puzzled by priorities group program in April, then you’ll know exactly what I’m about to talk about and that is how to get good sleep and why you need to make sleep a top priority in your life

If you want to be in the know about future programs and workshops that I’m offering- most of which are free, then you’re going to want to hop into my email list as those people are the first to hear anything, and you’ll get a fun little life hack of the month every month – the link to join my list is attached in the show notes and always at the bottom of my website which is also in the show notes

Now, I think we can all agree how shitty it feels to be operating on little sleep

You can probably recall the dependence of caffeine, the headaches, lack of energy, inability to focus or concentrate and just feeling off and these are just the short term effects of poor sleep

I mean if you’re listening to this episode the day it drops, you’re probably experiencing the adverse effects that come with Mondays

The real kicker is, there are so many more serious consequences to getting poor sleep that I’m going to run through during today’s episode as well as why sleep is important, what could be hindering your sleep, and steps you can begin taking to improve it 

So let’s get right into it; operating on poor quality sleep actually makes you more irritable, increases your cravings while consequently decreases your self-discipline

It is directly related to decreased cognitive control and regulation so when you sleep like shit you have a decreased ability to make good decisions, problem solve, control your emotions, and interact with other people in a level headed way

You might find yourself lashing out at people or having minimal patience for anything because of this increased irritability that a resulted in poor sleep

Your body is in an increased state of stress so as a result you’re body is going to store nutrients as fat as it feels like you are in trouble and if you remember from last week, your brain is doing what it can to keep you alive, this time it’s in regards to protecting your vital organs and making sure you don’t starve to death

You see, your brain and body don’t understand that you chose to go party until 3am and purposely mess up your sleep

Or in another direction, that you’ve clogged up your schedule so much you have to sacrifice your sleep

Which I’m hoping that by the end of this episode you’ll start making moves to no longer sacrifice your sleep and instead work to sacrifice something else

If you’re the type of person with an insane schedule where everything is important, then you’re probably thinking, but Jess I literally can’t find anything else to sacrifice to create more time in the day

Which is where I’m going to respond to you with two answers: the first one being structure is pillar two in my own your life signature system where we work on time management, how to navigate your existing schedule, and properly prioritizing your day to support your goals

The second one is I know exactly what it’s like to have an insane schedule because from April of 2021 until March of 2022 I had a full time job, a personal training side hustle, and was growing my coaching business, all while still sleeping 8 hours every night, working out every day, and eating healthy

So yes, if you have effective time management skills, it is possible to get your sleep in, in fact you should be moving mountains to make sure you getting adequate sleep

And if you can’t figure out how, then it’s time for you and I to hop on a call about working together

I want to jump back to why our body likes to store fat when we’re stressed and not sleeping well, and it’s because our brains and body operate on an outdated system in a very technologically advanced world

You’ll hear me relate back to caveman times a lot because that’s where we evolved from; in this case it’s in relation to sleep and stress and in future episodes I can tell you right now will be in regards to exercise and nutrition

You see, thousands of years ago when we got poor sleep it was because we were in an unsafe environment and therefore under more stress, and since we were unsafe, we couldn’t settle down and have food readily accessible so our bodies needed to make sure we would survive this period of chronic stress by storing fat for times of starvation – again with the goal to keep us alive

In today’s world, we have artificial lights, blue lights from our screens, and safe places to sleep that’s not out in the wild, but your brain doesn’t understand that you’re purposely keeping yourself awake or even unintentionally doing so, therefore it’s going to store fat since it’s stressed out

I do want to say, that what I’m talking about does also apply to people with sleep disorders, so talk to your doctor about treatments, but most of this episode and to all of you twenty somethings listening we’re going to attribute your sleep quality and quantity to your own decision making and priorities as in it’s your choice to put sleep on the back burner and not because of a medical condition

And hopefully by the end of this episode that is no longer the case

Some more negative but now internal effects of poor sleep is increasing your risk for so many health disorders such as obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, anxiety and depression, memory loss, decreased immune response so you’ll get sick more, and lower sex drive since your hormones become deregulated

Basically your body stops operating efficiently while also breaking itself down because you aren’t letting yourself sleep for 7-9 quality hours a night and while we’re on this topic of quantity; you’re not actually sleeping the 8 hours you think you are – sleep studies have shown that for the night’s sleep you’re getting, you should subtract an hour as you wake up throughout the night, whether you remember those moments or not

If those side effects weren’t serious enough, I’m here to also tell you that you cannot have the life you want to live or even think about achieving your goals or be a contributing member to society without consistently putting your sleep quantity and quality at the top of your mind

Which is why I created a whole episode to help you set yourself up for a successful nights sleep and all the detrimental effects that come with disregarding your bodies need to sleep, with the goal to scare you into better prioritizing it

Sleep is an absolute necessity to your survival, let alone your longing for a successful life

I know life happens and I also know it feels like it’s impossible to get everything done in a typical workday, but starting with improving your sleep will make the other things a lot more possible

For instance, if you went to bed late, for whatever reason, but still have your alarm set for your normal gym time in the morning, it is more beneficial for you to cut out half of your workout and use that time for extra sleep

A few months ago I was offering a free 30 minute nutrition coaching call with one the gym’s I personal train at and a member hopped on the call and told me he works the night shift at his job, usually goes to sleep around 7:30 or 8 and then wakes up for the noon class and I told him that that is the equivalent of me telling him I wake up at 2am to go workout and he quickly realized how ridiculous that sounded and what he was unintentionally doing to his body

And he reaped all of the benefits that sleep has to offer once he stopped interrupting it for the noon class\

So for all you night shift workers out there, ask yourself if you had a 9-5 would you workout before work or after work? And go from there but do not wake up in the middle of the day to workout as you’re screwing up your sleep

Whatever your sleep schedule is, you need to be as consistent as you can be

I’m not saying you can never have a fun night out or travel, I’m just saying that it shouldn’t be every single friday and saturday night

When you think about it, you’re basically putting yourself into jet lag every weekend when you stay out until close and then sleep in the following day

It’s like if you flew from Florida to California for 48 hours and expected yourself to be ready to go and functioning normally come Monday – do you realize how absolutely ridiculous that sounds

Yet you continue to do that to yourself regularly only without the fun trip to California 

I’m going to switch the negative effects of poor sleep with all of the wonderful things sleep does for you

For starters, sleep is the foundation to a thriving, productive, mentally secure, and focused mind and it is an essential component to your overall mental, physical, and emotional well-being

When you get good sleep you are allowing your body to recover and rejuvenate muscles and tissues so your body is capable of functioning properly next day

It’s also good to note that you’re stronger when you get better sleep because of the recovery that is occurring during your slumber – so test your strength when you go lift at the gym after a good night’s sleep and watch the benefits and results unfold

Your memory and learning abilities also improve

Your body becomes more effective at fighting off infections so you’re not getting sick as easily

You have better control over your emotions and ability to manage the stress in your life

You’re able to maintain a healthy weight because the hormones that control satiety which is regulating your hunger and fullness levels, is properly managed

And lastly, good sleep keeps your blood pressure in check so decreased risk of heart disease and other high blood pressure related ailments 

These benefits don’t even talk about how they relate back to you being able to achieve your goals, feel good about yourself, feel happier, have better interactions with people, more patience and control, self-discipline, motivation, energy, and be able to build the life you dream of

It literally all stems from getting good sleep – all of it 

Now, carving out time for sleep is step 1 towards making it a priority and I just gave you so many reasons as to why you need to do that, step 2 comes from a nighttime routine and then step 3 is catering your entire day towards getting good quality sleep

In my experience with coaching people, steps 2 and 3 are oftentimes not even considered when thinking about needing sleep

But I’m here to tell you that your current nighttime routine, or lack thereof, is destroying you

If you wake up in the morning and still feel tired, then you’re not getting good sleep so listen up, again this is directed towards people with no kids or medical issues, and you might want to think about not letting your pet sleep in the bed with you as they could be disrupting your sleep too

Chances are, you have a pretty consistent morning routine, yet when it comes to the evening time, you don’t have nearly as many steps and actions to prepare your body and brain for bed

You cannot just all of sudden decide it’s time for bed, put on your pjs, wash your face and get into bed and expect it to be filled with high quality REM cycles

Your nighttime routine should really begin about two hours before you plan on being asleep

I call this process turning the volume down on life

Basically, you want your artificial environment to match nature so as the sun begins to set so does everything around you

This is definitely much more difficult in the middle of summer and winter since you either have really long sunny days where the sun doesn’t set until 9 or 9:30 or really short cloudy days where the sun sets at like 4pm

Which is why I recommend following the two hour rule

Turning the volume down on life looks like lowering the volume on the tv, dimming the lights in the room, as well as on your screens, and lowering your voices when in conversation

We want to send the signal to your brain that it’s time to start calming down and prepare for sleep

Additional things could look like preparing for the next day by straightening up your place, laying out all the clothes you need for the next day, and packing your lunch – basically little things you can do to make your next morning easier

You also want to stop eating at the start of these two hours and avoid any type of stimulating conversation or stressful events as that will keep your brain up and not allow it to begin relaxing 

Your nighttime routine dictates how tomorrow goes – this is where you can begin showing up for your future self in the present moment, which is a key topic to master when you’re striving for a successful life

Once you feel good about your nighttime routine you can then move on to step 3 which is making decisions throughout the day to prepare for good sleep that night

We’re talking movement, caffeine intake of when and how much, food intake, and sunlight exposure as those are things that are within your control

Whereas if you have a stressful day at work or are in a fight with someone close to your heart are out of your control circumstances that negatively affect your sleep

Moving your body throughout the day helps improve your sleep – the caveat is if you workout as in lift weights or take a fitness class too close to bed (again within the two hour rule of wanting to be asleep) then you’re not allowing your system to calm down for optimal sleep

I know the gyms get crowded from 5-7pm so some of you like to go after that, but I need you to seriously think about the strenuous activity you’re doing so close to going to bed

This is not about your ability to fall asleep, although that could very well be affected, but this is about your quality of sleep for the night

When you workout too close to bedtime you’re not allowing your bodies temperature or adrenaline and cortisol levels to calm down and regulate – a lot of people don’t understand how exercise is an additional stressor and it can be used to relieve stress mentally but cause more stress internally

Actually, poor sleep is a sign of overtraining, so keep your mind on that as well as that’s when your workouts are doing more harm than good to your body 

Your caffeine intake should stop 10-12 hours before you want to be asleep so if you’re going to bed at 11pm then your last cup of whatever caffeinated substance you choose should be at 1pm the absolute latest, and yes this includes pre-workout for you late night gym goers

Otherwise you start dancing with the devil of getting good sleep that night

Even if you’re the type of person that can fall asleep anywhere at any time regardless of when you had something with caffeine, it doesn’t mean your body and brain are getting the full recovery sleep cycles it needs

And is probably why you’re still waking up tired and dependent on caffeine

I already included food intake in the 2 hour rule, so no need to repeat that again

And finally, sunlight – remember we are surrounded by artificial lights all the time, so you need to get yourself outside throughout the day, even it’s a cloudy day and expose yourself to natural light

You know that amazing feeling you get after a day at the beach or pool or lake and you’re freshly kissed by the sun and you have the deepest sleep of your life?

Well, that’s the sun doing it’s work on your circadian rhythm which is also known as your internal clock

So your body is more awake during the day and more restful at night due to the effects the sun has on your body

Working in an office does make this difficult and if you really can’t get outside at any point during the day while the sun is still up, try sitting next to a window for some of the day and get your exposure that way

When I had my corporate job I luckily sat in front of a window and I had me and some coworkers go on walks throughout the day for extra movement, a break from staring at the computer screen, and exposure to direct natural light

Rainy days always sucked since it took our walk o’clocks away, but we made due

The last thing I want to add is that, like caffeine, alcohol destroys your sleep, but I’m extremely realistic with who I’m talking to and I know most of you twenty somethings listening have some kind of dependence on alcohol

So, what I’m not saying is to cut out alcohol, in fact, when you work with me I neve tell you not to do something – coaching is guidance not advice giving and my own slogan is I don’t tell you how to live your life, I teach you how to make your life worth living, so it comes down to building on your awareness factor; which is also something that disappears with alcohol so you have to work extra hard if this is important to you

But what I am saying is that you don’t need that shot or drink at last call, or really even after 1am for that matter because the only thing it’s doing to you at that point is ruining your sleep and worsening your hangover 

Plus, it is my goal for your to be conscious of the decisions you’re making, whether they are good or bad for you, so in this case it is deliberately choosing alcohol in favor of your sleep and knowing that you are going to have a shitty next day with low energy levels, discipline, productivity, focus, and all the short term harmful effects poor sleep brings, outside of the harmful effects alcohol brings

Bottomline, pretty much your entire day should be catered towards getting good sleep that night

I want sleep to be at the forefront of your mind for forever, so that every action you take you can ask yourself, how is this going to impact my sleep tonight?

And then make your decisions accordingly

Sometimes your sleep is going to be impacted, we’re just working towards decreasing the frequency of your shitty sleep, to minimize the negative effects that come with it, while subsequently increasing all of the amazing benefits that are a direct result of optimal sleep

Now, let’s say you’re accidentally, or even deliberately, screwing up your sleep, what you can do to help your sleep is make sure your sleeping environment is doing it’s best to support as good of sleep as you can get given the actions you took to make that difficult

Well, technically, this is how you should set the tone for every night whether you think your sleep quality is going to be good or not and that is controlling noise levels with white noise machines, ear plugs, or headphones

Like i live off of a pretty noisy street and sometimes I need to sleep with headphones on to drown out the revving engines that obnoxiously drive by

Some other tactics include setting the temperature to a nice cool environment and making the room as dark as possible with the help of blackout curtains if needed

And like I said before, on average, you want to be as consistent in your sleep schedule as you can be, so going to bed at roughly the same time and waking up around the same time

This doesn’t mean you need to set a 6am alarm on the weekends, but it does mean you shouldn’t sleep until noon and put yourself in jet lag mode

Remember, I always want you start with one thing that you can do so it can compound on itself, which could mean turning off all overhead lights and only using accent lights two hours before you want to be asleep

Try it for a few days and see if that helps you fall asleep faster and have better quality, then add to it with some of the other things I’ve already mentioned

If I wasn’t clear enough, your sleep should not be a sacrifice when it comes to a busy schedule, because you need your sleep to keep your head on straight

You’re in charge of your sleep, for the most part, so take ownership of how you’re treating your body and brain and work to get your shit together

Afterall, that’s what I’m here to help you with and that begins with prioritizing your sleep!!

I feel like this entire episode was one giant rant, but I told you at the beginning that this was an important topic, so rant over, get good sleep, and I’ll be in your headphones again next week with another episode of How To Twenty-Something

Thank you for listening and as always, if you want to know what it’s like to work with me one on one, get on my email list to join the next live workshop that I’m offering, have a story that other twenty somethings would benefit from hearing, or if you have any questions that you want me to answer on the show please check out the links in the show notes and you’ll see the breakdown for any of the things you need

And with that, I love you all and wish you a wonderful rest of your week filled with good sleep and productivity and don’t forget to hit subscribe so you’re notified the moment the next episode drops, see ya later!