Make Sleep a Ritual - How to Sleep, Chapter 1
This used to be me…
Sleep was the biggest battle of my life. I spent YEARS trying everything to get better sleep.
I cut down on caffeine. I limited cell phone use and exposure to blue light. I even tried counting sheep...because, who knows...maybe it really DOES work! (It doesn’t…)
I personally counted ALL of these sheep...
But nothing really did anything. Until I changed my mind.
I stopped thinking about sleep as a single problem with a single solution. And I started to think about sleep as the foundation of my health and lifestyle.
And now that I’m on the other side of things, I could write 100 blogs just talking about the benefits of real, restorative sleep.
But that won’t help you...
So instead, let’s talk about what I did to fix my sleep. And what you can do to fix yours (if you need it).
Welcome to Chapter 1 of our series on Sleep.
You Need Better Sleep
There are people out there who can live completely healthy and fulfilled lives on just 4 HOURS of sleep per night. But here’s the bad news…
YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THEM.
That’s bold and capitalized for a reason. These people are rare. I’m talking x-men rare.
And for the rest of us non-mutants, sleep is arguably the most important factor to our health and longevity.
These are the ONLY people that can run on 4 hours of sleep.
But it’s not treated that way…
We live in a society where sleep is still associated with being lazy. Where people routinely brag about their lack of sleep and wear their sleep deficit like a badge of honor.
We need to STOP this thinking. There is NO honor in poor sleep - only deteriorating health and performance.
Instead, make PERFECT sleep your goal. The best way to start is to make sleep a ritual.
Make Sleep a Ritual
Here’s what I used to do:
Every night, around 10:30, I would get into bed and turn on the TV. I’d watch YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, etc...until I felt tired enough to try to sleep.
This was my ritual. And it failed.
Your brain learns and adapts to behavioral patterns. And I taught my brain that 10:30 is TV time.
Here’s my NEW ritual:
Every night, around 10pm, I turn the lights off and get into bed.
That’s it.
Remove the distractions and train your brain. This is the first step to achieving optimal sleep.
And once you do that, here are some other steps you can take to improve your sleep further.
The Basics of Better Sleep
1. Ditch the alarm
I get it. We all don’t have the luxury to wake up when we want to (myself included). But whenever possible, turn OFF the alarm. Go to sleep and let your body decide when it’s time to wake up.
2. No pets in bed.
This is a tough one, I know. It’s hard to deny a cuddly pup. But believe me, they’ll thank you in the morning - when you wake up with the energy to run and play with them for hours on end. Get your pet a comfortable bed, and train them to sleep in it.
3. Same Time Every Night
This one is critical. Try to go to bed at the SAME time every night. Train your brain that THIS time is SLEEP time.
Yes, there will be a few nights where this is impossible. But make your consistent bedtime the norm.
Here's a sleep setting that I do NOT advise.
Continuing Toward Optimal Sleep
You’re on the path to optimal sleep. Everything you’ve just read will help you get started.
But there’s A LOT more we can do to optimize your sleep. (Some of it will definitely surprise you)
And here’s the best part…
I’ve already done the work. I’ve experimented with just about every hack there is to improving sleep. And in the next chapters of our sleep series, I’ll tell you exactly what worked for me. So stay tuned!
And PLEASE - tell me if this information is helpful for YOU!
Email us at lf@eatlegendary.com or let us know in the comments below :)