You're tired, you just don't know it

I love this book too (audiobook version for me) and while it has come in for some criticism for being a little alarmist (I believe Walker himself has conceded this point), there's some very good advice in it.

If you're not going to read this, my take-aways were:

• routine is key, even at weekends if you can manage it
• your bedroom should be cooler than, say, your lounge (ideally around 17ºC) to help your body mini-hibernate
• block out light as much as you can - thick curtains, no devices/blue-light for at least an hour before bed
• no caffeine after 15:00 for a 23:00 sleep

This has helped me enormously. I used to have no trouble sleeping, but as I've gotten older it's become harder (as explained in the book). In addition, I find running the Headspace "Sleep" wind-down invaluable as part of my routine and I'm often asleep at the end of the ten minutes.

I find that when I've had a great night's sleep, I don't leap out of bed in the morning, but I do find I have energy, concentration and stress resilience much later on in the day than I would otherwise. YMMV.

Big fan of Matthew Walker! I've watched the talk he gave at Google twice - once myself, and once when I forced every one of my housemates to watch it. Some of the studies he describes are alarming. But it's so tough to switch off when you're excited and/or stressed about a project you're working on, to get a good night's sleep. My go-to used to be a glass of wine with dinner...apparently, that's not as effective as I thought!

Here's the video for anyone who wants to check it out. I highly recommend it. 54:51 min well spent...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXflBZXAucQ&t=6s

Great to read.

Thanks for sharing, Marc. Some people don't understand that when you don't get enough sleep, it's like trying to drive with your eyes closed. You can do it for a little while, but eventually you're going to crash. You are not being more productive by working more hours: without enough sleep, you can't focus, you're more likely to make mistakes, and you're more likely to get sick.

Sleep is the most important part of the day. But people also underestimate the impact of dreaming. Whether we had a good bad dream can dramatically impact our day, but it's even more important to dream at all. Dreams teach us to empathy, give us a chance to play through certain situations, and to explore new ideas. In order to dream, one needs to also be in a deep sleep. When a person is dreaming, and dreaming regularly, they are often getting decent sleep as well. But I'm of the belief that if more people dreamed, they'd not only sleep better but it'd give them a great connection to themselves.

Thanks for sharing this Marc! I'll have to check out that book.

A few things that help me turn off my thoughts and sleep (relatively) quickly:

1. my phone is charged on the opposite side of my room and I don't use it in bed. (this was and still can be difficult for me).
2. read at least 8 pages of whatever book I'm on.
3. blue-light blocker glasses after 5 pm.
4. exercise each morning

This was great to read... I am exhausted....

Luckily they eliminated the whole concept of daylight saving changes in the US. Still present in Europe though.

I agree with this daylight saving time thing, I find that my overall productivity slumps once the time changes to +-1 hour.

I felt quite tired. :)

yeah... sleep is important. since 3rd year college, i've been sleeping 3-4 hrs a day. not healthy and 20 years later, i am paying for it.

To improve your sleep you'll need to do things before and after. You don't have to do all these things but it helps to put things in order.

## Optimize Your Sleep Cavern

• Make your room super dark. Block out windows, shut off screens, lights off.
• I like Moondream curtains. They block noise, light, and even EMF.

## Before Bed

• Comfortable mattress. I love my Helix.
• Consistency. I use a "reverse alarm" that reminds me when to go to sleep.
• Blue-light blocking glasses in the evenings. I have 2 pairs of Gunnars and prefer the maximum blockers.
• Don't eat a heavy meal 2-3 hours before bed.
• Don't have stimulants or alcohol after 4pm.

## Tactics

• Stretching for 10-15 minutes.
  • You can try this video.
  • If you have a partner, stretch with them!
• Meditation.
• Sleep Hypnosis Audio
• Sleep Binaural Audio

DURING BED

• Grounding Mat
  • https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30448083/
• Natural Sleep Aids like Melatonin, Magnesium, GABA, and L-Theanine.

Really great book @marclou, one of the best phrases I’ve heard is that skipping an hour of sleep to work out, work some something etc., is like stepping over £100 bills to pick up £1 coins.

Thanks for sharing! This is me right now with three boys under 5!!

Don't believe everything that's inside that book. Here is some very valid criticism of it.

It's good if the book helped you out though (to each his own), but its good to be fully informed.

Sleep is critical, for sure. I recommend listening to the Huberman Lab podcast episode:

Master Your Sleep and Be More Alert When Awake - Huberman Lab

I always say ... my secret to success is sleep. Minimum of 6-8 a night. I naturally wake up at 7h 15m if I'm well rested. Every 4-6 weeks my body wakes up at 5 hours of sleep and I'm fine. Those days I'm up at around 3am and I just get a ton done. I dont try to make those happen. Normally I'm up at 4:30-5am daily. Asleep by 9-10pm daily.

Thanks for the book recommendation. I hate sleep so I am going to give this a read and hopefully change my perspective.