It’s true.
And I haven’t done it by turning sleep into another damn health program.
I don’t track sleep scores. I don’t wear anything to bed that grades me in the morning. And I don’t believe everybody needs exactly eight hours because somebody decided that’s the magic number.
I’ve simply learned that sleep matters to how I feel.
When I sleep well, I move better. I think better. I have more energy. I’m considerably more pleasant to be around. Peggy may want the final vote on that last one. 😄
So I pay attention to it.
I like a cool, dark room. I tend to go to bed around the same time. And I’ve learned roughly how much sleep works well for me.
That’s usually somewhere around six and a half to seven hours.
Someone else may need eight.
Great.
The point isn’t to hit somebody else’s number.
The point is to stop treating sleep as the leftover part of your day.
We talk a lot about movement and food because they’re things we actively do.
Sleep feels like we’re doing nothing.
We’re not.
Your brain and body are remarkably busy while you’re asleep. Sleep plays a role in memory, immune function, tissue repair, metabolism and plenty of other things we’re still learning about.
So I protect mine.
Not perfectly.
Life happens. Dogs happen. Occasionally my brain decides 3:17 in the morning would be an excellent time to solve a problem nobody asked it to solve.
But most nights, I give sleep a fair chance.
Maybe that’s the simplest place to start.
Don’t worry about perfect sleep. Pay attention to what helps you sleep better and how much leaves you feeling good the next day.
Then protect that.
Your body will tell you more than your watch ever could.