How to Sleep Well: It’s Strange This Information Wasn’t Accessible Earlier.

How to Sleep Well

Sleep is the number one priority in any regimen. Imagine: over more than 6 million years of evolution, humans have always needed over 7 hours of sleep to function well. You need to start going to bed early and waking up early. It’s the only way.

Why buy healthy foods or expensive supplements if you don’t have the discipline to be asleep by 10 PM? They have their value, but when it comes to training, the ratio is 1 training / 2 recovery. If you don’t recover fully, you’re not ready for the next workout.

And of course, there is no sauna, massage therapy, drug, or substance that recovers you more than sleep. Start sleeping early and waking early. You must set a schedule and follow that routine. Your brain and body will function better.

But what do we do when we want to fall asleep early, yet we can’t?

You can manipulate your environment to bring sleep faster. Start by darkening the room 1 hour before bed and stay in it. Make sure the room temperature isn’t so high that you sweat, but comfortable enough that you can tolerate a blanket. Stop using your phone, computer, or iPad 1 hour before sleep. Unplug or turn off all red lights like the TV, and put your phone on airplane mode.

Let’s explain everything in more detail—why and how.

Why does manipulating the environment work?

Because our body reacts to external stimuli. How does it know when to sleep and when to wake up, back when there were no clocks? It understands through room temperature and light.

The main reason you wake up in the morning is because your eyes perceive light and your body senses the temperature rising as the sun comes up. The same happens in reverse: when it gets dark, temperature drops, and at that moment the body starts preparing for sleep through a hormone called melatonin.

Why do we need to sleep early?

Everything is about hormones. Hormones are chemical substances released in the body that trigger different biological processes. Many of these hormones work based on light and temperature.

For example, when it gets dark outside, your system releases the sleep hormone—this is what makes you rub your eyes and yawn.

Guided by light and temperature, your body keeps an internal biological clock. It knows when it should or shouldn’t release a certain hormone. For example, growth hormone usually peaks around 10 PM. This hormone is responsible for overall development of the body. The more of this hormone is released, the more our limbs and muscles develop.

That’s why you should sleep early if you train. You need to hit that window to maximize the benefits of growth hormone.