3 MINUTE MONDAY
Hi friend,
The world is split into two groups as far as I can see.
Those who understand the importance of sleep.
And those who don’t.
I’m going to spend the next 90 seconds convincing you to prioritise it.
This isn’t a throwback to your mum telling you to get to bed early.
This is the biggest, highest yielding, most effective performance & mood enhancing strategy that you are neglecting.
Christie Aschwanden, author of Good To Go said on my show “If I could give you my Top 3 Recovery Strategies they would be; sleep, sleep & sleep”.
Matthew Walker, author of the NYT Best Selling book Why We Sleep said “Sleep is the greatest legal performance enhancing drug that most people are neglecting”.
Ok, so the experts say sleep is important. Why?
- Men who sleep 5-6 hours a night will have a level of testosterone 10 years their senior.
- At 6 hours of sleep or less, your time to physical exhaustion drops by up to 30%.
- At 5 hours of sleep, there is a 60% increase in probability of injury comparing people who get 9 hours.
- People who sleep 5 hours a night, on average eat 200-300 extra calories each day (70,000 extra calories each year, which translates into 10-15 lbs of extra body mass).
Most importantly… Short sleep predicts all cause mortality.
That means there is a direct correlation between sleeping less and dying sooner.
The bottom line is that we all need 7-9 hours a night.
Once you get below 7, there are measurable impairments in the brain.
Remember that this is time asleep, not time in bed.
Average sleep efficiency is around 85%.
So you need to be IN bed for 9 hours in order to be asleep for 8.
You have the same chance of having the genetic mutation that permits some people to operate healthily on 4 hours sleep as you do of being hit by lightning.
So you probably don’t have it.
The main hacks for improved sleep:
- Darken your room & make it cooler than you think it needs to be.
- Have a warm shower before bed.
- No screens for 90 minutes before bed.
- E-Readers & Kindles do NOT have the same impact on sleep as phones or TVs, so read away.
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.
But the most important hack is to actually prioritise your sleep.
Treat it as the precious, performance-giving lifeblood that it is.
I’m all for burning the candle at both ends, but only in sprints, not as a lifestyle.
MODERN WISDOM
I do a podcast with the most interesting people on the planet. You should subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
This week’s upcoming episodes:
Monday.
Morgan Housel – the no-BS assassin of the finance world teaches us the golden rules of money management – how to get wealthy, stay wealthy & be happy. Everyone needs this in their lives.
Thursday.
Fiona Murden – psychology explains how role models shape our lives, values, performance & more from the day we’re born.
Saturday.
Erin Zammett Ruddy – all of the adulting skills that someone should have taught you but never did. Cleaning a dishwasher, managing your email inbox, designing a cheeseboard & more.
THINGS I’VE LEARNED
1.
Sex in an achilles boot is difficult.
Honestly I didn’t realise how much my penis relied on my ankles.
2.
Kids want to be YouTubers.
In a survey of over 13,000 British primary school children, kids were asked to draw a picture of the job they want when they grow up.
The fourth most popular job across all children was “social media/gaming”.
For boys, it was now second.
Ahead of policeman, scientist, doctor, teacher, firefighter and any form of military employment.
Being a YouTuber, the report explained, has all but replaced the classic childhood fantasies of becoming a famous film or TV star.
3.
Being self-aware can make you depressed.
Psychological evidence indicates that self-deceived individuals are happier.
Lack of self-deception is, in fact, a sign of depression.
Individuals who feel good about themselves, whether or not the facts merit this feeling, tend to achieve more.
More insight = more suffering AND less achievement??
Insight is a bitch man.
(via Rob Henderson)
LIFE HACK
Never microwave anything in plastic.
Your endocrine system is a delicate balance.
When microwaved, plastic releases carcinogens into your food.
BPA-free plastic is not a solution.
The BPA is just replaced with another, more toxic and chemically similar option.
There are also tons of other carcinogens beyond just BPA in plastic.
There is no microwave safe plastic.
Buy a glass Pyrex bowl for £10 off Amazon and never worry again.
Or even just put your food on a plate to microwave.
(via PodcastNotes)
Big love,
Chris x
Listen to me on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Say hi on Twitter or Instagram.
PS
I crossed 60,000 Subscribers on YouTube this week. Booya.
