31/08/2026
š„± My thoughts on sleep as a PT and nutritionist...
but also as someone who is regularly out of the house 14+ hours a day!
The textbook science is pretty consistent: get 7-9 hours, keep the room cool (around 16-18°C), wake up at the exact same time every day, and banish screens an hour before bed.
Hereās my reality: early starts, late finishes, and a brain that is usually still buzzing from coaching when I walk through the front door.
So, hereās how I actually approach sleep when the ātextbookā version just isnāt possible:
*I donāt chase the perfect wind-down routine or obsess over an optimised sleep score on a smartwatch. The single biggest needle-mover is just getting enough hours, consistently. Hitting 8 hours is simply unrealistic for my schedule, itās usually 7 to 7.5 hours (letās be honest, more like 7!)
*If Iām short one night, I donāt panic. One rough night doesnāt ruin your progress; a pattern of short nights does. Thatās what actually kills your recovery from training and drains your energy.
*My wake-up time barely moves, even on weekends. Anchoring that wake-up time does more for how I feel than any āsleep hackā Iāve ever tried. Bedtime shifts around depending on when I finish work, but I try not to let it swing by more than an hour either way.
My non-negotiables:
*The afternoon caffeine cut-off (scroll back to my recent post on caffeine for this one! āļø)
*Lighter late dinners: I avoid eating a massive, heavy meal right before my head hits the pillow.
*Phone out of reach: Not because Iām a perfect biohacker, but because I know exactly how ājust checking one messageā turns into me replying to all of your WhatsApps for another hour!
You donāt need a flawless, 10-step sleep routine. You just need enough hours and a relatively consistent schedule.
Whatās your biggest struggle when it comes to getting a good nightās sleep right now?š