Now we continue our journey through the five pillars and arrive at the one doctors, PhD students, night owls, and parents all have in common…
SLEEP.
Or maybe we should call it what it really is: recovery.
Your cells only know how to exist in two modes:
- Action – responding to stress and stimulus
- Recovery – preparing for the next time stress shows up
Sleep is when we place our body in recovery mode better than at any other time. Unfortunately, it’s also the first thing we sacrifice when life gets busy—usually right when we need it most.
Even worse, many of us think we’re sleeping well… but we’re not getting the right kind of sleep.
How Sleep Actually Works
Sleep isn’t something that just happens the moment your head hits the pillow. It follows a very specific pattern.
First comes your bedtime routine. This is where you signal to your body that sleep is coming. Your body listens and begins to prepare.
Then, ideally, you spend about 30 minutes in bed with little to no stimulation.
Then you actually fall asleep.
From there, you move through stages:
Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (NREM):
- Stage 1: The transition phase. This is where hypnic jerks happen—the falling feeling, the accidental slap to your dog or partner.
- Stage 2: Prep mode. Heart rate slows, breathing steadies, body temperature drops.
- Stage 3: Deep recovery. This is where real physical repair begins.
Rapid Eye Movement (REM):
- Brain activity increases, dreams happen, and mental recovery takes place.
Wake:
- You’re alert and ready to start the day.
One full sleep cycle lasts 90–120 minutes, and we need 4–6 cycles per night to fully recover.
That’s where the recommended 7–9 hours of sleep comes from.
The Hard Truth About “7 Hours”
Here’s the part most people miss.
If you tell yourself you’re getting 7 hours of sleep because that’s what your phone says when you finally put it down… that math isn’t mathing.
If you’re on your phone during your bedtime routine and it takes about 30 minutes to actually enter sleep cycles, you’re probably getting closer to 6.5 hours of sleep at best.
Womp. Womp.
How to Do Sleep Virtuously
The gold standard?
Aim for 8–9 hours of sleep per night.
If time is tight, here’s the next best option:
- Start your bedtime routine 30 minutes before your 7-hour deadline
- Put your phone into alarm mode before the routine starts
- Screens down. Completely.
Let your mind wander. It’ll replay the day, solve imaginary problems, or loop a random story you heard earlier. Then—almost on cue—you’ll start nodding off right when your sleep window actually begins.
That’s how you turn 7 hours in bed into real recovery.
Next up in our journey through the five pillars: MINDSET—how we interpret and respond to the challenges in front of us.
Have a wonderful day, y’all, and we’ll see you in the gym.
To talk with a coach today, click the link found HERE to schedule your No Sweat Intro