What if one simple habit could lower your risk of dementia, heart disease, and burnout, all while making you feel like yourself again?
It’s not another supplement. It’s not a workout. It’s something super foundational. Sleep.
Sleep is your body’s most underrated healing tool. And yet, most of us treat it like an inconvenience and something to squeeze in after everything else is done. Which means it always falls to the bottom of the list.
But shortchanging sleep is like trying to perform on 30% battery while ignoring the charger that’s right next to you.
Why Sleep Is Your Body’s Best Preventive Medicine
Chronic sleep deprivation is now linked to seven of the top 15 causes of death in the U.S., including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and depression. One study even found that sleeping fewer than six hours per night in midlife increases dementia risk by up to 30%.
What’s especially dangerous? The effects are subtle. Losing just one hour of sleep a night may feel manageable, but research shows it leads to a measurable decline in memory, concentration, metabolic health, and cognitive performance. After just ten days, the mental decline is comparable to pulling an all-nighter. Your body starts to falter long before you feel the impact.
Sleep isn’t just rest. It’s a full-body repair process that regulates hormones, lowers inflammation, and clears brain waste linked to Alzheimer’s. While a small percentage of people may have a rare genetic mutation that lets them function on less sleep, most who claim this are simply running on fumes.
As sleep scientist Dr. Erla Bjornsdottir puts it: “If sleep was pitched like a drug – one that lifts your mood, improves performance, prevents disease – we’d all be taking it.” But instead, we push through with caffeine, screens, and willpower. The truth? There’s no biohack, supplement, or workout that replaces sleep.
Sleep: Our Nightly Full-Body Reset Button
Each night, your brain cycles through multiple sleep stages each with specific functions:
Light Sleep: Calms your nervous system, drops stress hormones, and stores short-term memories
Deep Sleep: Boosts immune repair, balances blood sugar, and triggers growth hormone for muscle and tissue recovery
REM Sleep: Rewires emotions, solidifies learning, and builds mental resilience
And here’s the magic: your brain adjusts these stages based on what you need. Had a stressful day? You get more REM. Crushed a tough workout? More deep sleep. Sleep is smart, but only if you give it the space to do its job.
What Happens When You Prioritize Sleep
Sleep isn’t self-indulgent. It’s strategic. It’s how you protect your longevity, your clarity, your energy, and your relationships. The benefits of great sleep include:
✓ Stress resilience rises
✓ Cortisol stabilizes
✓ Blood sugar regulates
✓ Muscles recover faster
✓ Brain fog lifts
✓ Immunity strengthens
✓ Emotional bandwidth expands
Easy Wins: Your Summer Sleep Reset
Summer is a great time to reset your internal clock with all the extra sunlight we have. Here’s how:
☀️ Get Morning Light (ASAP):
Step outside within 30–60 minutes of waking. Morning sunlight anchors your circadian rhythm and tells your body when to produce melatonin later. It’s an incredibly powerful way to keep your circadian rhythm on track and improve your sleep later that night. I love to get up before everyone else in my house and sip coffee in the yard. Those moments really set me up for the day and help me shift from scattered to focused.
📱 Block the Blue
Blue light, which is pervasive in screens and our lightbulbs, significantly interferes with our ability to ease into a great night of sleep. Set yourself up for success. Two hours before bed: stop using screens, wear blue-light blocker glasses, and use red bulbs in lamps. Try a wind-down playlist instead.
❌ Skip the Melatonin (You Probably Don’t Need It)
Your body starts producing melatonin around 6 PM naturally. Support it by creating a calm and restorative environment to keep shifting into rest mode.
🚫 Don’t Hit Snooze
Use the Mel Robbins 5-4-3-2-1 Method. Count down and get up. The extra 9 minutes of snoozing doesn’t help. It confuses your brain and makes you groggier.
🏋️♂️ Get Physical Activity Earlier in the Day
Staying physically active and getting exercise each day helps your body prepare for a restful night of sleep. Be sure to avoid exercise late in the day, especially if it is intense.
🍷 Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine Near Bedtime
These interfere with a good night of sleep. Alcohol in particular can be deceptive. It may make some people fall asleep more quickly, but it significantly interrupts sleep patterns and quality, and causes night awakenings.
Sleep isn’t a Luxury
Our productivity-obsessed culture loves to brag about how we can get by on so little. The joke is on them. Sleep makes us a lot more efficient and productive because we feel good and have more energy and clarity. Reframe your mindset to realize that sleep is your built-in medicine, mindset reset, and resilience builder.
And the best part? You can start tonight.
💡 What’s One Small Change You Can Make Tonight to Sleep Better? Leave a comment and let me know!