As I looked over some old journal entries, I was struck by the recurring topic of sleep. Without fail, I would venture in my writing, claiming I would finally fix my sleep habits “once and for all,” only for it ultimately to not come to pass.
I wondered why, but this time much more deeply. Sure, the reasons why I fell off the routine was normal life stuff. A late night with friends. Cramming for an exam or scrambling to meet a deadline. Living with family that stayed up later than I did and their nightly activity disturbing making me unable to sleep. Concerts, festivals, bar crawls.
Slowly, the fun reasons for staying out late were replaced by more serious ones. “I need to make ends meet. I want to live not just survive. I need to earn more money.” The clock crept forward more and more, until I couldn’t recall a day where I woke up later than 5am for work nor a day where I ended my “night” before 2am.
It scared me. I remember driving hours down the sparsely populated highway, blinking in and out of consciousness. I didn’t realize just how tired I was consistently. It was terrifying the first time it happened to me. But the scarier thing was feeling the terror but also feeling completely incapable of feeling its viscerality. A tired body seems to pump a sort of anesthetic throughout it, numbing the mind from any type of feeling.
I’m glad I’m not in that spot of life anymore. It took a lot of work. And so with life relatively more stable now, I wondered “what is my pattern with sleep?”
Uncomfortably, I noticed I stayed up late because I liked to do to it. I loved working on my projects and loved “making the most” out of my day. No matter how badly I mishandled my time early-day, I took solace in the idea that the nighttime would redeem me.
I thought about my life and my values. My health is important to me. My energy is important to me. I also noticed that when I did get enough sleep, my entire baseline level of performance was so much higher. I felt emotionally regulated and sharper! Realizing that I want to be serious about my sleep was one of the main catalysts that led to my changing. It remains to be seen if this change will last. I know it will. I hope talking about it will give me clarity, help me see how far I’ve come, and hopefully inspire someone else reading this who is on their own journey with sleeping better.
As of 9/2026, this is where I stand. I have managed to prioritize getting at least 6 hours of sleep a night every night, save for a few nights here and there from being out late, hanging out with friends, events etc etc.
Baseline -> Phase 1
I noticed that for me it was important to set a baseline “reset” protocol. It’s unecessarily difficult to tell yourself to sleep at a consistent time every single night and if you miss one night you’re effectively ruined. I realized that fear is what turned my one-bad-night-of-sleep into two and two led to three and then…well, you know.
My solution was to commit in my head a simple plan of what to do whenever that late night inevitably happened. This eliminates uncertainty and by following “protocol,” it feels like a natural part of my system. The protocol is simple, go to bed at the same time I normally sleep at. If I’m out late, I will still try to wake up at the same time as the day before. Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule - if I’m slated to get only 3 hours of sleep, it’s definitely better to sleep in and eke out as much as I can if it can be avoided. The main point here is that it’s planned for.
On the day after a low-quality sleep night, I avoid napping and the most I’ll do is maybe lie down with my eyes closed for 10 minutes. Some people swear by Non Sleep Deep Rest; you can do whatever you want. Eyes closed works enough for me. I don’t nap because I want to let my body fully rest when it’s time to do so to maintain consistency. I don’t want to feel too awake when I need to get to bed. It defeats the whole purpose.
My goal sleep time? I decided by picking a time I wanted to get to bed by and then I added 30 minutes to it. Trust me.
Another rule - after picking a time I wanted to get to bed by I decided to be almost robotic about my adherence. Lights out time. The first few nights, this was pretty uncomfortable. I mourned half-finished creative thoughts and the work I had yet to finish that I had wanted to do. It got a little easier day after day though.
Overall these are the rules so far:
- Sleep at the same time every day.
- Wake up at the same time every day.
- A late night is bound to happen and when it happens, just bounce back from it like you pre-planned.
- Don’t schedule yourself out to where you will be out late more than 2x/week.
This has been decent for me so far. I want to achieve automatic consistency in these for the work I want to do. The work I want to do needs me well-rested and at my best.
Another rule I’m playing around with:
- Use the last 30 minutes before I actually sleep to turn off screens and read from a physical book.
Point being, I don’t have a bright light in my face tricking the ancestral part of my brain that it’s still daytime and I shouldn’t go to sleep. I sometimes put on some light “reading music” to help me ease into the wind down.
I figure if I do the above consistently for a few months, it’ll become something I don’t even have to consciously think about.
Next update: Sometime in November 2026.