If there’s one area of health I have truly mastered, it’s sleep.
My numbers are generally ridiculous. I have a limitless amount of energy from the moment I wake up till the moment I rest my head upon the pillow. If anything reflects how well I sleep, take a look at how much content I produce across all platforms.
Why put so much focus into this one area of health?
Because it’s incredibly important.
I regard high quality sleep as the keystone pillar of health. If you’ve seen a keystone within the structure of an arch, you know it holds the entire build together.
The same applies to rest.
You’ll either choose to take care of your sleep or neglect it as time passes, and that continuous choice will determine whether the other areas of your life hold strong or crumble to the ground.
Integrated experience from multiple perspectives
I’m confident in my ability to talk about sleep.
Most importantly, I believe in my ability to help others fix their own sleep patterns.
The reason why is because I’ve approached sleep from a number of different perspectives within my life and integrated those lessons into one framework.
Competitive Soccer
I started playing competitive soccer at the age of 4 and continue to play at a high level today at the age of 26. I’ve pursued the game professionally, so health has always been the priority. Sleep has been the greatest part of that equation for proper recovery and overall athletic performance.
Using the Oura Ring
I’ve religiously used the Oura ring since it first came out about 5 or 6 years ago. I have transitioned from their old generations to the latest one. Throughout that time, I’ve made all the necessary connections needed to help myself and others get amazing rest.
Content Creation
I’m in the business of routinely making content across multiple platforms, both personally and for The 2AM Podcast. Getting the highest quality sleep possible makes all the difference in my ability to produce well.
Coaching Clients
My main hustle is to provide other gentlemen with a reliable, holistic system to create incredible health results. The foundation of this work is based on sleep and I’ve replicated results across many people with various backgrounds and rest issues.
A Focus on Systems Thinking & Fundamentals
I value both the fundamentals of any domain and systems thinking as a whole which makes for a dangerously good combination to create lasting results.
My work with health (especially sleep) is filtered by these two ways of thinking.
The 'Sleep Like A Baby' Framework
I think about sleep in a counter-intuitive way compared to most people.
As the saying goes, a great night of sleep begins in the morning, hence I break the day up into three parts for optimal rest:
Morning (5 AM - 12 PM)
During the day (12 PM - 6 PM)
Evening (6 PM - 10 PM)
There are specific protocols and principles we abide by throughout each of these phases to make sure we get the best quality of sleep.
Before I get into each one, let’s make sure we have two facts in order:
We are diurnal creatures, meaning we follow the movement of the sun (awake during the day and asleep during the night).
The circadian rhythm is incredibly important. Attempting to hack your way around this through a biphasic sleep pattern is foolish and never works.
Morning (5 AM - 12 PM)
This time window involves a proper approach to:
Morning sunlight exposure
Caffeine & other stimulant timing
Training timing
Optimal hydration
During the day (12 PM - 6 PM)
This time window involves a proper approach to:
Sunlight exposure
Training windows (based on when you thrive)
Alcohol consumption & principles around minimizing damage
Preparing for evening time
Note: There aren’t that many guidelines around the morning and day time outside of a few exceptions because most of the leg work is done once evening time approaches.
Evening (6 PM - 10 PM)
This time window involves a proper approach to:
Meal timing
Artificial light
Sleep timing
Sleep temperature
Sleep environment
Comfort level (noise, bedding, so forth)
Notable conditions (sleep apnea being the most common example)
Supplementation
I’d like to make an important point here..
Any approach to sleep which focuses on supplementation first is an ass backward one. Fix the lifestyle, then throw in some supplement options to maximize sleep quality and quantity. Realistically, most of you don’t need sleep supplements. You just need to address lifestyle leaks which create awful rest patterns.
Once you understand the details around this framework, you will never need anything else in regards to sleep for the rest of your life.
If you’re interested in speaking with me about it, click the link here.
Much love,
Zaid