Why Prioritizing Sleep Is the Health Hack You’re Probably Ignoring
We know the drill when it comes to health:
Move your body, eat whole foods, drink your water, protect your peace. But there’s one foundational pillar of wellness that often gets tossed aside in favor of late-night scrolling or squeezing in “just one more episode”… sleep.
Here’s the truth: you cannot out-supplement, out-exercise, or out-meditate a chronic lack of sleep. Sleep is the time your body uses to repair, detox, rebalance, and rebuild — and when you skip out on it, you’re skipping out on everything else, too.
Let’s talk about why sleep is so essential, and how to build a science-backed nighttime routine that sets you up for your happiest, healthiest self:
1. Set a Consistent Sleep-Wake Schedule (And Honor Your Chronotype)
Your body runs on a 24-hour internal clock called the circadian rhythm, which controls when you feel sleepy, alert, hungry, and more. Keeping a consistent sleep and wake schedule helps regulate this rhythm — supporting better energy, digestion, hormones, and cognitive function.
So, what time should you go to bed? It depends on your chronotype aka your natural biological rhythm that tells you when to sleep and wake. Chronotypes are actually rooted in human survival. Back in the day, when humans lived in tribes, having people naturally inclined to be awake at different times helped ensure there was always someone on watch for predators. Early risers could guard the camp at dawn, while night owls stayed alert into the evening.
This variation in sleep schedules kept everyone safer from danger and as humans, we evolved to carry these same sleep schedules into modern day — and it’s why your brain might rebel against that 5 a.m. alarm. So if you feel best sleeping from midnight to 8 a.m., that’s not laziness — it’s evolution. For example, my chronotype is the Early Evening type (tracked by my Oura ring), which means I naturally feel best when I sleep between 11 p.m. to 7 or 8 a.m., or midnight to 8 or 9 a.m.
Aim for 7–9 hours a night minimum, but if you’re like me, you might need closer to 8 to 10 hours to feel truly rested. The key is consistency — and yes, even on weekends. In fact, a study published in Scientific Reports found that people with irregular sleep patterns had worse mood, slower reaction times, and reduced cognitive function even if they got enough hours of sleep overall.
2. Wind Down with a Bath, Book, or Breathwork Practice (or all three)
We can’t expect our minds to slam the brakes after a day of hustle and stimulation. That’s why building a gentle, intentional wind-down routine helps cue your nervous system that it’s time to rest and prepare for sleep. Here’s what works (and why):
Warm baths or showers: When you get out of a steamy hot bath or shower, your body’s core temperature drops, mimicking the natural temperature drop that happens as you fall asleep. This process signals to your brain and body that it’s time for bed. Plus, the heat helps soothe and loosen your muscles which promotes physical relaxation.
Read a physical book: Swapping screens for a novel helps reduce your exposure to blue light, which delays melatonin production (aka your sleep hormone). Bonus: reading helps quiet your mind and focus your attention away from to-do lists or spinning thoughts in your head.
Breathwork: Slow, deep breathing activates your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which slows your heart rate and lowers stress hormones like cortisol, making it easier for your body to drift into a restful state. A study in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that breathwork practices like slow-paced breathing significantly improve sleep quality and reduce nighttime awakenings.
3. Make Your Bedroom Cold, Dark, and Comfy
Your sleep environment matters a lot. Here’s what the research says:
Keep it cold: The optimal bedroom temperature for deep sleep is around 65 – 68°F (we keep ours at 67°F). This is because cooler temps support your body’s natural drop in core temperature, which helps trigger and maintain length of deep sleep cycles, which is the cycle in which your body performs deep repair and detox.
Keep it dark… like, pitch black: Even tiny amounts of light (like the glow from your TV power indicator, air purifier, or alarm clock) can disrupt melatonin production and impair sleep quality. A Sleep Health study showed that exposure to even low ambient light during sleep can reduce REM and slow-wave sleep, both of which are essential for memory consolidation, mood regulation, and physical recovery. So, consider investing in heavy blackout curtains and make sure to cover or unplug any lights in your room.
Upgrade your bedding: Sleep is a sensory experience — the more comfortable you are, the deeper your sleep. We swear by the Coop Sleep Goods Retreat mattress topper and organic bamboo sheets from Quince (I’m a really hot sleeper). Our bed is literally the coziest cloud imaginable and makes me so excited to go to bed every night.
4. Eat Lighter, End Earlier
What you eat—and when you eat—can make or break your sleep quality. Here’s the simple formula:
Eat your last meal 2–3 hours before bed.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol 4–6 hours before bed.
Late-night eating keeps your digestive system active, which can delay your body’s shift into rest-and-repair mode. Research published in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that eating within one hour of bedtime—especially heavy or high-fat meals—was associated with disrupted sleep architecture and longer time to fall asleep.
Eating earlier allows your blood sugar to stabilize, which prevents the dreaded 3 a.m. wake-up caused by blood sugar dips (if you have these random, middle-of-the-night wake-ups a lot, it could be because you’re eating too close to bedtime).
Also, alcohol and caffeine both interfere with deep and REM sleep, even if you feel like you fall asleep faster after enjoying those glasses of wine. They aren’t actually helping your sleep and are doing much more harm than good.
Why Sleep Is the Cornerstone of Health
Let’s wrap this up with a reminder of what’s really happening while you sleep:
Your body repairs tissues, builds muscle, and balances hormones.
Your brain detoxes itself—literally “washing” itself and clearing out waste via the glymphatic system.
Your nervous system regulates itself, lowering cortisol and recalibrating your mood.
Your immune system, metabolism, memory, and even your skin health are deeply tied to how well (and how long) you sleep.
Without deep, consistent, high-quality rest, your body doesn’t get the chance to do the behind-the-scenes work it needs to thrive.
TL;DR: sleep is sacred and seriously important.
You deserve to feel rested, clear-headed, and well. And that starts—every single night—in your bed.
So, light that candle. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb. Pour a sleepytime tea. And get serious about your sleep hygiene. Your future self will thank you.
Sweet dreams, queen! 💤
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