Not too long ago, we talked about Sleep Curfews. Five of them, to be precise. One for Caffeine. Another for Exercise. Plus Eating. Plus Screens. Plus Work. As you may recall, Caffeine has a half-life of 5 to 6 hours so try to cut back on that by around noon or 2 or whatever you find works best for you. Exercise late in the day gets your core temperature all jacked up when it should be mellowing out, so aim for at least 3 hours before bedtime. (And, remember that exercise also gives you a 12-hour mood boost so might as well pop a happy pill early in the day, eh?) Eating was a fun one. The standard advice is to eat at least 2 hours before bedtime. (And def don’t snack right before/in the middle of the night.) Want to go gonzo with the glymph? Eat at least 4 (FOUR!) hours before bedtime. Then we have Screens. Again, turn off the screens AT LEAST an hour before bed. More if you’re feeling it. Finally, we had a Work “shut-down complete” target. We left that one up to you and I said mine was no later than 5:00 pm. So… Today I want to add a new curfew. Let’s call it the “Stress Curfew.” I violated this one the other day and, as I found myself wide awake (over)thinking in the middle of the night, I vowed to use the data as wisely as possible to recommit to some bright lines as I Optimized. (I almost gave myself a mistake-learner’s high I was so buzzing.) (Almost.) (lol) Technically, you could say I violated BOTH my digital sunset Screen Curfew AND my shut-down complete Work Curfew when I was using Alexandra’s phone to work on a (somewhat intense) business issue way past my normal 5:00 pm curfews. Now, it was only 6:45 pm when I put down the phone but that’s an hour before I usually go to bed (laughing at myself; who does that?) and a couple/few hours later than I usually do that kind of work so my brain was hopping WAY (!) more than it usually is that late in the day. Enter: That poor night of sleep and a poor Oura readiness score to show for it. Good news: I rebounded from the 83 readiness score to back-to-back 95’s with an even deeper appreciation for just how much the seemingly little things matter. (Marginal gains!!) The lesson for me: There are VERY few things that are that important that they can’t wait until the next day to be addressed. And… I’m MUCH more likely to be able to solve them wisely when I’m well-rested. THEREFORE, honor your curfews, yo! That’s Today’s +1. Do YOU have a Stress Curfew? (Should you?)
