Sleep: How to Unlock Your Competitive Edge
James Turrell — Ganzfeld: Double Vision (2013)
Most executives I work with think they sleep "pretty well." They're wrong.
They're operating at 70% capacity and don't know it. I see this consistently: clients estimate they're at 80% or more, but the feedback from reality tells a different story.
That afternoon crash. Brain fog. Rereading emails. Impatience. Indecisiveness.
We think “that’s just how I am,” or “I’m too busy,” rather than recognizing these as symptoms of chronic sleep debt.
This creates an asymmetric opportunity. When we normalize 70% capacity, there are 20-25 points of performance sitting untapped. Sleep is the most underpriced asset in performance optimization.
Here's a comprehensive system for unlocking that edge. You'll experience what operating at 90-95% capacity actually feels like within 6-12 weeks. Decisions that land. Staying present under pressure. Mental sharpness when it matters most.
Most people read this and never realize it's about them. That's the edge.
Sleep as Self-Experiment
Approach sleep as an experiment, not a mandate. You're testing what works for your physiology, schedule, and life.
Improvement starts with awareness. Tracking your sleep guarantees improvement. Pair objective data from a wearable with contextual data in a spreadsheet or notes app to identify correlations. This combination reveals patterns you would never spot otherwise.
For wearables, I recommend the Oura Ring or Whoop Band. I've had the Oura for years and prefer wearing the ring to a band at night. The Whoop is less obtrusive for working out and is a holistic solution if exercise tracking is a priority.
Key metrics:
Heart Rate Variability (HRV): Higher values indicate better recovery. Track your baseline for two weeks, then aim to stay in your top quartile.
Resting Heart Rate (RHR): Lower values indicate better cardiovascular fitness. RHR climbing above your baseline indicates stress, overtraining, or poor recovery.
Sleep Efficiency: What percentage of your time in bed are you asleep? Target 85%+, ideally 90%+.
Sleep Stages (simplified):
Deep Sleep (aim for 15-25% of total) is for physical recovery and mostly occurs in the first half of the night. Going to bed on time matters most.
REM Sleep (aim for 20-25% of total) is for cognitive recovery and mostly occurs in the second half of the night. Getting enough time in bed matters most.
Wearable data is accurate for recovery measures (HRV, RHR) and sleep efficiency, but only ~75% accurate for sleep stages. Short-term stage data is noisy, so focus on longer-term patterns.
Wearables capture outcomes but not causes. Tracking closes the feedback loop. Note variables that might affect sleep: meal timing, exercise, caffeine, alcohol, stress, and screen exposure.
In 2-3 weeks, the correlations will become obvious. You'll internalize which behaviors improve your metrics, creating your personal sleep system.
Like any good experimenter, control your variables. Test a single change for one week, looking for shifts in objective data and subjective performance.
The Edge, Tier 1: Foundations (>80% capacity)
Start here. Consistency is the master key to quality sleep, as your brain craves predictability. Control the five key variables: schedule, light, temperature, sound, and alignment.
Schedule
If you execute only one thing from this system, make it this: go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
Sleeping in on weekends creates "jet lag" on Monday, leading to lost REM sleep. It's better to wake up later consistently than to wake up early inconsistently.
Work backward: be in bed nine hours before your desired wake-up time. Let your body wake naturally when rested.
Set a backup alarm for when you need to be awake. This lets you relax knowing you won't oversleep. Use an analog alarm clock (not your phone!) across the room to force you to get out of bed to turn it off.
DO NOT SNOOZE. If this is an issue, practice during the day when you're not trying to wake up. When the alarm goes off, get out of bed, open the curtains, and turn on the lights. Repeat this sequence until it becomes second nature.
Light
Light exposure triggers your circadian rhythm. Get outdoors for sunlight first thing in the morning. Use an LED light therapy lamp on cloudy mornings.
Turn your bedroom into a sleep cave. It should be as dark at 9 am as at 9 pm. Use blackout curtains on all windows and cover electronic lights. To test total darkness before committing to curtains, cover your windows with aluminum foil.
An eye mask improves sleep quality, even in a dark room. Use one with padding that lets you keep your eyes open. If you're new to eye masks, expect a 1-2 week adjustment period before you stop removing them during sleep. My pick is Manta, but test 2 or 3 to see which you like best.
Temperature
Keep your bedroom cold and add an extra blanket. Start with 65°F/18°C. Sleep efficiency craters at temperatures beyond 70°F.
For bedding, stick to natural fibers (cotton, linen, wool, down) for breathability. I recommend a cotton sheet and an oversized down comforter with no top sheet. A weighted blanket on top helps me fall asleep faster and reduces the duration of wake-ups.
Cooling mattress covers like Eight Sleep have become more comfortable recently. They are a great alternative to central air, especially for couples with varying temperature preferences.
Get a cheap hydrometer to monitor bedroom humidity, aiming for 30-60%. Below 30% restricts breathing (common in winter), while above 60% increases wakefulness.
Sound
Ambient noise can trigger cortisol production, disrupting sleep stages even if it doesn't wake you. Choose the bedroom furthest from the street and use rugs to dampen sound.
The best $50 I've spent is on a white noise machine. It creates a sound cocoon that blocks external disruptions. I travel with one everywhere. If your environment is loud, use earplugs too.
Alignment + Breath
Nasal breathing correlates with 30% more deep sleep, consistent REM cycles, and a 10-25% increase in oxygen uptake. Train with mouth tape. Use nasal strips to increase airflow.
Get tested for the most common allergies: dust, dander, and mold. Run a HEPA air filter, change filters regularly, and wash sheets frequently.
If you sleep on your stomach, train yourself to sleep on your side (or back if you don't snore). If you experience neck or back pain in the morning, try a pillow between your knees (side) or under your knees (back). Side sleeping is generally optimal—it keeps airways open and spine aligned.
Experiment with different pillows to find what you like best. For me, switching from two soft pillows to a single overstuffed memory foam pillow was a game-changer.
If you're told you snore or have morning headaches, stop here and get tested for sleep apnea—it affects 5% of women and 15% of men.
The Mental Game of Sleep
I know you're itching to get back to those juicy tactics. But first, we need to address the internal voices that will resist putting them into practice.
That 10pm-midnight window feels like your most valuable time. No kids, meetings, or interruptions. Finally, time to think! This is sleep revenge—delaying bedtime to reclaim personal time. But you're trading tomorrow's decision quality for tonight's minor task completion. You're borrowing against future performance at predatory interest rates.
The key to optimizing sleep is giving yourself permission to prioritize recovery. Treat sleep as a reward for a well-lived day. You'll know it's working when you start looking forward to sleep. "Already time for bed" becomes "finally time for bed."
Optimizing sleep may create a new problem: performance anxiety about sleep. You prevent yourself from falling asleep by monitoring whether you're falling asleep. This is where Type A personalities get stuck. We can't achieve sleep the same way we achieve everything else. We don't "do" sleep; we allow it.
Your only responsibility is to create the conditions for sleep and then step aside. Execute the system, then surrender control. If you're lying awake, you're still getting neurological rest. Treat your bed as a trusted environment where recovery happens on its own timeline.
Important note: Individual variation exists, but it's rarer than believed. Age doesn't reduce sleep needs as frequently reported—it just makes it harder to obtain quality sleep. You may say, "I'm fine on 6 hours," but extreme short sleepers (true 6-hour people) are less than 3% of the population.
Odds are you’ve adapted to chronic sleep debt and mistaken it for optimization. Before concluding you’re an outlier, experiment.
If you're a night owl, don't fight it. Shift the entire system later—consistency matters more than clock times.
The Edge, Tier 2: Force Multipliers (>90% capacity)
Once you have a consistent foundation, these interventions will amplify your results. My recommendation: instead of trying to "buy" better sleep, cast a critical eye at your habits, environment, and lifestyle.
Exercise
The most effective intervention for improving sleep quality is exercise. Regular exercise enhances deep sleep, shortens sleep onset, and increases total duration.
Timing matters. Complete workouts at least three hours before bedtime to allow sympathetic activation to dissipate. High-intensity exercise too close to bedtime delays sleep onset and disrupts recovery.
Low-intensity movement (walking, restorative yoga, stretching) is always beneficial and promotes parasympathetic activation. Compression boots are a godsend for athletic recovery—they improve circulation, reduce inflammation, and downregulate the nervous system.
Nutrition and Hydration
Inconsistent mealtimes can disrupt circadian rhythm. Avoid food 2 hours before bed and heavy meals 3 hours before, as digestion can elevate heart rate.
If you're genuinely hungry close to bedtime, have a small amount of protein and fat (spoonful of nut butter, hard-boiled egg)—not carbs or sugar, which cause blood sugar spikes and crashes.
Alcohol kills sleep. You're knocking yourself out but fragmenting sleep, disrupting REM. Show me a regular drinker and I'll show you a nonserious sleeper.
Front-load hydration earlier in the day and taper after dinner to minimize nighttime bathroom trips.
Caffeine
Stop drinking caffeine after lunch. Everyone metabolizes caffeine differently, but the typical half-life is 6 hours. This means 25% of that noon coffee is still in your system at midnight. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors and reduces deep sleep by 20-25% if consumed 6 hours before bedtime.
Limit nighttime chocolate, especially dark chocolate. A 1-ounce serving of dark chocolate (3 squares) contains ~25mg caffeine and ~250mg theobromine. Theobromine has 1/10 the power but an 8-hour half-life.
Lights and Screens
Keep your bedroom sacred—dedicated to sleep and sex only. No phones or laptops allowed. Use a hallway table for overnight device charging. Condition your brain to associate your bedroom with rest, not work or stimulation.
Have a hard cutoff for screens ~90 minutes before bed. Artificial light suppresses melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep. It's easy to overlook this one, so if you sleep with a partner, hold each other accountable.
On device nights, wear blue-light-blocking glasses. I wear orange-tinted lenses (max blocking) for Kindle reading and clear ones for work or movies.
Reduce light intensity 2-3 hours before bed using dimmers, amber bulbs (2700K or lower), salt lamps, or candles. No overheads. This supports natural melatonin production. Have a designated "lights out" time.
Mental Hygiene
Create evening content boundaries. Avoid emotionally charged topics such as work challenges, news, politics, and intense conversations. These can spike cortisol and sympathetic activation when you're trying to downregulate. If you read before bed, stick to fiction, non-thrillers.
After your screen cutoff, do a brain dump where you write down everything on your mind—incomplete tasks, tomorrow's priorities, lingering concerns. Capture the open loops so you won't worry about forgetting and your brain doesn't try to hold it all overnight.
Visualization accelerates sleep onset. Try visualizing a peaceful place or a satisfying activity. I visualize shooting free throws or hitting perfect pádel shots—the repetition and familiarity occupy my mind without stimulating it.
If you meditate, lying in bed is a great time for extra practice. Focus on your breath, watching it without trying to change it. Release your entire being with every outbreath. This removes sleep anxiety by creating a win/win: either you fall asleep or get extra meditation time, both great outcomes.
Supplement Stack
I've tested tons of supplements and had the best results with the stack popularized by Andrew Huberman. Take each an hour before your desired bedtime.
Magnesium L-Threonate (start with 100mg, increase to 150mg if needed)
L-Threonate, the only magnesium form that crosses the blood-brain barrier, activates GABA receptors and reduces neural excitability, increasing deep sleep and smoothing sleep cycle transitions. Look for brands containing Magtein (the patented form).
L-Theanine (200 mg)
L-Theanine, found in green tea, modulates glutamate, promoting alpha wave states and sleep onset.
I also take L-Theanine with caffeine (at a 2:1 ratio) to broaden the distribution curve. This results in a smoother onset with a gradual tapering rather than a crash. Research suggests that combining caffeine with L-Theanine causes ~30% less sleep disruption than caffeine alone.
Apigenin (50mg)
Apigenin, found in chamomile, is more potent when isolated. It binds to the same brain receptors as anti-anxiety medications, but in a gentler way. It's non-habit-forming and your body doesn't build up tolerance.
Ashwagandha (300mg, cycle 6 weeks on and 1 week off)
If stress is impacting your sleep, add ashwagandha. While the rest of the stack works on your neurotransmitter systems, ashwagandha impacts your endocrine stress response—specifically, cortisol regulation and the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal), which governs your body's stress management. It is most effective when taken consistently, with benefits building over weeks.
Avoid:
Drugs like Xanax and Ambien don't produce natural sleep. They sedate you, suppressing REM sleep and restorative processes. Tolerance builds quickly, dependency follows, and morning grogginess is common.
Vitamin B6, commonly found in sleep stacks, normalizes cortisol and adrenal function. It gives me incredibly vivid dreams. Great for dreamwork, not so great for restorative sleep.
Stop taking melatonin for sleep onset. Hormonal interventions create feedback loop issues—this is why you feel drowsy in the morning after taking it. Only use for time zone shifts; maximum 0.3mg, three hours before desired bedtime.
Wind-Down Ritual
Transition from wakefulness to sleep by downregulating your nervous system. This sequence activates the parasympathetic system and provides your brain with a structured task, helping prevent rumination.
Heat Exposure: During sleep onset, core body temperature decreases by 1-2°, signaling your brain it's time to sleep. A hot shower, bath, or sauna accelerates this temperature cycle.
Static Stretching (5-10 min): Hip openers, spinal twists, legs up the wall—whatever releases tension. Target sore muscles with a massage gun.
Muscle Relaxation: After getting into bed, progressively tense and relax each muscle group from your feet up to your head. Hold maximum tension for 5 seconds, then release for 10. During the release, immerse yourself in the comfort of your bed.
4-7-8 Breathing: The name refers to the timings: nasal inhale for 4 seconds, breath hold for 7, complete exhale for 8 through the mouth. The exhale stimulates the vagus nerve and the breath hold increases CO2. Eight rounds can shorten sleep onset by 15+ minutes.
Partner Dynamics
If you share a bed with a partner and space/budget allow, upgrade to a king—you won't regret it. Consider a mattress with motion isolation (memory foam or pocketed coils). Order a comforter one size larger than your mattress or use separate blankets to reduce partner movement disruption.
If you have different temperature needs, use separate blankets or invest in a dual-zone cooling mattress cover. Keep the bedroom cool and let the warmer person add layers.
If there's a schedule misalignment (early bird meets night owl), minimize unnecessary disruptions. Protecting each other's sleep is a shared priority, not a personal inconvenience. Stage clothes outside the bedroom the night before. Use a red-light nightlight to avoid turning on lights. Use a vibrating alarm and don't snooze. For critical sleep nights before important events, separate rooms without guilt.
When you and your partner are on the same schedule and on the same page, everything in this system is easier. "Lights out at 10 pm" works only if you're both committed to maintaining boundaries. Be supportive and collaborative—you're optimizing together, not policing each other.
Protect Your Edge
Sleep optimization isn't a 30-day challenge—it's a permanent upgrade to your operating system. Start with Tier 1. Track everything for two weeks. Then experiment with Tier 2 interventions. Choose one at a time and test each for a week. Trust the data over your assumptions. This system takes weeks to dial in, but the returns compound for decades.
You've likely operated at 70% capacity for so long that you forgot what excellence feels like. You've normalized your afternoon crashes, your need to re-read things, and your irritability. It's costing you daily.
Operating at 95% means reading situations instantly, catching details others miss, staying composed under pressure, and having energy when others fade.
In three months, you won't remember what 70% felt like. That's both a gift and a danger. The gift: your baseline is higher than you thought possible. The danger: it's easy to slip back without noticing. What you thought was your ceiling is now the floor to defend.
This system gives you the edge. Protect that edge.
Appendix
Nap Protocol
Naps can enhance alertness, mood, and memory, but first prioritize nighttime sleep. If you consistently need naps to function, that's a signal your foundation needs work—return to Tier 1.
Don't just "rest your eyes" at your desk—commit to the nap or skip it. Create the right conditions: dark, quiet, and comfortable. Lights off, curtains closed, eye mask on, earplugs in, resting under the covers.
Using the app Pzizz feels like activating nap superpowers. It guides you into sleep and gently brings you back to alertness. It doubles my nap efficiency.
Aim for 20-30 minutes of sleep for an alertness boost and mood lift. This length provides restorative benefits without entering deep sleep, minimizing grogginess. When the alarm sounds, get up immediately. No snoozing. Caffeine naps work well as a double boost, but be conservative with dosage (less than half your usual) to avoid evening sleep disruption.
If you're severely sleep-deprived and need deeper recovery, a 60-minute nap can complete a full sleep cycle. Allow extra time afterward to shake off the cobwebs. Avoid 30 to 60-minute naps, as you'll get the worst of both worlds: an incomplete cycle and grogginess from sleep inertia.
The ideal napping window is 1-3 pm, aligning with the natural circadian "afternoon dip" in alertness. Never nap within six hours of your bedtime. Late naps reduce adenosine buildup (sleep pressure), disrupting nighttime sleep architecture.
Travel Protocol
Travel is where sleep pros separate themselves from the amateurs. You can take steps to maximize your performance on the road, even without optimal conditions.
Find the quietest room in your accommodation. Request a hotel room away from the elevator with an internal view. Set the temperature to 65°F. Test the bedding upon arrival. Address any light leaks. I use binder clips on curtain gaps and electrical tape for electronics.
For all time zone changes, get sunlight and exercise immediately. Force yourself onto the local schedule—go to bed at the local time even if you're not tired. Maintain your wind-down ritual.
Traveling west to east is harder. To give yourself a head start, shift your bedtime 30+ minutes earlier each night for the three nights leading up to your flight. For shifts of 8+ hours, take 0.3mg melatonin three hours before desired bedtime for the first few nights.
Troubleshooting
Most sleep challenges fall into three categories. If any apply to you, try these interventions in the listed order.
Can't fall asleep
This is hyperarousal—your nervous system isn't downregulating. Your sympathetic system is still running when the parasympathetic should take over. Get out of your head and into your body.
Put your devices away.
Do a full "brain dump"—write down tomorrow's tasks and everything else on your mind.
Be religious about the wind-down ritual.
Try a Pzizz guided visualization.
Increase Magnesium L-Threonate dosage to 150-200mg.
If persistent, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the gold standard.
Waking up at night
The hardest part of this challenge is diagnosis. Common causes include stress/anxiety, the need to urinate, and environmental disruptions (noise, temperature, light, partner movement).
If racing thoughts, do progressive muscle relaxation and 4/7/8 breathing. Keep a notebook near your bed to jot down anything on your mind. Don't look at the clock or your phone.
Hydrate earlier in the day, and drink minimal liquids after dinner.
Address potential disruptions; see earlier sections.
If you wake up hungry, it might be a blood sugar issue. Try eating a small amount of protein and fat one hour before bed.
Hard time waking up
You wake on time but feel groggy or unrested. This suggests insufficient sleep or circadian misalignment.
Add 30-60 minutes to total sleep time by going to bed earlier. Most people underestimate their sleep needs. Maintain a consistent wake time, even on weekends.
Get morning light exposure immediately to anchor your circadian rhythm.
If an alarm is necessary, try a gradual wake-up method, such as a sunrise alarm or a smart alarm like Pzizz.
If severe, get tested for sleep/hormonal disorders, including sleep apnea.