If you are reading this, chances are you follow SamuraiKulture on social media (if you don't, do that ASAP).

So as our proud follower, it is safe to assume that you are somebody who wants the most out of their life. Somebody who strives to become the best version of themselves — somebody who's on the path toward self-mastery.

Well, to achieve all that, sleep is essential.

Tell me this:

If there was a pill that enhances your immune system, improves memory, improves your health, improves your mood, improves your athletic performance, reduces stress, etc. How much would you pay for it?

My guess is — it would be the best-selling drug ever.

Well, sleep helps you with all that (and a lot more), and it's free. Matter of fact our bodies crave it, yet so many of us neglect it.

The reason for this is — people aren't aware of how important sleep is, and how the lack thereof can be detrimental for us.

Not to mention the amount of the "hustle" gurus online who claim that they sleep only 4 hours a day because they can't afford to waste time on such a boring thing as sleep.

As members of the "personal growth" part of the internet, we all came across these types of gurus.

Some people fall for their flashy cars and watches, and end up listening to everything they say.

So the irony in all this, is people start to sleep less "because of the grind" thinking they will make such a huge progress. In reality, they would be far better off if they focused on each task for a few hours a day, and actually slept as a normal human being is supposed to, instead of "hustling" so hard.

And I don't see this sleep neglect only with people who are into personal growth. I see it everywhere.

People tend to sacrifice a good night's sleep for anything.

From having a really tight schedule and struggling to finish all their tasks for the day (so they end up working late into the night), to watching "one more" episode of some random Netflix show before they go to bed.

The amount of people who are sleep-deprived for no apparent reason other than the "who cares" mindset, is astonishing.

One of the stupidest phrases I personally came across is "I will sleep when I die".

Well, that will come a lot sooner than it needs to, if you don't sleep enough.

You simply can’t be sleep-deprived without consequences (they’ll show up sooner or later).

Here are some major side effects of bad sleep:

• Accelerated aging
• Increased risk of Alzheimer's disease
• Increased risk of diabetes
• Increased risk of heart disease
• Increased risk of obesity
• Heck, you will even have worse-looking skin...

Now, don't get me wrong. Having a bad night of sleep here and there will do you no harm. Sure, you'll be a bit slow and tired the next day, but that's it.

People could try to scare you, though.

There are a lot of biohackers, scientists, and "sleep specialists" who will say something stupid and bombastic like "There's scientific evidence that shows only 1 night of bad sleep increases the risk of cardiovascular-related disease by 53%".

I've heard this one a lot.

This is nothing more than playing with words and percentages in the hopes of scaring you (because it does sound like a lot), so you end up buying their sleeping supplements or a course.

It's stupid.

Do you really think that just because you have a lot on your mind and you can't fall asleep one night, you suddenly have a serious risk of getting a heart attack the next day?

Of course not. And they aren't technically claiming you would, but they purposely word it in a way that sounds alarming.

The way they do this is by using percentages. The 53% increase sure sounds a lot. But a 53% increase of something that's already almost non-existent (like the chance of the average, healthy person getting a heart attack), will still be... almost non-existent.

So yeah... don't listen blindly to these "experts".

As I said before, a bad night of sleep here and there won't do you harm.

I don't sleep 100% the way I "should" all the time, either. Heck, sometimes I don't sleep at all. I'm young, I go out from time to time, life happens, and I end up not sleeping that night.

Is this considered "healthy"? Of course not. But we are not robots, and we don't need to be "100% optimized" all the time.

As long as on average you sleep well, that's all that matters.

So how much sleep is needed?

The recommended amount of sleep is 7-9 hours. This is something you should strive for.

Sleeping less than 6 hours is considered sleep deprivation for most people, with the above-mentioned health risks.

Also sleeping more than 9 hours is too much for the majority, and has similar health risks as sleep deprivation.

How much sleep you need depends from person to person.

For example, on average, I sleep for 7 (sometimes 8) hours every night. Anything less or more than this and I will feel exhausted the next day.

Don't stress over this too much though. Your body is a lot smarter than you, and it will tell you how much sleep you need. As long as on average you sleep for around 7-9 hours every night, you are good to go.

If you are chronically sleep-deprived, once you start sleeping better daily, you will see the difference.

Here are some benefits of good sleep (besides avoiding health risks mentioned before; and also in case you forgot about the "pill" example):

• More energy overall (see this article)
• You'll be better and more productive at every single thing you do (again, see this article)
• Better Health
• Better mood
• Enhanced immune system
• Improved memory
• Reduced stress
• Improved athletic performance

In short, good sleep will make you outperform your sleep-deprived self in every single aspect of human existence.

Talking about the biggest bang for the buck...

With that being said, as always, I am trying to give you the most practical and rational advice — contrary to the vast majority of others online.

Here’s how you can take your sleep game to the next level

It’s about what you do throughout the day

The quality of your sleep is a lot more affected by what you do throughout the day than by some crazy sleeping routine or a supplement.

Trust me, 99% of the population doesn't need any sleeping supplementation or a special sleeping routine.

As I said before, the only people who claim so, are the ones who have something to sell you.

You see, if you sit at home all day, doing nothing, it's only natural you don't feel a need to sleep at night.

I mean, why would you?

Sleeping is when your body and mind are "repairing" (by repairing, I'm referring to resting, healing, etc.).

So if you've done nothing throughout the day that would require repairing, of course, you'll have trouble falling asleep.

(With that being said, even if you do nothing, you still need to sleep. Try to pull "all-nighter" and see how you gonna feel the next day)

But imagine if you were to do so much in a single day, you feel exhausted. You would fall asleep as soon as you lay in bed.

Imagine, if you went to the gym first thing in the morning. Then after that, you go to your daily work (whatever is that for you), and you work on fixing some big issue that's been bugging you for some time. Then after work, you come home, rest a bit, and then immediately go out for a walk or whatever (maybe you go on a date, some social event, take your kids somewhere... you name it).

After such an active day, do you think you would have trouble falling asleep? Of course not.

For example, while I was playing basketball professionally, I slept like a baby.

Why? Because I was exhausted.

I had 3+ training sessions a day. Once I would finish my last session (that was usually around 9 or 10 PM), I would come home, eat something, take a shower, and immediately fall asleep.

I was too tired to watch a movie, ponder about things, or do anything for that matter. I would just pass out (lol).

So yeah, by living an active life, by doing things, you will ensure you have a good sleep.

There's no supplement or sleeping hack that will make you sleep better, than actually being active and having an active lifestyle.

The bottom line is, wanna sleep better?

Stop sitting all day doing nothing and start doing shit.

Consistent bedtime and wake-up time

This one is simple.

Going to sleep and waking up at the same time helps anchor your circadian rhythms. It improves sleep onset, overall sleep quality, and recovery.

Basically, by going to sleep at the same time, you are training your body when to sleep. After some time you'll naturally (almost habitually) start to feel "sleepy" around your normal bedtime.

That's why irregular sleeping time can hinder your sleep.

The best time to go to sleep is around 9 to 10 PM. I'm personally guilty of not following this, but I'm trying my best to go to sleep at a somewhat reasonable time.

If you are someone who goes to sleep at 2 AM, try your best to change that, and start going to bed earlier.

8 hours of sleep when going to bed at 10 PM >>> 8 hours of sleep when going to bed at 2 AM

In short, go to bed at a similar time every night, and try to go as early as possible.

Don't eat at least 2 hours before you go to bed

When you eat, your body then needs to process what you've eaten.

By eating too close to your bedtime, you are essentially making your body digest the food while you're also trying to sleep.

Everything our bodies do requires some form of energy. So by eating late, your body starts the digestion process, investing energy into it, and as a result, it hinders your sleep quality.

To prove this, just try to eat as much as you can right before you go to bed, and note how much harder it is for you to fall asleep.

And even once you do, your sleep quality will be much lower than usual, because your body wasted some of the energy on the digestion process instead of on "repairing".

Don't eat at least 2 hours before you go to sleep and don't stuff your face with food. Instead, eat earlier at night and eat something easy to digest.

Limit blue (bright) light exposure at night

Short wavelength light — aka blue light — aka bright LED lights and digital screens suppress our melatonin and can disrupt our circadian rhythms.

Melatonin is not only important for sleep, but also for antioxidant defense, anti-aging, and managing inflammation.

In the hopes of not going too much into science, what all of this basically means is — too much blue light exposure at night is bad for us (especially sleep).

This is because excessive exposure to blue light (i.e. scrolling through social media or watching TV) before bedtime tricks our brain into delaying melatonin production.

This happens because blue light mimics sunlight, leading the brain to believe it's still daytime, not bedtime.

To avoid all of this, simply don't stare at digital screens before going to bed, and instead read a book for example.

Or, you can buy one of those blue light blocking glasses, and use them at night. Those can help as well.

While it is essential to limit blue light exposure at night — it is as equally important to expose yourself to blue light in the morning.

This is because blue light exposure in the morning helps you kickstart your circadian rhythm.

So, going outside for a walk in the morning, for example, can do wonders for your sleeping schedule.

These are some major things you can do that will increase your sleep quality.

Here are some additional tips that can help:

• Bedroom air quality (keep your bedroom ventilated)
• Isolate your room the best you can from outside noise and light
• Don't drink too much water at night (so you avoid frequent toilet trips)
• Bedroom temperature (ideal temperature is around 15-20 °C (59-66 °F))

This is everything that a normal person needs to know about sleep (in my opinion).

There's no need to use sleeping pills for the vast majority of the population.

There's no need for some special sleeping routine.

There's no need to stress about sleep.

Sleep is essential for us and our bodies crave it. As long as we allow it, and have some healthy habits in place, it will more than likely take care of itself.

My goal with this letter was to give you practical advice that you can actually use, and see the results with.

I hope that by incorporating some of the things I talked about today, you'll start to sleep better, and thus set yourself up to achieve whatever you want.

That's it.

Djosa

 

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