Today, I want to talk to you about the one habit that has the biggest impact on your health and wellbeing – and the best part? You’re already doing it every single day.
Any guesses?
It’s something you need every day, but chances are you’re not giving it the priority or focus it deserves. When you do, the benefits ripple through every aspect of your life – your energy, your mood, your decisions, and even your success.
Have you figured it out? Or are you still scratching your head?
It’s sleep.
I’ve been saying for a long time that sleep is the foundational piece when it comes to health and wellbeing. And the more I prioritise it in my own life, the more evidence I see that this is true.
We all know that sleep is important – but I’m not just talking about feeling rested. Sleep is the key to showing up with energy, making better decisions, handling stress more effectively, and aligning your actions with your goals. Let me explain why this matters so much – and why it might be time to rethink how you’re approaching sleep.
Why Sleep Matters More Than You Think
Let’s start with the most obvious reason: energy.
When you wake up after a great night’s sleep, you feel energised, clear-headed, and ready to take on the day. But when you’ve had poor sleep – or not enough sleep – you drag yourself through the day in survival mode.
Now think about how that impacts your decisions.
Let’s say you have a weight loss goal. If you wake up feeling exhausted, how likely are you to stick to your workout plan or make a healthy meal choice? Probably not very. Instead, you’ll reach for whatever’s quick and easy and convince yourself you’ll “get back on track tomorrow.”
But here’s the kicker: that tiredness and those poor decisions don’t just affect that one day. They create a knock-on effect. Poor sleep leads to poor decisions, which leads to feeling sluggish, which leads to even worse sleep the next night. And so the cycle continues.
This doesn’t just apply to health goals – it’s true for any goal. When you start your day feeling depleted, the decisions you make and the actions you take are coming from a place of fatigue. And that’s not a recipe for success.
Why We Sacrifice Sleep (and Why It’s a Mistake)
I know what you might be thinking:
“This all sounds great, but my life is so full. I simply don’t have time to sleep more.”
I get it. When you’ve got big goals – especially in your business – it’s tempting to keep going, to keep working, to keep pushing. Sleep often feels like the easiest thing to sacrifice.
But here’s the truth: working late into the night isn’t just stealing your sleep – it’s increasing your stress levels. And that stress makes it harder to sleep, even when you do make it to bed.
It’s not just about what happens in the evening; how you manage your stress and energy levels throughout the day has a massive impact on your sleep quality. Constant busyness, never slowing down, and feeling like you have to be “on” all the time – all of this affects how well you sleep.
Even if you’re technically getting enough hours of sleep, if your stress levels are high, the quality of that sleep will suffer. And poor sleep means you’ll wake up feeling depleted – which, again, makes it harder to make aligned decisions during the day.
If you want to hit those big goals of yours – whether in business, health, or life – you need to start from a place of energy, not exhaustion. And that means prioritising sleep.
What Matters More: Your Goals or Your To-Do List?
Here’s the tough part: to truly prioritise sleep, you might have to let something go.
I know that’s not easy. But if you’re serious about your goals, you have to get honest about how you’re currently spending your time.
What matters more? Your goals and your vision, or the endless to-do list that’s keeping you up at night?
Because at the end of the day, everything is a choice. And everything comes with a compromise.
- You might need to let go of the need to control every little detail.
- You might need to delegate more.
- You might need to say “no” more often, even if it feels uncomfortable.
But the one thing you should not compromise on is sleep. It’s the foundation for everything else in your life.
When you’ve had a good night’s sleep, you know how much more alive and energised you feel. Your decisions are clearer, your interactions are more positive, and your day feels lighter and easier.
You feel more present. More joyful. More focused.
And when you’re feeling like that, guess what happens? You get more done. You feel more aligned with your goals. You make decisions from a place of calm and clarity instead of exhaustion and frustration.
The Role of Perfectionism and Mental Load
There’s one more thing I need to mention – because it might not seem obviously linked to sleep, but trust me, it is.
Perfectionism.
When you’re a perfectionist, you spend extra time making sure everything is just right before you put it out into the world. And that extra time? It’s eating into the time you could be sleeping.
Done is better than perfect. And if you can free up even an hour or two by letting go of the need to make everything perfect, you’ll create more space for rest – and you’ll feel the benefits almost immediately.
And then there’s the mental load – the invisible weight of keeping track of everyone’s needs, schedules, and responsibilities. When your mind is overloaded, it’s hard to switch off and get the deep, restorative sleep you need.
Reducing your mental load will improve your sleep – which, in turn, will improve your energy and decision-making during the day. It’s all connected.
(If you want to dive deeper into the mental load piece, I’ve written a separate blog on this – it’s called “The Biggest Thing Stopping You from Doing What You Know You Need to Do to Look After Yourself.” If you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend it.) LINK TO BLOG ON MENTAL LOAD
Sleep Is Non-Negotiable
So, I’ll say it again: You might have to let some things go – but sleep isn’t one of them.
If you’re serious about your health, your happiness, and your success, sleep needs to be a top priority. Not an afterthought. Not something that gets squeezed in when you have time.
Because when you’re well-rested, you’re unstoppable.
So maybe it’s time to take an honest look at your schedule and your commitments. What can you ditch or delegate? What doesn’t align with your goals anymore? Where are you saying “yes” out of obligation instead of intention?
It’s not easy – but it’s worth it.
Because you’ll never reach your goals from a place of exhaustion. Prioritise your sleep – and watch everything else fall into place.
If this blog has resonated with you, you might also what to read these ones:
- Rewrite Your Narrative: The Power of Choosing a New Story
- The One Question That Will Change Everything
- Your Health Matters More Than Your Business (Yes, Really!)
- Why Stepping Away from Your Desk is the Key to Unlocking Your Energy and Creativity
And if you prefer to listen to this in audio form, you can find my podcast on this exact topic on Spotify here and on Apple Podcasts here. ADD LINKS TO PODCAST EPISODE ONCE PUBLISHED