Poor Sleep? Poor You! Lack of Sleep Ages You Faster than Time Itself
Here's a no-BS plan to fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up sharper (free download)
I recently worked with a coaching client younger than my usual demographic, a woman in her late thirties. Most of my clients are well into their forties and beyond, so I initially wondered whether my coaching approach would suit her. Turned out it did.
Like all my clients, she completed my brain health assessment before our first session. This holistic evaluation covers eight critical health pillars: nutrition, sleep, stress, movement, cognitive stimulation, social connection, metabolic and hormonal health, and peri- or menopause.
She liked the idea of getting a bird’s-eye view of her current lifestyle and seeing what was working well, and what needed improvement. She also wanted quick wins, which is exactly what I offer at the end of every first coaching session.
And here’s what became obvious, not just in her case, but across the board.
After two years of coaching women, countless conversations, and deep research into brain and cognitive health, one thing is clear:
If you want to improve just one area of your health, let it be sleep.
I’m offering you a free actionable plan to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up sharper. It’s at the end of this post.
Why Sleep is the One Habit That Changes Everything
Sleep is the foundation of your brain health, metabolism, emotions, and long-term vitality.
Fix sleep, and everything else, your energy, focus, cravings, and motivation, begins to fall into place. Ignore it, and you’re fighting an uphill battle in every area of your health.
Here’s what happens when you consistently skimp on sleep:
Memory & Cognition
Your brain has its own cleaning crew: the glymphatic system. Think of your brain as a vast library. During the day, books are pulled off the shelves: emails, meetings, new skills, conversations.
At night, the library closes so the cleaning team can restore order, clearing out toxins, reinforcing important connections, and ensuring the shelves are organised for the next day.
But if you cut your sleep short, that cleaning crew never finishes its job. Over time, this backlog of waste contributes to cognitive decline, memory loss, and an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Metabolism & Hormones
Poor sleep disrupts insulin, leading to increased inflammation and accelerated brain ageing. It also makes perimenopause symptoms like brain fog, anxiety, and mood swings, worse.
Emotional Resilience & Stress
Sleep directly impacts the amygdala, the brain’s emotional centre. Poor sleep makes you more reactive, more anxious, and less able to handle stress. It’s like being emotionally jet-lagged every day.
Movement & Energy
You know that feeling of not wanting to exercise when you’re tired? That’s not just laziness, it could be your brain’s survival instinct. Without good sleep, your body craves quick and easy energy (aka sugar) and resists movement. But the irony? Exercise improves sleep. So it’s a vicious cycle.
Nutrition & Cravings
Lack of sleep hijacks your hunger hormones, making you crave sugar and refined carbs. This creates a rollercoaster of blood sugar spikes, which damages both metabolic and brain health.
Learning & Mental Sharpness
Ever felt foggy and indecisive after a bad night’s sleep? That’s because sleep deprivation shrinks the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for focus, problem-solving, and decision-making. It makes you less efficient.
Social & Emotional Health
Chronic sleep deprivation reduces empathy, makes you less patient, and can lead to social withdrawal. It’s harder to connect with others when you’re exhausted. This can have a profound impact at home, at school, at work.
How to Fix Your Sleep
Forget expensive supplements, biohacking, and extreme diets. Fix sleep first.
Gregory Caremans, who founded The Brain Academy, said in one of his courses that whenever he sees a new client, regardless of the problem they are consulting him for, his first question is almost always: “How well do you sleep?”.
Here are a few quick tips to improve your sleep right away:
Set a non-negotiable sleep routine – Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Don’t try to catch up at the weekend, it simply doesn’t work.
Ditch screens 60 minutes before bed – Blue light from phones and tablets blocks melatonin, your sleep hormone. Read, journal, listen to a podcast, but no screens.
Take magnesium glycinate & dim the lights – Magnesium supports deep sleep, and dim lighting signals to your brain that it’s time to wind down.
No caffeine after 2 p.m. – Even if you think you tolerate it, you probably don’t. And caffeine disrupts deep sleep. I personally don’t drink coffee after 12.
Prioritise sleep like your life depends on it – Because, long-term, it does.
Fix sleep, and every other health habit, from nutrition, movement, to stress management, becomes easier.
Want a step-by-step plan to optimise your sleep? Here’s my free Sleep Reset:
Feel free to download and share!