Hi ,

I know a few super successful health and fitness professionals who have a very strange sleep habit. They go to bed at 8pm and wake up at 4am. These are self-employed people who voluntarily wake up at 4am. And they are actually not insane. In fact, they are some of the most productive people I know.

Several articles have come out over the last couple years on sleep habits and early wake-up times as they relate to productivity. People who wake up earlier not only get more done, but are more focused and consistent with their priorities in general.

Why is this?

One ... 

THERE'S NO ONE ELSE AWAKE AT 4AM. So the number of distractions and pulls on our focus is finite. No one emailing expecting an instantaneous response. No one on social media really yet (something I noticed when in the UK -- I was all, where are my peeps?), and no one texting or talking to us. The only thing left to do at that time is #GSD (or Get Shit Done, like my girls say in Best of You) -- and drink coffee of course.

And two ... 

Early mornings are not only quiet, but they are the times when our willpower is at its highest. Think about it. We are fresh off a full night's sleep and our minds are not cluttered with decisions and considerations from others yet. We have a clear mind and lots of mental stores to, again, #GSD. It's no wonder people cite breakfast as their healthiest meal of the day -- willpower is at its highest.

These are both important implications for our priorities. Meaning, because your focus is high and distractions are low, choose strategically how your spend that time. Is getting in your workout your #1 priority? If so, do it first thing. Is it writing a blog or being creative? Do that first thing. 

Do the things that take the most mental energy in the morning. Your day will end up being super productive.

With all that said, if your sleep quality sucks -- or you are simply not sleeping -- we have to get that under control, because no sleep means less effectiveness, more cravings, more hunger and one very grumpy girl.

But surprisingly, sleep doesn't begin in the bed. It begins with what you do the night before, the day before, and the weeks before. 

Your sleep quality is the culmination of everything that you are doing (or not doing) when you are awake.

Here are 5 things to keep in mind when it comes to sleep quality and getting your Z's so that the next day is everything you want it to be:

1) Pay attention to stress. 

This has to be the #1 sleep killer. Your brain is going a mile a minute, and you cannot turn it off. This is cumulative, right? You can have a single poor night of sleep as a result of an acute stress (like the stink bugs that are currently taking up residence in my bedroom with me) but usually insomnia or chronic poor sleep can be traced back to chronic stress. 

I have personally been dealing with this little gift recently, after previously not really ever having experienced it. And as soon as I realized the road I was going down, I started taking steps during the day to relieve mental stress. I started journaling ~20 minutes a day when I was tired from work and wanted to take a break, or eating my lunch BAS. Just jotting down thoughts as they poured into my head, no editing or censoring, just letting them flow, and to my surprise, it started dissipating the mental tension. 

2) Adopt a meditation practice a bedtime (for non-mediators, like me!)

I have to tell you -- I'm not a huge mediation person. I've always liked it in theory, but kind of sort of felt like I didn't have the patience for it. And I still don't think I do for mid-day mediation, like stop-drop-and-meditate status, like some people. But I did begin meditating when I got into bed and it's made a huge difference. It's the most simple meditation that even non-meditators like me can "get" and do. All I do is focus on the black behind my eyelids. That's it. I see the black and I focus on seeing it. When my mind wanders away from the consciousness of focusing on the blackness, I just pull my focus back to it and see it. I do it again and again and I swear I am out cold within minutes. Try and see how you do.

3) Nighttime nutrition.

This is where we can investigate the difference between two different types of sleepers:

• Try Yogi Bedtime tea
• Additional greens -- stuffing yourself with broccoli, greens, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc at dinner, plus a little more clean starch at dinner (insulin response)
• No cocoa or caffeine after 12pm 

• Try shirataki noodles at dinner--they are all fiber which helps balance blood sugar throughout the night
• Increase protein at dinner--add an additional serving of your fav protein-- this will stabilize blood sugar for longer
• When you wake up, immediately get up and eat something with a little carb/protein (see #4 below)

4) Skip the booze.

I have a name for that time of night when you wake up -- WIDE AWAKE -- at 3am after you've had a few classes of wine or some booze: Wine O'Clock. You know what I'm talking about. This has to do with blood sugar regulation -- the cortisol and insulin interaction. Usually, when we drink, we fall sleep really easily (insulin) but then we do Wine O'Clock (cortisol) and we could seriously get up and work on Sudoku puzzles -- we're that alert. The key for this is getting up and eating something with a little bit of carb and fat. Try a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (yes, Ezekiel bread works!) or a protein bar. And then see #2 above. Also, limit yo booze if you can :) 

5) Incorporate intense exercise. 

Duration is not as important as intensity. You want your body to need and want the recovery. Track sprints, metabolic conditioning workouts, heavy weight training, HIIT cardio, all do a good job of getting this effect. You will have to do some investigative work here though for timing in the day. For example, for some, exercise will give them a stimulatory response at night, so this is obviously not ideal if you're trying to go to bed a few hours later. But for others, nighttime workouts will put them right to sleep. 

But always remember, if your workouts are your priority, I recommend getting them in mañana (see above re: priorities). If it matters, don't put it off till later.

That's a lot! I hope you can pull at least one or two tools to begin incorporating into your regimen. One thing for sure though -- skimping on sleep, for a variety of factors, will make it harder to not only get out of bed, but to have an amazing next day (can you see how this can easily become a negative-reinforcement cycle?). 

My good friend and JillFit Ambassador, Ink Young recently opened up her #GYAOOB (or Get Your Ass Out of Bed) program this week to help women of all ages, schedules and struggles get out of bed earlier and be more productive in the morning. She, like all Metabolic Effect-certified fat loss coaches, approaches healthy lifestyle in a holistic way. Ink understands how nutrition and exercise and stress and lifestyle all factor into quality of sleep and consistency with workouts and even intensity of workouts. It all works together, and I can't recommend Ink and her expertise enough.

Ink's 14-Day program helps you become an effective morning exerciser. The program is a steal at $17 (including 2 bonuses -- 10 Workouts You Can Do In Your Pjs and 10 Post-Workout Recipes)!! And it's ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS SATURDAY SEPT 27TH. Grab it here!

Wishing you a fabulous night sleepppppppzzzzzzzzzzz ... ;)

Ox,

Jill