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Optimal Sleep 101

How to get a great night of sleep to optimize your energy, mood and mojo

Sleep. It’s the secret sauce to optimal living. In this class, explore my Top 10 favorite Big Ideas on how to create consistent, great night’s of sleep to optimize your energy, mood and mojo. We’ll start with why, unpack the kryptonites that get in the way, set some curfews and get you sleeping like a champ.

Philosophers Notes

Why We Sleep

Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

Matthew Walker is one of the world’s leading neuroscientists and sleep experts. He’s a professor at UC Berkeley (and former professor at Harvard) who has spent decades studying why we sleep and how to, as per the sub-title of this book, unlock the power of sleep and dreams. As you know if you’ve been following along, I’m a HUGE advocate of Optimizing our sleep as a fundamental practice in Optimizing our lives. This book has made me EVEN MORE bullish about the power of sleep. The consequences of chronically depriving ourselves of the sleep we need? Well, they’re astonishingly devastating—dramatically increasing the odds of having everything from mood disorders to cancer (and everything else we don’t want). Big Ideas we explore include the fact that you're more likely to get struck by lightning than have the gene that let's you get by on less than the recommended sleep, the universality of sleep (even worms sleep!!), resetting baselines, the iPad effect (did you know how much using one before sleep messes w/your melatonin?), and some tips to Optimize your sleep TONIGHT!!!

Locked Philosophers Notes

Sleep Smarter

21 Proven Tips to Sleep Your Way To a Better Body, Better Health and Bigger Success

Shawn Stevenson is a health coach who has one of the most popular health & fitness podcasts out there called The Model Health Show. This is a short, quick-reading, funny and practical little book featuring 21 tips on how to optimize your sleep. Big Ideas we cover: #1 tip: value your sleep (it’s the secret sauce), avoid the blue lights, adenosine (did you know how caffeine really works?), staying cool, getting your vitamin G and creating PM rituals.

Locked Philosophers Notes

The Sleep Revolution

Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time

Arianna Huffington (CEO of Thrive and co-founder + editor in chief of The Huffington Post) went from being a sleep-deprived executive to a sleep evangelist after passing out and banging her head following years of a grueling work! In this book, she brilliantly walks us through the crisis we’re facing, the history of sleep, the science of sleep and, most importantly, what we can do to Optimize our sleep. I highly recommend it. Big Ideas we explore include the fact that sleep is the #1 most underrated health habit, how to master sleeping well, the #1 tip (and #2-4), how much sleep the wealthiest human on the planet gets (hint: target: 8!), how athletes train their sleep (guess what time Tom Brady goes to sleep!), and why you should set a WORK-DOWN alarm so you don't need a WAKE-UP alarm.

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Locked Philosophers Notes

Rest

Why You Get More Done When You Work Less

Alex Pang is the founder of the Restful Company. In this book, he brilliantly walks us through the science of why rest is an unequivocally essential part of doing truly great work. He integrates the latest findings in neuroscience with compelling and inspiring stories of historical exemplars who leveraged rest to achieve greatness. It’s awesome. Big Ideas we explore include an introduction to your default mode network (aka what your brain does when it's "resting"), your new four-hour workday (that's what the great do), the importance of early starts (and rhythms), why walking and (aerobic) exercise are so powerful for creativity (hint: blood to brain!!), and the importance of deep play (aka making your work AND play one big game).

Locked Philosophers Notes

Take a Nap! Change Your Life.

Want to change your life? Take a nap. Seriously. Nearly all of us are sleep deprived and naps are a scientifically proven way to boost everything you want to boost. Leading scientist Sara Mednicks walks us thru the evolutionary functionality of naps and teaches us how to get our nap on and why we should. In the Note, we'll cover the basics and get you rockin' it like a nap ninja in no time.

Locked Philosophers Notes

Sleep for Success!

Everything You Must Know About Sleep But are Too Tired to Ask

Did you know that 65% of us will have trouble falling asleep tonight and be tired tomorrow? And sleep deprivation costs the United States $66 BILLION annually. That’s a lot of people. And a lot of money. Dr. James B. Maas is one of the world’s leading researchers and educators in the sleep world. He’s been at this for nearly FIVE decades and has taught more than 65,000 students and thousands of executives about the importance of sleep. Big Ideas we cover include the top six sleep thieves, the 4 rules of optimal sleep, and finding the time to get that extra hour we need.

Locked Philosophers Notes

The Longevity Paradox

How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age

How’d you like to “die young” at a ripe old age? Well... This book gives you the how to. Dr. Steven Gundry is a former heart surgeon (plus professor and head of cardiothoracic surgery at Loma Linda University School of Medicine) who makes a compelling case for the idea that we need to invest a lot more time Optimizing the most ancient part of ourselves (our microbiome) if we want to extend both our life span AND our health span (aka die “young” at that ripe old age). Big Ideas we explore include genes vs. microbiome (which one matters more?), long-lived peoples (do and don't!), chronic cardio (equals chronic stress), your two brains (head + gut... which one's #1?), and got glymph? (how to wash your brain!).

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Locked Philosophers Notes

Power Sleep

The Revolutionary Program That Prepares Your Mind for Peak Performance

Sleep. It's powerful. Way more so that you may think. And Dr. James Maas, a leading sleep scientist, gives us the lowdown on how to optimize our sleep for peak performance. In the Note, we'll look at why sleep is so powerful, signs you're not getting enough of it, and some best practices on how to rock it. We'll add a few more zzz's to your zzz's!

Philosophers Notes

Eat Move Sleep

How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes

Eat Move Sleep. The simple, powerful keys to optimal health and well-being. We talk about these fundamentals ALL the time and this is my new favorite book on health. Big Ideas we explore include 10,008 hours and 36 minutes (the magic # of elite performance), candy for cancer cells, the power of measuring whatever it is you want to improve, how to buy willpower at the store, and a vaccine for the common cold.

Locked Philosophers Notes

The Power of Full Engagement

Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal

Loehr and Schwartz tell us we've gotta manage ENERGY not time if we wanna really optimize our lives. Their book is pure goodness. In this Note, we'll explore the four principles of full engagement, why we want to be more like sprinters rather than marathon runners, that there's a pulse of life and we need to honor it, and the power of positive rituals. And some other really Big Ideas on getting our Full Engagement on.

+1s

#152 Digital Sunset

Bedtime for Your Electronics
In our last +1, we talked about Digital Sabbaticals. Today, let’s talk about Digital Sunsets. I’m not 100% sure if I coined that phrase
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Locked +1s

#175 How Caffeine Really Works

And When (Not) to Have It
Do you know how caffeine actually works? Most of us think that caffeine gives us energy. But what it actually does is mask our
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#208 The 10,008 Hour + 36 Min Rule

The #2 Factor on What Makes Great Performers Great
At this stage, most of us are familiar with “The 10,000 Hour Rule” Malcolm Gladwell made popular in his book Outliers. The research that
+1s

#216 Take a Nap!

And Change Your Life
In one of our earlier +1’s, we talked about The 10,008 Hour and 36 Minute Rule—our new favorite rule for actualizing our potential. We
Locked +1s

#217 Sleep: Before + After Edison

Know How Much Your Great Grandparents Slept?
Think back to life around 150 years ago. It’s 1875. No iPhones. In fact, no phones at all. Just telegrams. (Alexander Graham Bell won’t
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Locked +1s

#326 Napitations

Nap + Meditation = Magic
The other day I was taking a little napitation and I thought to myself, “Self, you should do a +1 on Napitations.” So, here we are. 🤓
Locked +1s

#489 Nappuccino, Anyone?

Zambonis for Your Brain
I’m typing this right after taking a little napitation. (I literally got up 4 minutes ago. Hah.) It always blows me away how a nap as
Locked +1s

#629 Sleeping with Tom Brady

And Roger Federer and LeBron James
Tom Brady is one of the (if not the) greatest football players of all time. He’s won five Super Bowl Championships and is still dominating
Locked +1s

#647 Alarms: Work-Down vs. Wake-Up

One’s (at Least!) 10x Better than the Other
Not too long ago, we chatted about Roger Federer, LeBron James and Tom Brady and how much those all-time greats prioritized sleep. As you
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Locked +1s

#648 Making Money BECAUSE You Sleep

Sleeping with Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett
In our last +1, we talked about setting your “work-down” alarm so you don’t need to set a “wake-up” alarm. (For what time did you
+1s

#670 Meditation’s Instant ROI

Trouble Falling Asleep? Cut It in Half!
Meditation. At this point, most of us are pretty aware of the fact that it’s been proven to be pretty epic for our well-being. Congrats,
Locked Philosophers Notes

The Circadian Code

Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight

Satchin Panda is one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of circadian biology. This book is a FANTASTIC distillation of what he and his colleagues have discovered and how we can apply those insights to our modern lives. I highly recommend it. Want to, as per the sub-title of the book, “lose weight, supercharge your energy, and transform your health?” Then pay attention to your body’s infinitely wise internal clock!! As Dr. Panda tells us: “The Circadian Code is a revolution in the way you think about diet, exercise, work, learning, and technology. Instead of counting calories or limiting food choices, you will learn that there is a right time to eat so that you can actually burn calories while you sleep. There is also a best time of day to exercise, to work, and to rest. Your body already knows this code: you just have to become aware of it and then follow its rhythm.” I’m excited to share some of my favorite Big Ideas so let’s jump straight in!

Locked +1s

#740 To Read on an iPad at Night

Or To Read a Printed Book? ← That Is the Question

In our Heroic Coach certification program, we kick the party off by establishing the game we’re playing in Module I: Eudaimon-ology in

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Locked +1s

#742 Think You Can Get By on Little Sleep?

Science Says: Think Again (Struck by Lightning Lately?)
In our last couple +1s, we’ve had some fun hanging out with our suprachiasmatic nuclei and chatting about how to Optimize our sleep.
Locked +1s

#743 Optimizing Z’s: 12 Tips

Your #1? (Tonight the Night?)
In our last several +1s, we’ve been having fun Optimizing our Z’s. Let’s continue. We wrapped up our last +1 with a quick inventory of
Locked +1s

#744 Sleep: Even Worms Do It

Plus: One-Eyed-/Half-Brained-Bird Sleep
We’re on a roll with Optimizing our sleep so I say we continue our little series. Today we’ll look at some fun facts about the
Locked +1s

#745 Sleep: The Miracle Drug!

Let’s Pop The Metaphorical Pills to Reduce the Real Ones
Why We Sleep is a life-changing kinda book. (You get it yet? Trust me, you’ll thank me!) We’re going to spend a few more days mining a
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Locked +1s

#746 Baselines: Best vs. Meh

Resetting vs Optimizing
One of the key themes we come back to in our Optimizing work together is the idea that we want to make our prior best our new baseline.
Locked +1s

#747 Sleep: Crazy Stats

To Make Your Heart Skip a Beat
Wrapping up our tour through world-class sleep scientist Matthew Walker’s brain (and book Why We Sleep), how about some sleep stats to
Locked +1s

#792 How to Throw Away Your Alarm Clock

Super Complicated: Go to Bed Earlier (🤓)
In our last +1, we talked about snoozing your alarm clock’s snooze button so you don’t suffer sleep inertia for the first four hours of
Locked +1s

#895 Got Glymph?

How to Wash Your Brain
Dr. Steven Gundry is Tony Robbins’ doctor. He’s a former world-class heart surgeon. These days he focuses on longevity. His new book is
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Locked +1s

#896 Glymph for the Win

Crazy Stats from My Oura Ring
In our last +1, we got our brain-washing glymph on. 🧠 Specifically, we started paying more attention to our glymphatic system by eating
Locked +1s

#897 My Readiness Scores (Yours?)

A+, Please
In our last couple +1s, we’ve been having fun hanging out with our glymph and adding some elbow grease to the ol’ brain washing process
Locked +1s

#911 Foundation vs. Pillars

Our #1 Fundie? Sleep!

As we’ve discussed, in the Mastery phase of our Heroic Coach program, we recently marched through our fundamentals: Eat + Move + Sleep +

Locked +1s

#912 Why We DON’T Sleep

The Top 10 Sleep Kryptonites
In our last +1, we talked about Why We Sleep. (Again.) And, I made (yet) another strong recommendation to buy that potentially life-changing
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Locked +1s

#913 Sleep Efficiency

Want 8 Hours? Be in Bed for 9!
In our last +1, we took a (very) quick look at our Top 10 Sleep Kryptonites. You Optimize one last night? (High fives!) I want to revisit
Locked +1s

#914 Reasons to GET UP

vs. Reasons to STAY Up
In our last +1, we had a quick chat about sleep efficiency as we shined a (night) light on how much sleep you’re ACTUALLY getting. In bed
Locked +1s

#915 A Brief History of (Blue) Light

Save It for the Daytime
Continuing our 80/20 Look at Why We Sleep, Why We Don’t, and How to Optimize Our #1 Fundie, Today we’re going to chat about A Brief
Locked +1s

#916 Training Tranquility

Today for TONIGHT for Tomorrow
In our +1 on the Top 10 Sleep Kryptonites, we briefly discussed the fact that “Anxiety” is one of the top reasons people give for Why We
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Locked +1s

#917 Sleep Curfews

Caffeine + Exercise + Eating + Screens + Work
Continuing our (second!) trip through Sleep Optimizing, let’s talk about some important curfews. Remember our Top 10 Sleep Kryptonites?
Locked +1s

#920 Borrowed Energy

Where’s the Energy-Mint App to Track It?!
In one of our very first Notes, we took a quick look at Brendan Brazier’s The Thrive Diet. I read the book when it came out nearly a dozen
Locked +1s

#940 Stress Curfews

When's Yours?
Not too long ago, we talked about Sleep Curfews. Five of them, to be precise. One for Caffeine. Another for Exercise. Plus Eating. Plus
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#948 Despair → Hope

The Best Bridge?

In our last +1, we put on our Optimizing nerd glasses ( 🤓 !!!) and explored the etymological (and psychological) opposites: prosper and

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Locked +1s

#1007 PM Counts Twice

PM → AM + DAY + PM = #carpediem
The other day I was revisiting my Masterpiece Day. I’m pretty much constantly tweaking it on a micro +1 level and, when needed, revisiting
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#1031 Death's Interest Rate

Schopenhauer Says: It’s Paid by Sleep
Not too long ago, we chatted about Ryan Holiday’s latest book Stillness Is the Key. (Since then, he and I connected for an interview you
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#1033 Building an Epic Bridge

I Hereby Challenge You to Have a Series of Really Bad Days
In our last +1, we talked about the Big 2 Virtues. Do you recall what science says are the two most important virtues for flourishing?!
Locked +1s

#1170 The Snow Globe

In Your Brain (Quit Shaking It!)
In the last couple +1s, we talked about The Shattered Vase (and the power of taking those pieces and making a beautiful new mosaic) then we
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Locked +1s

#1171 “Shut-Down COMPLETE!”

Not “Shut-Down ALMOST Complete!”
In our last +1, we spent some time with our snow globe and, if we’re practicing our shared philosophy, we DIDN’T shake it in the hour
Locked +1s

#1173 Cortisol and Melatonin

Teeter Totter Buddies
Not too long ago we chatted about the good ol’ Snow Globe in our brains. As you may recall, we want to avoid shaking it late at night if
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#1187 Superman’s Kryptonite Bath

How to Destroy Your Power Tonight
A couple +1s ago, we referenced Steven Kotler’s line from The Rise of Superman. Recall that he said: “To put it another way: flow is the
Locked +1s

#748 Sleep, Work, and Boiling Water

Medium vs. High Heat (You?)
Today we will officially wrap up our Science of Sleep series. (Before moving on to some Food Rules for some micro wins on another core
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