Newsletter #4:
Feb 23 2024

Hello, my sleep friends

Here's a quick pic from me at the gym today! I've been going there to rehab a shoulder injury for the last month, and it's making such an improvement to the point that I SLEPT ON MY LEFT SHOULDER for a couple of hours this morning. Why is this such a big deal? Because I've been stuck sleeping on one side for so nearly three months! I felt like I was in a magical dream, just being able to face a new direction. It's funny just how much the way we physically sleep can impact our sleep quality. Just me? Surely not!

Today's newsletter is about practical tips to battle stress-induced sleep issues. I nearly swamped you with a ton of information on the mechanics of it all but then realised you just want to know how to improve it, so I'll sprinkle in some information next time because I find it all so fascinating.

Anyway - let's begin!

When talking to people about sleep, one of their biggest challenges is falling asleep; their minds are racing, their bodies are wired, and sleep feels like this unattainable thing far out of reach. It won’t be a surprise to hear that most of these people are also feeling super stressed out, and some are experiencing anxiety.

Today, I’m sharing my top three strategies to support someone struggling to fall asleep at night.

Enjoy!

Weekly Update

My top 3 strategies to support stress-related sleep issues

Get started today!

1. Establish a pre-sleep routine with relaxing activities that help you unwind.

An example could be:

9 pm power-down time starts (no technology). Put the phone on a charger across the room so you aren’t tempted to grab it
Take a hot shower
Dim lights in the bedroom and put lavender essential oils on
Free journal, get any thoughts or feelings out and write your to-do list for tomorrow
Complete 5 minutes of deep breathing in the pattern of 4 seconds in, hold 2 and 6 seconds out
Read a book that won’t make you think too much
10 pm lights out

You could include anything that helps you to wind down and may choose only to have one or two things on your list. You are the master of your routine.

Audit your sleep environment to make sure it’s promoting sleep.

Consider:

Make your room as dark as you can (blackout curtains are great, or an eye mask)
Adjusting the temperature to between 18-20 degrees Celsius or whatever you find most comfortable
Having comfy bedding, pillows you like, fresh sheets - anything that makes you want to be in bed
Keeping the noise at a consistent level

Change the scenery if you’ve been in bed for over 20 minutes and haven’t fallen asleep.

Move to another room with low light (perhaps a lamp) and read the most boring book you have - it must be nothing interesting because that could promote wakefulness.
Once you feel tired, go back to bed and try again. Repeat if necessary.

Sleep Bootcamp launches in March!

I'm pretty excited to be running my first Sleep Bootcamp (lovingly named "Hard Core Harry") from the 18th of March to the 1st of April. Sleep Bootcamp is for the tired adult who wants to make changes now! They are ready and willing to dedicate two weeks to their sleep, kickstarting their journey to mastering their sleep behaviours with the support of a dedicated coach.

Sleep Bootcamp gives you access to:

Two weeks of Sleep Bootcamp
A tailored sleep program based on their real-life
2 hours of online coaching (video)
Two weeks of Coaching support via WhatsApp

This is my first time running Sleep Bootcamp, so I'm launching it at a super-discounted rate of $99! Why? I need to get some boss-a$$ testimonials from real-life humans to help me promote it wider. I seriously considered making it accessible for the first group, but if there is one thing I've learned through experience - it's that it's straightforward to de-prioritise something when you have no skin in the game. Sleep Bootcamp is really for those ready to commit themselves.

I plan on launching this at $497 in the future (and that is what is advertised on my website right now), so this is heavily discounted! Please feel free to share if you know anyone interested; I will begin advertising the March boot camp externally over the weekend.

NZ$99.00

Hard Core Harry Sleep Bootcamp

Hard Core Harry Sleep Bootcamp is for that sleepy adult who wants to make some changes now! They’ve got 2 weeks to... Read more

Next week,

I’ll dive deeper into stress and share more about our “stress response”, including what happens to our bodies, whether stress is good or bad and what control we have over it.

Sleep deeply and dream big!