"Don't count the days, make the days count. " — Muhammad Ali

This quote fits our theme perfectly, if we swap in hours: "Don't count the hours, make the hours count."

In the previous newsletter, "Why Exceptional Sleep Is More Than Getting Enough Hours," we began to look at an important distinction: the amount of time we spend sleeping is not the same thing as the quality of that sleep. So, when we think about exceptional sleep, there are really two things we need to consider together: how much sleep we need, and how well our nervous system can regulate sleep.

As we begin a seven-week series on what makes exceptional sleep exceptional, let's take a closer look at which factors can increase your need for sleep, and why those same demands make nervous-system regulation before sleep even more important. Then, in this week's leveling up somatic practice, I will share one surprising exercise that you can use at bedtime to tune your nervous system toward falling asleep smoothly and getting more restful sleep.

Let's start with a very basic question:

A useful starting point: most adults are advised to sleep about 7–9 hours a night, and adults over 65 about 7–8 hours.

These are helpful reference points, but they are population-level recommendations, not precise instructions. Your own needs can change from one day to the next. So rather than fixating on a number, it may be more useful to ask:

Am I getting enough sleep for what my body and brain are asking of me?

Some days ask for more sleep than others.

Think about a physically demanding day. Perhaps you exercised harder than usual, spent the day gardening, or simply did much more physical activity than you normally do.

Or perhaps the day was mentally demanding. You learned something difficult. You worked for hours on a complicated problem. You had to concentrate intensely or absorb a huge amount of information.

And then there are emotionally demanding days. Stress. Conflict. Worry. Major changes. A difficult conversation. Too much happening at once.

There are also times when the body is dealing with illness or recovering from injury, when more sleep may naturally be needed.

And sometimes the reason is much simpler: you haven't been sleeping enough lately. When sleep is consistently cut short, sleep debt can accumulate. Given the opportunity, your body may naturally try to catch up.

But there's a problem.

While all these demands call for enough recovery sleep, they can also make it harder for the nervous system to carry out all the sleep processes optimally. This makes nervous-system regulation before sleep even more important.

So, we need to be mindful of what the day asks of our body-brain system. Exhaustion has many levels, and recognizing them needs active attention. Physical tiredness is easy to notice, but the effects of prolonged cognitive effort or emotional challenges on your nervous system are often much less obvious.

This is why I don't see exceptional sleep only as the result of creating a perfect routine. Instead, it's about developing the ability to notice, assess, and regulate. Notice your needs, assess the situation, and regulate as necessary.

Using your hands for nervous-system regulation might be a surprising idea. But when we think about how important a role the hands play in everything we do, the logic becomes easier to understand. In fact, long before we use our hands consciously, while we are still in the womb, our brains are already developing a rich relationship with them. Movement and touch create sensory information that helps the brain build an increasingly detailed map of the hands and their relationship with the rest of the body. As a result, the hands have an exceptionally rich, bidirectional communication channel with the brain. And this is where things become interesting: we can make use of this communication intentionally.

Try this simple exercise, which takes about three minutes, or longer if you like.

One benefit of quality sleep is that it helps maintain a more positive mood and emotional well-being. How we feel from moment to moment can range from happiness and contentment to irritability and anxiety, and sleep plays an important role in regulating the systems that influence these emotional states. How this works is that during sleep, the brain has an opportunity to process and integrate emotional experiences from the day, while also regulating the neurological and hormonal systems involved in mood. This may be one reason why poor sleep can leave us feeling more irritable, anxious, or emotionally reactive the following day.

In other words, a good night's sleep doesn't just restore your energy — it can help you meet the next day with greater emotional stability. That's another reason to make quality sleep a daily priority.

Exceptional sleep begins before bed: notice what your day asked of you, assess what you need, and regulate accordingly.

Tonight, spare a few minutes to notice how your day went: physically, mentally, and emotionally. Then assess what that means: Do you need to go to bed a bit earlier to give yourself enough time for sleep? Does your body seem to need some extra time for somatic practices to help your body-brain system settle as part of your bedtime routine? Repeat this for a few nights and see how it changes the way you fall asleep and how you feel in the morning.

Thanks for reading!

Until next week, wishing you restful nights and brighter days.

Oliver

Next week we will look at high sleep continuity and efficiency, which is how well you stay asleep once you've fallen asleep.

New to Leveling Up Sleep?
Start from the beginning: Welcome to Leveling Up Sleep
Previous week: Why Exceptional Sleep Is More Than Getting Enough Hours

P.S. Have a question about sleep? What's your biggest sleep challenge, or what would you like me to cover in a future issue? Simply reply to this email. There's a good chance your question will be answered in a future issue.