How I Fixed My Sleep, Without Fancy Gadgets or 5 a.m. Routines

The 2 p.m. Rule That Changed My Sleep Forever

Dude. Your Caffeine . I knooooow you love it, like seriously ☕️🫶 I know you will die without. But just hear me out. It has way to much to say for your sleep quality for you to even think about drinking it. Even if you think you are not affected. For the sake of this experiment, try to take two months without caffeine 😳☠️ But I hear you. This Substack is supposed to be a soft corner of the Internet, so I won’t be too strict on you. If your cup of Joe ( joy?) has to stay, then it has to stay. Just promise me, that you try to have no caffeine (that means from tea too of course) after 2 pm.

Why you wonder? The half time life of caffeine is six hours. Having an afternoon Joe? It’s still in your system when you’re going to bed. You say you’re fine on 6 hours of sleep. You’re not.

“the shorter your sleep, the shorter your lifespan”.

My persona likes to read a lot about interesting topics. I like to dive deep. By a coincidence I read Matthew Walkers book on sleep, then he had me hooked. I am now the biggest sleep nerd 🤓 To optimize my sleep is now a top priority to me. I have enormous faith in what it has contributed to the bettering of my health conditions.

Even though I am chronically ill, these tips are just as important for both healthy and ill people. Sleep should be a top priority no matter health. Download my FREE sleep hygiene PDF here.

“Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system, more than doubling your risk of cancer.”

4 years has passed since I read the book. It is still standing as top 5 most important books I’ve ever read. In these 4 years I’ve tested and tried many things. My sleep is still not the best, but it is waaaaaay better than it was. That’s why I decided to make this sleep series. This first one is a short and sweet intro to this super important topic. In the next one I will share my top 2 gadgets that improved my sleep. The dedicated reader will then be served with my perfectly curated sleep hygiene. By the end of article 2, I’m sure you will be sleeping like a baby 👶

“Inadequate sleep, even moderate reductions for just one week, disrupts blood sugar levels so profoundly that you would be classified as pre-diabetic.”

10 things you can do TODAY to enhance your sleep

How many advices have you read over the years and thought, HELLZ YEZ 🙋‍♀️ This is the s**t 🏆 But then life happens and you forget 😭 Make sure to save this article 💾 and then decide ONE advice below to choose TODAY!

The part you’ll want to screenshot 👇

1. Set a consistent bedtime and wake-up time, no more than about an hour of difference.
   Your body thrives on rhythm. Stick to it!!! even on weekends 😳

2. Dim the lights 1–2 hours before bed.
   Use warm lamps or candles, and avoid bright white or blue light.

3. Go screen-free 1–2 hours before bed.
   Phones and laptops suppress melatonin 📵 Create a “no-screen zone” before sleep.

4. Avoid caffeine after 2 p.m 🧟‍♀️
   Its half-life is long, even one afternoon cup can affect your night’s rest. After two weeks caffeine-free, my sleep score rocketed!

5. Keep your bedroom cool and dark 🧛‍♀️⚰️
   16–18°C (60–65°F) is ideal. Darkness and coolness tell your brain it’s night.

“After ten days of just seven hours of sleep, the brain is as dysfunctional as it would be after going without sleep for twenty-four hours. Three full nights of recovery sleep (i.e., more nights than a weekend) are insufficient to restore performance back to normal levels after a week of short sleeping.”

6. Don’t lie awake in bed.
   If you can’t fall asleep after 20–30 minutes, get up and do something calm in dim light.

7. Get morning light.
   Step outside 15 minutes within 30-60min after waking 🌞 It resets your circadian rhythm.

8. Limit alcohol.
   It may help you fall asleep faster but disrupts deep and REM sleep heavily.

9. Wind down gently.
   Create a “landing ritual”, breathing, light stretching, calm music, or writing gratitude notes 📖

10. See sleep as an investment, not a luxury.
    Prioritize it like food or exercise. Everything else works better when you’re well-rested.

All 10 tips are straight from Matthew Walkers bestseller book on sleep.

“Almost no one can function optimally on less than seven hours of sleep.”

My ‘evening routine’ sounds chill until you see it in real life. Picture me half-asleep trying to find my magnesium, tripping over my cooling mat, and mumbling affirmations I can’t remember. But honestly, there’s one thing that never fails: dimming the lights early. My body instantly goes ‘ah, we’re doing this again’. That, and magnesium. Magnesium is my religion 📿💊 Sometimes I fall asleep with a notebook on my face because I thought journaling ‘for five minutes’ was a good idea. It wasn’t. But hey, still counts as sleep?

It ain’t perfect, but it’s progress. And honestly, that’s the whole point of this series, not to sleep perfectly, but to sleep better.

“Too little sleep swells concentrations of a hormone that makes you feel hungry while suppressing a companion hormone that otherwise signals food satisfaction.”

If you wake up tomorrow and instantly reach for coffee, don’t hate yourself.
Just remember: your body’s not asking for caffeine, it’s asking for zzzzleep.
Be kind to it tonight.

Next time I’ll share the two gadgets that actually made a difference for me.
Until then: turn down the lights, breathe, and let sleep do its quiet magic. ✨

Ps. All quotes in the article are by Matthew Walker from the book “Why We Sleep”.