Sleep tracking: What people who bag it don't get

It's not about identifying fatigue. It's about understanding why.

I’ve tracked my sleep almost every night for the last 4 years, and recently I had an argument with a friend about it.

My friend, who often complains about being tired and prides himself on getting little sleep stated: "I don't need to be told when I'm tired. I know"

Which is fine, but he’s missing the point.

Sleep tracking isn't about telling you if you’re tired or not. It’s about helping you understand why you’re tired, and I've learned that I had many habits that were wrecking my sleep.

Eating late. Afternoon caffeine. Evening alcohol. Phone in my bedroom. The list goes on.

Late night snack anyone?

Tracking helped me realised these habits were the cause of a lot of my stress, because being tired from not sleeping well makes me less able to handle challenging situations well, and now I sleep better with 3 young kids than I did with none.

I even sleep better now as an office worker than I did when I was a professional athlete, and I owe it all to sleep tracking.

I’m really proud many of my friends and family now track, and I know my friend has tried tracking in the past, and I think why he’s so against it boils down to 2 things:

1. He likes quick fixes, and sleep tracking won’t magically help you start sleeping better. It takes time.

2. He started sleeping and feeling better, but began to stress about getting good sleep because he finally realised just how important it is. Then the stress started impacting his sleep, and he got stuck in a nasty cycle, and stopped tracking.

This phase is very common and one I went thru, but it’s also a sign you’re making progress and it will pass, as it did for me.

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Sleep, as I’m sure you can tell, is important to me.

Without enough of it, I just can't function at a level where I do work I'm proud of. And with all the scientific research highlighting the importance of sleep for health and peak performance, I believe society will soon view those who boast about getting minimal sleep as similar to those who take pride in smoking.

I’m not trying to demonise either, as there are signs the person is under significant stress. But it's astonishing that some people still believe skimping on sleep is healthy and boast.

Perhaps they just don’t know any better, like how we were all in the dark about the consequences of smoking until 70-80 years ago.

Doctor's promoting durries

And while there’s no doubt doctors aren’t being paid to advocate for poor sleep (like they once did for tobacco), surely doctors can do more to help patients understand how good sleep reduces stress and how it positively impacts health.

If your keen to start sleep tracking, there are loads of great watches and rings you can use. I use an Oura ring and you can get $40USD off yours here.

I am not being paid or have ever received a payment from OURA.

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Alfred

I know I said I wouldn't write this week so I could focus on Alfred, but our team’s planning day was great and my energy for writing has returned.

The Alfred Team

As a team, we set our values and goals, and the session left me feeling as optimistic as ever about Alfred’s future.

I’ve been grinding away for 7 years to get Alfred to this point, and there’s been times I seriously consider shutting it down.

But I’m glad I haven’t, as we now have a great team who all believe in the power of food tracking, and want to help more people feel great.

Exciting times ahead!