💤 Optimize Sleep: Script the Critical Moves

Thank you for spending your greatest resources — yourtime, energy, and attention— with me today. I promise to make it worth your while.

My goal is to give you$0, granular, practical strategiesto improve your life: managing stress, optimizing sleep, moving and breathing better, and eating real food.

Today, we’re circling back tomanaging stress— through the most underrated recovery tool on the planet:sleep.

What Does It Mean to “Script the Critical Moves”?

You’ve probably heard this before:

“If you want to change a habit, make it as frictionless as possible.”

Want to work out in the morning?
Lay your workout clothes out the night before.

Want to eat healthier?
Put the fruits and veggies front and center, and stash the chocolate on the highest shelf where you need a stepladder and a moral debate to reach it.

Want better sleep?
Charge your phone in another room.

These are called“scripting the critical moves.”
They’re simple, intentional actions that make the good thing easier — and the not-so-good thing harder.

And theyreally work… if we do them right.

My $0 Sleep Optimization Story

Here’s a $0 strategy I’ve used this year that’s genuinely improved my sleep.

Every night at 8:30 PM, my Google Calendar buzzes with a repeating appointment titled:

“GO TO BED. GET OFF YOUR SCREENS.”

(Yes, all caps. Sometimes future-me needs the tough love.)

Now, full disclosure: I listen to that reminder about 25% of the time. Which tells me I still have work to do — but that’s not the point.

The point isawareness.

That ping reminds me that I want better sleep — and better sleep starts with the gap between the last screen I look at and the moment my head hits the pillow.

Even if I don’t put my phone down right away, I usually wrap up within 10–15 minutes. And that’s progress.

My Two (and a Half) Critical Moves for Better Sleep

1️⃣ Nine hours in bed, no screen.
From 9 PM to 6 AM, my options are simple:

• Sleep

• Read (with a dim light)

• Breathe

No phone, no scrolling, no “just one more episode.”

2️⃣ Get outside within one minute of waking up.
I wake up, pee, and then get my butt out the back door.

I breathe, look at the sky, and swing my arms and torso a little to wake up my circulatory and lymphatic systems.

This helps regulate my circadian rhythm and tells my body, “Hey, it’s daytime. Let’s get going.”

Bonus move:I treat that outside minute as a mini gratitude check. Even if I’m tired, I remind myself — I get another day. Another shot. Another sunrise.

Why This Works

Scripting these critical moves has made amassivedifference in my consistency and quality of sleep — and by extension, my energy, mood, and patience.

I tell my patients and players all the time:

“I can’t out-rehab poor sleep, poor nutrition, poor movement habits, or poor stress management.”

Sleep is the miracle drug we’re all depriving ourselves of.

It costs nothing, requires no prescription, and affects literally everything — from your hormones and pain tolerance to your memory, immune system, and mood.

How to ScriptYourCritical Moves

Step 1: Identify the habit you want to change.
Maybe you doom scroll until your eyes burn.
Maybe you’re watching Netflix until midnight.
Maybe it’s late-night snacking that’s messing with your digestion and sleep quality.

Pick one habit to focus on.

Step 2: BREAK. IT. DOWN.
Make itso smallit almost feels silly.

“No snacks after 8 PM.”
“Set the lights to dim at bedtime.”
“Set a phone reminder that literally yells at you to go to bed.”

If it’s easy and obvious, you’re more likely to do it.

Step 3: Tweak it and test it.
Try your move for a few days. Notice how it feels.

If it helps — awesome. Keep it.
If not — break it down even smaller and try again.

This is how real change happens: one tiny, ridiculously doable step at a time.

Why This Matters

From an evolutionary standpoint, sleep makes zero sense.

When we’re asleep, we can’t hunt, gather, build, or protect ourselves — yet every single human on earth needs it.

That alone tells us how powerful it must be.

Sleep is our body’s time torebuild, remember, and restore.

We owe it to ourselves (and the people who rely on us) to protect it — even in a busy, overstimulated, 2025 world.

Your Challenge This Week

👉Script ONE critical move for optimizing your sleep.

Just one.

Send it to me — I want to know what you’re trying and how it’s working for you.

Because remember: you havenothingto lose, and everything to gain — including more energy, sharper focus, and a calmer nervous system.

As always, I’m here as a resource when you’re ready to commit to your health.