Easier Food & Sleep

Formulas#

• Sleep is the multiplier. Mood, focus, appetite, training and patience all get worse together after a bad night. (Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep)
• Daily energy = sleep × food × light × movement. If one factor is near zero, the rest can't make up for it.
• Food choices are made at the shop, not at the table. Whatever is in the kitchen gets eaten.
• "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." (Michael Pollan)

Sleep (1–13)#

1. The same wake-up time every day, weekends too > catching up on sleep later.
2. 7–9 hours of sleep opportunity > "I'm fine on 5."
3. Morning sunlight within an hour of waking > a dark morning. It sets your body clock.
4. A dark, cool, quiet bedroom > a bright, warm one.
5. Dim lights and fewer screens in the last hour > bright light until bedtime.
6. Phone charging outside the bedroom > scrolling in bed.
7. No caffeine after noon > coffee at 4 pm. Caffeine's half-life is about 5–6 hours.
8. Alcohol-free evenings > a nightcap. Alcohol knocks you out but ruins deep and REM sleep.
9. A wind-down routine (read, shower, write tomorrow's list) > going straight from work to bed.
10. Finishing dinner 2–3 hours before bed > eating late and heavy.
11. Getting up after 20 minutes of lying awake > fighting it in bed. (CBT-I)
12. A short early-afternoon nap (≤20 min) if needed > a long late one.
13. Treating snoring or sleep apnea > ignoring it.

Eating (14–27)#

14. Mostly whole foods > mostly packaged foods.
15. Protein at every meal > carb-only meals. Protein keeps you full and protects muscle.
16. Vegetables on half the plate > vegetables as garnish.
17. Cooking a few simple meals you can repeat > a new recipe every night.
18. Batch cooking once or twice a week > deciding at 8 pm when hungry.
19. Water as the default drink > soda and juice.
20. Eating slowly, without screens > eating while scrolling.
21. Serving a plate once, pot left on the stove > the whole pot within reach on the table.
22. Fruit on the counter, snacks out of sight > the reverse.
23. Not buying what you don't want to eat > resisting it at home every night.
24. A regular eating window > grazing all day.
25. Eating the local, traditional diet you grew up with (in its simpler form) > copying the diet trend of the year.
26. 80% good, consistently > 100% strict, then collapsing.
27. Fiber (beans, whole grains, vegetables) > a low-fiber diet.

Drinks & stimulants (28–37)#

28. Coffee in the morning > coffee all day.
29. Waiting 60–90 minutes after waking for coffee, if it helps you > coffee as an alarm clock.
30. Drinking less alcohol, or none > "moderate" drinking that keeps creeping up.
31. Alcohol-free days by default > drinking by default.
32. Tea or sparkling water as the evening ritual > beer as the evening ritual.
33. No sugary drinks > "just one soda a day."
34. Drinking water before you're thirsty > headaches at 3 pm.
35. Noticing how food makes you feel 2 hours later > judging it by taste alone.
36. No smoking or vaping > "just socially." Quitting at any age helps.
37. Supplements only for a proven gap (vitamin D, B12 if vegan) > a cabinet full of pills.

Systems (38–50)#

38. A default breakfast and lunch > deciding every day.
39. A weekly shopping list > impulse buying.
40. Online grocery delivery > hungry trips to the shop.
41. Healthy "emergency" food (eggs, frozen vegetables, canned fish) > takeaway as the fallback.
42. Cooking with a partner or family > eating alone at the desk.
43. Eating out at places with good options > places where only bad options exist.
44. Planning for travel days > airport junk.
45. Tracking food for 2 weeks to learn > tracking forever.
46. Weighing yourself weekly, calmly > daily anxiety or never.
47. A sleep-first schedule (bedtime fixed, work flexes) > work fixed, sleep flexes.
48. An annual blood test (glucose, lipids, vitamin D) > guessing.
49. Changing one thing per month > a full diet overhaul on Monday.
50. Food as pleasure and connection too > food as a moral test.