If there’s one New Year’s resolution you should make this year, it’s investing in a proper bedtime protocol.

By now, we all know that sleep is a fundamental pillar of well-being. It's also the first thing to suffer when life gets demanding. Sleep quality is vulnerable to everything: stress, hormones, menopause, and anxiety. Rest isn't always easy to come by.

Sleep has become big business, and the concept of good sleep has gone mainstream. Wearables like Oura and Garmin deliver nightly insights. Personal trainers and athletes champion its importance on Instagram. Fitness resorts offer dedicated sleep retreats, while hotels like Equinox and Siro feature in-room pillow menus designed to maximize rest. Entire industries have rallied around it.

During sleep, your body produces growth hormones for muscle repair and regeneration. It consolidates motor learning and skill acquisition, repairs DNA damage from rigorous training, and regulates hormones, including cortisol and testosterone. It strengthens your immune system and clears metabolic waste from the brain. Quality sleep prevents you from functioning on autopilot, reduces forgetfulness, and allows your brain to engage fully in decision-making.

The results speak for themselves. A Stanford study found that basketball players who extended their sleep to 10 hours improved their sprint times and shooting accuracy by nine percent. Sleep-deprived high school athletes have injury rates nearly twice as high as their well-rested peers. Today's C-suite executives are athletes of business. People across all industries and employment levels are training their bodies like professionals. A well-rested body and brain are essential tools for life.

Despite knowing this, many people still neglect sleep. But here's the thing: All the saunas in the world won't compensate for chronic sleep deprivation. You cannot ice bath your way out of five-hour nights.

It’s time to get serious about your sleep.

We need to talk about your bedroom situation. Contrary to popular belief, it's not just about getting eight hours in bed. It's about sleep quality, and that's where sleep hygiene comes in. Sleep hygiene is a set of practices and environmental factors that promote consistent, quality shut-eye. 

Many people obsess over supplements, gadgets, and recovery protocols while sleeping in scratchy polyester sheets and cheap pajamas in a room that's too warm with their phone on the nightstand. Lots of people today would spend $500 on cryotherapy packages but won't invest $200 in blackout curtains and a quality pillow. They'll wake up at 5 am for training but stay up until midnight scrolling social media. They'll meticulously track their macros but have no idea how much sleep they actually get.

As a professional boxer, an Olympian, and a self-professed lover of an early night, I’ve got my sleep routine down to a T. I can confirm that sleep hygiene isn't sexy. It's just a habit. Boring, consistent, unglamorous but effective habits.

Here: clear KPIs to superboost your sleep.