a few years ago, i downloaded this sleep tracker app that had the most beautiful UI. i don't even remember what it was called, but i remember being so excited to use it.

then it hit me with a paywall before i could even try it 😭

so i never ended up using the app. but there was this one concept it introduced me to that has stuck with me for YEARS.

sleep debt. it’s the idea is that every night you sleep less than you need, you're borrowing time from your future self. and eventually, that debt collects.

when you're sleep-deprived, your ability to focus gets worse. work takes longer, so you stay up later to finish it. now you've borrowed even more sleep to pay for the work that took longer because you were tired in the first place.

you're paying interest on your sleep debt with more sleep debt. something similar happened to me in the last two weeks!

the good news is that you can pay back most of that debt, because it’s happened to all of us before! after a few nights of good sleep, you start feeling like yourself again.

but in most cases, we usually recover from sleep debt by accident. we get exhausted, sleep longer than usual, feel better, and eventually fall back into the same habits.

what if we started treating recovery as something intentional? what if, instead of waiting until we're exhausted, we consciously decided to pay back what we owe ourselves?

that's what i'm focusing on this week. i slept for 10h 45m last night, and going to make sure i get 8+ hr tonight.

sleeping on time. drinking enough water. working out. taking a hot shower before bed. that’s all you need to do. i’m not gonna advise no screentime before bed, because that’s something I don’t (can’t) practice myself, but having a blue light filter before bed on your screens and dimming the lights in your room helps a lot!

it's honestly crazy how much better life feels when you consistently take care of the basics.

maybe the most productive thing you can do tonight is just go to sleep.