How I Finally Learned to Sleep
And Why Lifestyle Is Everything
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I’ve historically slept very, very badly.
Until I was 26 I found it almost impossible to fall asleep before midnight. I'd lie there wide awake most nights, brain buzzing, heart racing, doing everything except sleeping.
And then, on the 11th of August 2016, I had five seizures in a one night.
The cause of those seizures was a complete lack of sleep. Or more specifically — a lifetime of poor lifestyle choices that made proper sleep almost impossible:
Too much caffeine
Working too hard (and too late)
Poor nutrition
Stress
Overstimulation…
…and never giving myself chance to recover.
But here's the weird part.
Immediately after I came out of hospital – three days after the seizures – I started sleeping really well. Like, head hits the pillow, and I'm gone. And since then, we’re now nine years on, I’ve been able to sleep soundly every single night.
For years I believed the seizures had rewired my brain. But eventually I realised that’s not it at all.
The truth is: it wasn’t the seizures that changed my sleep. It was the lifestyle changes I made as a result of those seizures.
And I can prove it.
Because I’ve tried, experimentally, going back to bad habits. Having a few drinks. Eating junk. Looking at a screen late at night. Every time I’ve done that, I’ve slept badly.
So let’s talk about those lifestyle changes. Because I think they can change your life, and your sleep, too.
Sleep Is Everything for ADHD
If you’ve got ADHD, especially if you’re managing it without medication, I’m telling you now, sleep is the single most important factor.
When I sleep well, all the classic ADHD symptoms – impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, poor focus – are less intense. Sometimes they’re barely noticeable at all. And when I don’t sleep? They come back. Fast.
Dr Asad Raffi, founder of Sanctum Healthcare up in Wilmslow, told me that for every ADHD patient he sees, sleep is the first priority. Not a nice-to-have — the priority.
Because ADHD and poor sleep don’t just coexist, they fuel each other.
Here’s some data from Sanctum Healthcare:
75% of both children and adults with ADHD have sleep issues.
Adolescents with ADHD are 6.2 times more likely to have severe sleep problems.
Sleep and ADHD create a vicious cycle: one worsens the other.
Breaking that cycle starts with prioritising sleep.
And when you do that? Everything else gets easier.
The Lifestyle Changes That Fixed My Sleep
1. No caffeine.
I cut it out completely after the seizures. The only times I’ve had it since were by accident — and I felt dizzy, jittery, sick. Never again.
2. Hardly any alcohol.
I used to drink a lot. Now I barely touch it. Whenever I do, I sleep badly and feel awful for days. Not worth it.
3. Better food.
I used to live off fast food and frozen meals. Now we cook from scratch, avoid ultra-processed crap, and keep gluten and soy low.
4. Regular exercise.
It’s essential for ADHD — exercise makes you more sensitive to dopamine, so you need less of it to get going.
5. Way less screen time.
I use Opal to block distractions. My average screen time is now about 45 minutes a day. Screens wrecked my sleep. I don’t let them anymore.
6. Daily meditation, Yoga Nidra, and breathwork.
I meditate every day. Yoga Nidra puts me to sleep like nothing else. And breathwork gets me out of stress mode — especially helpful after a broken night’s sleep.
7. Cold water therapy.
I do it every day. It calms the nervous system and massively helps with sleep and recovery.
8. Paper books only.
I read physical books now. Not on a screen. It’s calming, and it works.
9. Social media: gone or tightly limited.
Deleted or blocked with Opal. I give it 10–20 minutes a day, max. That’s all I need — and I feel so much better for it.
The Only Thing Keeping Me Awake Now Is Kids — But Even Then, There’s a Fix
These days, the only thing that interrupts my sleep is my kids — and that’s just life. Nothing I can do about that.
But here’s what I can do: I can prepare for the day ahead, even after a rough night. And that’s the game-changer.
This morning, for instance — I’m writing this around 9am — I’d already done cold water therapy, breathwork, and meditation about 90 minutes earlier. It reset me. I felt sharp again, more balanced, far less reactive.
Without that, I’d probably have stayed in that wired, irritable state all day. I’d be reaching for sugar, screens, or anything just to cope. But by grounding myself properly, I stepped out of survival mode — and into something far more functional.
Honestly, if you take just one thing from this newsletter, let it be this:
Even after a bad night’s sleep, cold water therapy, breathwork and meditation can set you up for a really good day.
How I Use WHOOP to Back All This Up
I use a smart monitor called WHOOP. You could use an Oura ring, Apple Watch, Garmin — whatever. But I like WHOOP for one simple reason: it doesn’t have a screen. No pings. No distractions. Just quiet, accurate feedback.
Last night, WHOOP showed me I hit 87% sleep performance. Here’s what contributed to that:
89% sleep consistency (regular bedtime and wake-up)
91% sleep efficiency
0% sleep stress
I only got 77% of the total hours I needed (thanks again, kids). But the quality of sleep was still excellent — largely because of habits I’ve locked in. Yoga Nidra helps me fall back asleep. The rest is about prep.
Here’s what I did that evening:
No alcohol
No late meals
20-minute meditation
Drank plenty of water
Read a paper book
Wore a sleep mask and earplugs
WHOOP's advice? Keep doing exactly that. And get outside in the morning for natural light — even when it’s cloudy, even in the middle of a British summer. The fresh air and light cues your body clock.
So, What’s the Point of All This?
You don’t need to wait for a health scare to sort your sleep out.
You don’t have to just accept that you’re a “bad sleeper”.
You can sleep well — and it starts with how you live your life.
There’s no silver bullet. It’s consistency. Deliberate choices. Simple things done regularly. And the difference it makes — to your sleep, focus, mood, ADHD symptoms, and quality of life — is enormous.
Sleep isn’t just something you do. It’s something you earn. And the way you live day to day is what earns it.
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