Everything I’d researched and experienced seemed to point toward sleep as the #1 most crucial self-care habit of all time. Every other self-care focus (exercise, diet, meditation, etc.) depended on a foundation of good sleep to bring consistent results. Without it, each one was capable of doing more harm than good:
Nutrition can’t process adequately without sleep.
Exercise taxes a sleep-deprived body.
Meditation turns into dissatisfying naps as the mind is too tired to properly focus—which damages a person’s faith in meditation long-term.
How could I go wrong starting with sleep? It seemed a no-brainer.
Failure Changed My View
Last week, it became impossible to maintain 8+ hours a night. There was nothing I could do; for three days straight, I got less than 8 hours of sleep. And each night that passed gave way to a more stressful and impulsive day than the last.
When we least expect anything to happen, that’s when the mind goes soft.
For a few weeks, I had noticed all my self-care habits slowly disintegrating: from salads to comfort foods, putting less effort into brushing and flossing, and taking fewer breaks or moments of meditation. But I wasn’t worried—my cornerstone habit was still in place. Everything was going just fine; I knew what the issue was. Everything was under control. In time, I had faith everything would slowly go back to normal. I just had to hang on to the foundation until then.
Then the foundation broke.
It wasn’t some cataclysmic event that did me in. Wednesday was just another day. Without warning, my cornerstone habit melted away in an instant. Before I knew it, my one and only focus of sleep was shattered beyond repair. Now I see there is an even more essential self-care habit beneath sleep required for a truly stable foundation…
Sidenote
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