---
aliases: ["Sleep & Recovery"]
Is A: Topic
---
# Sleep & Recovery

Sleep and recovery covers the science and practice of rest — sleep hygiene, recovery protocols for endurance training, and the growing body of evidence showing that rest is not the absence of productivity but a prerequisite for it. It spans both the physical recovery needed for athletic performance and the cognitive recovery needed for sustained creative output.

## Why this matters

Sleep is the single highest-leverage intervention available, affecting everything from writing quality to training adaptation to emotional regulation. Running a content business while training for endurance events creates a dual demand on recovery capacity, and cutting sleep to "get more done" is the fastest way to degrade performance on both fronts. The evergreen note [[sleeping-more-is-a-superpower]] captures this directly, and [[recovery-week-in-training]] extends the principle to deliberate deload periods. This topic connects to both [[responsibility-health-fitness]] and [[topic-mental-health]], because inadequate rest undermines both physical and psychological resilience.

## Key resources

- [[sleeping-more-is-a-superpower]] — the case for prioritizing sleep above almost everything else
- [[recovery-week-in-training]] — the principle of planned rest applied to training periodization
- [[training-load-and-knowledge-work]] — how recovery mediates the interaction between physical and cognitive demands
- "Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker — the most comprehensive popular science book on sleep
- The Huberman Lab episodes on sleep — actionable protocols for sleep optimization

## Notes

- Eight hours of sleep is not a luxury but a biological requirement — the evidence is overwhelming that performance on less than seven hours is measurably impaired, even when it does not feel that way
- Sleep quality matters as much as quantity; consistency in sleep and wake times is the single most impactful sleep hygiene practice
- Recovery weeks (planned deloads in training) are psychologically difficult because they feel like losing momentum, but they are when the actual adaptation happens
- Naps of 20-30 minutes are a legitimate performance tool during the afternoon, not a sign of laziness — treating them as part of the schedule rather than a guilty indulgence changes the relationship with rest
- The culture of hustle and sleep deprivation in startups is one of the most counterproductive norms in tech — writing honestly about the value of rest resonates strongly with the newsletter audience
