Dr Ula: Sleep – The edge you’re ignoring
- Dr Ula Heywood
- Apr 15
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 hours ago
Sleep isn’t a luxury. It’s the most underrated high-performance tool you have.
Most people are sleepwalking through life. Exhausted. Wired. Underperforming. Thinking they can get away with it. Let’s reset the story. Because the truth about sleep? It changes everything.
The myth of the sleepless
You’ve heard the stories.
The four-hour-sleep founders and executives. The hustle culture heroes. The "I'll sleep when I'm dead" crew.
And then there’s the other camp,
“I’ve always been a bad sleeper.”
“As long as I can remember, I’ve just lived tired.”
The truth: only 1–3% of humans are genetic short sleepers. Odds are, you're not one of them.
If you’re getting less than 7 hours of sleep a night, you’re not thriving. You’re surviving. And your body is quietly paying the price.
What lack of sleep really does to you
This isn’t just about being tired. It’s about invisible damage with long-term costs:
Insulin resistance and weight gain – Poor sleep means poor glucose control and greater visceral (tummy) fat. People who get less than 6 hours sleep are shown to consume 300-400 additional calories in response.
Higher heart disease risk – Sleep regulates blood pressure and inflammation.
Cognitive decline – Your brain needs deep sleep to detox. Skimp on it, and the toxic waste builds up.
Lower immunity – Tired people get sick 3x more often, and stay sick longer.
Mood swings and mental fatigue – You’re not just grumpy. You’re neurochemically impaired with 10x increased risk of depression.
Every night of poor sleep is a deposit into your future regret.
Your most important sleep habit? Ruthless consistency.
Forget the hacks.
Go to bed and wake up at the same time. Every day. No exceptions.
That one habit re-aligns your body clock, improves sleep quality, and gives your system what it really needs—rhythm.
The enemy in your pocket
Phones in the bedroom? Big mistake.
If your device follows you into bed, you’ve just brought cortisol, chaos, and your inbox under the covers.
You can’t repair your nervous system if your bedroom feels like your boardroom.
Ditch the screen. Build a sleep sanctuary. Protect your wind-down like your life depends on it—because it does.
What you’re not measuring is costing you
At Autonomy, we test what matters:
Sleep efficiency – Are you hitting deep sleep or just lying still?
Stress hormones – Is your cortisol sabotaging recovery?
Glucose and insulin – Poor sleep = metabolic chaos.
Alcohol impact – Yes, even “just one glass” hits hard.
Caffeine - get clever with your caffeine
Data beats guesswork. If you can measure it, you can master it.
No, you’re not the exception
“I’m fine on 5 hours sleep.” No, you’re not. You’ve just adapted to underperforming.
“I don’t have time for sleep.” Then your priorities are killing your performance.
“I’m a night owl.”
You’ve trained your body into a broken rhythm. You can train it back.
Sleep is a force multiplier
Want better memory? More clarity? Fewer cravings? A stronger immune system?
Then treat sleep like your most powerful habit stacker. Because it is.
Sleep doesn’t just protect your health—it multiplies everything good in your life.
Your Next Move
Book a Discovery Consultation at Autonomy. We’ll test your biomarkers, map your nervous system, and build a tailored sleep and health recovery plan around you.
Let’s turn your sleep into your edge.
Dr. Ula Co-Founder and Lead Physician, Autonomy