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{{first_name}}, how are your sleep habits? 💤
Growing up, we all got constant reminders not to leave lights on, doors open, the TV on, or water spilling down an unplugged bathroom tub drain.
“You’re flushing dollars down the drain!” 🛁
Our parents weren’t wrong. Energy leaks cost money — and they wear down the systems in your house.
The same applies to your figurative “House of Masculinity”. You can’t leave your systems on all the time without paying for it. The cool air escapes. The water leaks. The lightbulbs burn out.
No wonder we use terms like “I lost my cool” and “I’m feeling burnt out”!
YOU NEED SLEEP
“Cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated”
💪The Fitness Connection
Sleep is a foundational part of fitness — and, by extension, every other masculine domain.
Neglect it long enough, and you’ll see:
Unmotivated workouts, or none at all.
Weaker immune system.
Loss of focus in business
Less effort in your connection to God.
Irritability in relationships. (Have you felt that?)
Rest is not laziness. It’s maintenance. Take time to shut down the systems and get a recharge! ⚡️
🫠A Real-World Example
Today, I (Justin) have been dragging. Yes, today, I’m writing this in real time. My workout fizzled into stretching. My scripture study was a snooze. I missed my breakfast window. My work morning had a scattered start and degenerated into 44 minutes of scrolling Instagram (per the screen time app), all before Lunch!
The problem? I ignored my own sleep patterns.
Typically, I run on a solid rhythm:
Bedtime: 9:30pm.
Morning alarm: 4:30am
Seven hours — and it works for me. Until I break it. That’s why I’m asking - How’s your sleep routine??
Three nights in a row, I stayed up “late” chasing business deadlines. They were good goals — I was striving for integrity to my commitments even — but I paid for it in every F5 category today.
I saw it coming. I knew the pattern.
💲The Real Cost
The next day my wife said something that hit me harder than my weak workout:
“My cup isn’t full.”
Boom. Truth Bomb. By hustling late into the night for deadlines, the price wasn’t just me dragging the next day. She paid the price too. I had taken from her, from our family, to meet those goals.
It doesn’t mean the choice was wrong, but it does mean there’s always a cost.
Just like leaving the sink running or not plugging the tub drain, eventually the water runs out. Someone doesn’t get a full cup.
Three Takeaways
1️⃣ Know the Right Voice
When my defiant side said, “Let’s stay up and finish this! Don’t be so rigid about sleep. That’s not a positive way to think”, the wise part of me said, “Listen.” Don’t disguise recklessness as commitment just to save your ego.
2️⃣ Know Your Number
You should know how much sleep your body needs to perform. For me, it’s 7 hours. Times and seasons will change it — especially with a newborn on the way for both Jared and I — but your body thrives on a consistent target and constant circadian timing.
3️⃣ Recognize Your Patterns
“When it happens once, it’s an experience. When it happens twice, it’s a pattern.” I knew where this lack of sleep would lead. I didn’t adjust. Pick better patterns.
💡Here’s a Crazy Idea!
What if, instead of setting alarms, we set timers?? 🤯
I know the number of hours I need, so if I go to bed late then I accept the fact that I will miss things in the morning.
But, if I’m up late with a newborn (examples coming up quick for us lol), then I also know I will have to schedule enough time for myself to recuperate. 🤷♂️
Obviously that’s not super practical in most cases, but think of how that tugs on your perception of prioritizing this crucial, basic need!
Give yourself some Grace
Ultimately, there’s grace here too.
Is it your fault that you need sleep? I mean, yes and no.
Yes, you should fuel yourself properly to give yourself a fighting chance. But also this is mortality we’re talking about and physical limitations are a fact of life.
Choose to “live in the Gain, not the Gap.” Focus on the progress and lessons learned, not the endless list of shortcomings. 🤜🤛
Dream on, brotha!
Justin & Jared
F5 Brotherhood
P.S - Looking for more community interaction? Get in the F5 page HERE and find someone to connect with or be accountable to! It’s FREE! I repeat, F.R.E.E
