---
date: 2026-08-30
type: health
tags: [health, sleep, system]
---

# Sleep System

> The anchor: wake time is non-negotiable, bedtime bends. Sleep IS the performance ceiling — every run PB sits on 7.5h+ nights.

## Anchors

| | Time |
|---|---|
| Wake (Mon–Fri) | 06:00 — doesn't move |
| Wake (weekend) | 06:30–07:00 max (a 10:00 wake re-breaks the week) |
| Lights out target | 22:30 (asleep ~22:45 → ~7.3h) |
| Lights out floor | 23:30 — never past midnight on work nights |
| Coffee cut-off | ~14:00 |

## Ramp (the 50% rule applied to sleep)

- Week 1 (Sep 1–7): wake 07:00 · lights out 23:45
- Week 2 (Sep 8–14): wake 06:30 · lights out 23:15
- Week 3+: wake 06:00 · lights out 22:30

## Why

- First half of the night = deep sleep = the recovery engine. Late bedtimes delete it (02:14 night → REM 7%).
- PB evidence: Jul 5 (8h11, HRV 135) → 5.3 km PB · Jul 27 (8h44, HRV 135) → 3K PB · Jul 3 (7h28) → distance PB. Drinking night (6h42, HRV 71) → 1.56 km crash. 5 am night (4h33, HRV 29) → all-time low.
- Pre-sleep racing thoughts are planning-driven → do tomorrow's 3–4 list in the notebook at ~21:30, before wind-down.
- Saturday night is sacred (Sunday long run). Alcohol breaks the whole system — the drinking cutback IS the sleep fix.

## Connected

- [[Half-marathon-plan]]
- [[Health/2026-05-28-labor]]
- [[Health/supplements]]