By Katherine Bruce
You wouldn’t necessarily think that going to bed on time could affect how authentic you are, but it does. And because the virtue of authenticity is so foundational to how you think, feel, and show up in your life, even small habits like sleep matter more than you realize.
I didn’t always see that connection myself. In fact, for years, I was doing the exact opposite.
When I was 41, I felt tired almost every day. My alarm would wake me from deep sleep each morning. I needed caffeine just to function, and my post-lunch slumps were severe. But the issue wasn’t insomnia or sleep apnea—it was simply that I always went to bed late. Every day, I’d promise myself an early night. But when the evenings rolled around, bedtime procrastination would take over, and I’d find myself staying up late yet again: staring at multiple screens as I caught up on life-admin, watched TV, and, of course, scrolled my phone.
I was caught in a cycle that I’d been repeating ever since I was a teenager. It was exhausting. I didn’t realize it then, but I was chronically sleep deprived and disconnected from how I truly felt and who I was.
This behaviour of staying up late for no good reason is incredibly common. Experts call it “bedtime procrastination“, and it’s a phenomenon studied around the world because sleep deprivation can have such a negative impact on people’s lives. Luckily, the opposite is also true: if you currently go to bed late, changing that habit can have a big positive impact, bringing you back into alignment with your true self.
Using Sleep to Reconnect with Your Authentic Self
We all know that we feel good when we’re well-slept, but it also changes who we are at a deeper level: how we react, how we feel about the world, how motivated we are. If you’re a bedtime procrastinator who’s constantly tired, here are some ways that going to bed on time can help you rediscover the real, authentic you:
1. Unlocks Your Creativity
Sleep can help you wake up with a brilliant insight or fresh idea because your brain is busy processing memories and connecting information in new ways. Every sleep cycle and sleep stage is important, so waking naturally instead of to an alarm gives your brain the time it needs, helping your thoughts, emotions, and actions better reflect who you truly are.
2. Reconnects You With Your Purpose
Ever feel like something is missing? Like you’re searching for purpose? In a study published in The Journal of Positive Psychology, researchers found that participants who got just 46 extra minutes of sleep per night reported greater resilience, gratitude, life satisfaction, and sense of purpose, helping them feel more aligned with what truly matters.
3. Shifts You Toward a More Positive Mindset
When we’re tired, it’s easy to slip into a negative state of mind. But multiple studies have shown that when we’re well-slept, we tend to see the world (and ourselves!) in a much more positive light. We feel less fearful and have a stronger sense of self-efficacy, the belief that we can handle challenges, which supports a more genuine and confident expression of who we are.
4. Strengthens Your Self-discipline
From healthy eating and exercise to studying and saving money, getting enough sleep makes us more likely to do all those things we know we should. It regulates our hormones, supports impulse control, and boosts self-discipline, helping us follow through on choices that reflect our true values rather than short-term impulses.
5. Creates More Contentment
It’s hard to feel content when you’re walking around in a fog of tiredness and/or wired on caffeine. Numerous studies have shown that well-slept people feel less anxious and are less likely to stress about the little things. One study even found that better sleep can boost your well-being as much as a major financial windfall.
Discovering the Well-Slept Version of Myself
Like everybody else, I’d always known sleep was important. But the real ‘aha’ moment came when, on a friend’s recommendation, I read a book called Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. It’s a book that lays bare all the personal potential we miss when we’re tired. Walker says:
“Millions of individuals unwittingly spend years of their life in a sub-optimal state of psychological and physiological functioning, never maximizing their potential of mind or body due to their blind persistence in sleeping too little.”
Reading that line, I had something of an epiphany: I realised the only version of myself that I really knew was the tired one who staggered around carrying hours upon hours of sleep debt. I didn’t know who the well-slept version of myself even was, and I certainly didn’t know what she was capable of.
I knew I had to change. So, almost on the spur of the moment, I tried something different: instead of relying on motivation, I focused on creating habits. Over the weeks and months that followed, I created a weekly and nightly routine I could really stick to, testing out different tactics to keep myself on track.
It’s been transformational. I feel so much better: more motivated, sharper, less anxious. It’s incredible, but probably not surprising. After all, we’re not designed to be constantly underslept any more than we’re designed to be constantly hungry or thirsty. So, with better bedtime habits and more sleep, you can begin to reconnect with the real, authentic you.
About the Author
As an ex-bedtime procrastinator, Katherine Bruce is on a mission to help people go to bed earlier and get more sleep. She’s the founder of Untired Me and creator of the Untired Me bedtime procrastination programme.
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