How to perform (and stay healthy) when sleep goes to sh*t

Sometimes, good sleep is out of our control (ahem, new parents). So here are the tools I’m thinking about when entering dad mode (and inevitable sh*t sleep). Each targets a different system the body relies on to function under stress.

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Before reaching for any supplement, nail the foundations you can control: light, hydration, nutrition, movement. These are the base layers. The rest are performance buffers layered on top.

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Morning sunlight + 500 ml water first thing will make the rest of this protocol work better.

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🏃 1. HIIT — to buffer the physiological hit

Problem:

Bad sleep = ⬇️ insulin sensitivity + ⬆️ cortisol stays high + ⬆️ blood sugar + ⬆️ free fatty acids

• 👉 Translation: your metabolism starts behaving like you’ve aged a decade overnight.

Solution:

A short burst of morning high-intensity exercise.

• 📖 Research: In one study, high-intensity interval training blunted the insulin resistance and metabolic disruption caused by 24 hours of sleep deprivation (smaller spikes in glucose, insulin, and free fatty acids).
• 🧠 Why it works:

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How I plan to use it:

• 5–15 min HIIT session the morning after poor sleep
• Example: 5-10 rounds of 60-second hard, 60-second rest (bike, hill sprints, swings, or burpees) </aside>