.svg)
I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a great sleeper. But this past month took things to another level. I averaged maybe two hours of sleep a night for almost four weeks straight. I didn’t realize how much that lack of sleep was affecting me until I finally started sleeping again.
During that stretch, everything felt off. My mood changed, and I was irritable, emotional, and arguing with my fiancé over the smallest things. I felt exhausted but wired, like my brain couldn’t shut off. I noticed I was hungrier and constantly craving chips, sugar, and caffeine just to get through the day. My eye started twitching from the exhaustion and overstimulation, and I started truly thinking something was going drastically wrong with my health.
One thing that stood out was that I felt dizzy often, and experienced cognitive decline. It was real tough focusing on work and everyday tasks; I really felt scared about what was happening inside my body.
My anxiety also spiked. My Apple Watch showed my resting heart rate was 10–15 beats higher than my normal baseline, a sign that my nervous system was in overdrive. My digestion was off, too. I felt bloated, sluggish, and uncomfortable, but at the time, I didn’t connect any of that to my lack of sleep.
But I knew I needed sleep, so I decided to make a change. I started following a consistent nighttime routine, turned on the sleep mode on my watch to keep me accountable, and began taking Drift every night, a sleep support supplement I truly swear by. Within just two weeks, the difference was unbelievable.
The first change I noticed was my heart rate; it dropped back to normal within days. For example, my sleep data showed that during the night, my heart rate was 60, and after sleeping better, it dropped back to 46. My energy returned, my walks felt easier, and my sugar cravings nearly disappeared. I felt calmer, more centered, and my relationship improved simply because I wasn’t reacting from a place of fatigue and frustration anymore. My digestion also normalized, and I naturally lost about five pounds of bloat, likely because my stress hormones and nervous system were finally balanced again.
The bottom line: sleep affects us more than we think. If you’re struggling with mood, cravings, digestion, or energy, it may not just be your diet or motivation. Sometimes it’s the lack of rest and routine that keeps you stuck. When you prioritize sleep, your body finally gets the chance to reset, repair, and function the way it’s meant to.
