We spend a third of our lives asleep, yet all our health depends on this vital process.

Your slumber affects a host of factors ranging from body composition to memory, performance, and mood.

This thread shares the story of my sleep conquest after years of chronic insomnia.

The Sleep Medicine Research journal states nearly 20 to 41.7% of the global population have a sleep disorder, whether it be insomnia or obstructive apnea, narcolepsy, and snoring.

You might be a part of this group, or likely know somebody with those ailments.

I certainly was.

Sleep deprived nights were the norm in my youth. I remember dreading my bed time knowing it would take forever to doze off, if at all.

Every day was the same:

-Get up with an anvil for a brain.
-Be groggy until noon.
-Peak energy when I got to bed.
-Toss and turn until sunrise

As I got older, partying many times a week and caffeine-fueled all-night study sessions masked my insomnia.

They forced me into catch-up sleep mode, yet I still felt like crap every day.

My life would change forever in the Fall of 2011, a few months after graduating.

I started working at a gym full-time with a few regular personal training clients and supervision shifts.

These early morning appointments were a wake-up call.

I knew I had to get my act together to succeed in this business, so I attended a course by Charles Poliquin in NYC.

The world-class strength coach stressed the importance of sleep quality for optimal training results, something I had ignored fully.

He made me see how little I had done on the matter other than complain about it.

And so, a 2-year effort toward the best sleep of my life began.

Now, what worked for me may be different than what you need to improve your sleep.

We all have different physiologies and imbalances that require specific solutions.

Here are 6 lessons gleaned along the way. I hope they help you conquer your slumber:

1/ Patience

The process was frustrating. I expected everything to work instantly, which likely kept me awake in the end.

It took two years before I could fall asleep right away and all through the night.

Be patient. Your body needs time to heal.

2/ Calm

There was no real distinction between active or rest time. I would go to bed fully stimulated, then stress out when the sandman failed to show up.

A nighttime routine and a regular bedtime taught my body to unwind after my day.

- Meditation
- No screens
- Grateful log

3/ Darkness

I used to sleep with a digital alarm clock blasting next to me with a charging cell phone and a laptop. Fake light peeked through my window from outside.

I felt a noticeable improvement after removing all electronic devices and making my room as dark as possible.

4/ Nutrition

My diet was garbage. I ate processed food all day, which bloated me and fueled an inflammation furnace that kept me wide awake.

My lifestyle had depleted me of nutrients.

I learned to cook and nourish myself properly to give my body the building blocks to thrive.

5/ Supplements

I love to learn about supplements and experiment with different protocols:

- Large doses of magnesium, the anti-stress mineral
- Inositol
- Zinc
- Large doses of glutamine repair the lining of my gut, destroyed after years of inflammatory food.
- Oregano Oil

6/ Quality, not quantity

The best way to keep insomniacs awake is to tell them they need 8 hours of sleep to be healthy.

This norm made my racing mind spin faster when I looked at my clock:

''Ok, so it's 4:44 am. I'll get 2 hours and 16 minutes if I fall asleep right NOW! ''

Sleep quality was the first thing to change for me, long before quantity. I noticed how even though it took a long time to fall asleep, the little slumber I did get felt much cleaner than before.

I felt less groggy in the morning and more awake during the day.

Focus on quality.

Fixing my sleep changed my life.

My acuity and productivity skyrocketed, along with my day-to-day performance.

My mood improved. Muscle growth became easier to achieve.

I made sleep a priority, and can now pass out right when my head hits the pillow.

You can do it too.