The Sleep Newsletter #10

Welcome !

And hello to 32 new sleep enthusiasts!

If you’re new around here, this newsletter is all about sleep.

I’m the guy with the nuggets of gold that will help you sleep better.

And that leads to a more fulfilling, restful and happier life.

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

So this is the Sleep Newsletter. We’re like your favourite high school teacher. We’ll teach you something cool and then send you to recess early.

If you missed our last edition, we discussed the viral trend that has taken the sleep community by storm, bacteria on cotton and TikTok videos.

In Today’s Edition:

• 💪 Exercise is great for sleep performance. But when?

• 👨‍🦳 What happens to your sleep when you get old

• 📣 An important COZO founder update

People tell me the most satisfying feeling in the world is finding money in an old pair of jeans.

Well, they are wrong.

Because nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is more satisfying than this…

Turning off your early morning alarm and setting it back an hour to get more sleep.

That is a fact. You’ll never convince me otherwise.

And boy, have I been indulging in this activity recently.

Instead of being a healthy human and getting up early for the gym, I’ve opted for an extra hour of shut eye.

It’s pushed back my gym time to the evening.

Don’t get me wrong, the extra sleep is nice.

So is the exercise, when I finally get to it.

But what ends up happening isn’t good.

That burst of energy I usually get from a workout?

Well, it sticks around.

Like the smell of bacon cooking in the kitchen, my energy lingers ALL night.

And I’ve noticed my sleep suffers big time.

I take a lot longer to get to sleep + I wake up frequently throughout the night.

And I know that there are a lot of you who exercise in the evening too.

So listen up.

The science backs it up.

Exercising stimulates your mitochondria’s (yes, that’s a real word).

They are tiny organs located in your cells that are responsible for energy production.

If you’re like me and push yourself hard in your workouts, you sweat.

And your body temperature rises.

This is a no-no when it comes to falling asleep quickly.

An increase in body temperature means it takes longer for it lower down to an optimal level suitable for sleep.

But a morning workout?

Well, it just makes sense.

It gives you that boost of energy to attack the day head on.

Hell, I just got back from a morning gym workout now and look at me write this newsletter in record time 💪 

So if you can, switch the late night workout to the morning.

You’ll fall asleep quicker and have less disruptions throughout the night.

But don’t stop exercising altogether!

Exercising in general is amazing for your mental space and sleep performance.

It’s all about WHEN you do it.

It’s like studying for an exam.

You should study to retain information, but cramming it right before bed leaves your mind too active to sleep.

I’m at the stage of life where I’m starting to notice my parents are getting old.

It’s a sad realisation, but one that’s made me prioritise spending as much time with them as possible.

And in doing so, what I’ve realised is how EARLY they go to bed now.

One minute, you’re having ice cream chatting about your favourite TV shows.

Next minute, their sleep mask is on and they are saying goodnight.

And it’s 8.55pm!

At first, I thought they were sick of me and it was their polite way of saying go home.

But I did some research, and found a VERY interesting fact about sleep as you age:

Your sleep efficiency decreases with age

So a teenager going to bed at 10pm is the same as an adult going to bed at 7.30pm.

Adults need to go to bed 2-3 hours earlier to get the same rest results than when they were younger.

It makes sense, given we regress in most things as we get older.

But I personally didn’t realise how significant the drop off is.

So next time your Mum says it’s bed time at 8pm, tuck her into bed and salute her for a good night’s sleep!

It’s been a while since I’ve given a proper COZO update.

But I have an important announcement on the trajectory of the business.

We’ve had a change of heart.

In our market research before creating COZO, we found conusumers were OBSESSED with Mulberry silk.

How could we blame them?

The samples we received were so silky soft - it felt like an amazing material to sleep on.

And our mulberry sleep masks and pillowcases have been a huge hit with the COZO community.

But Sara and I are environment and animal lovers at heart.

And we’re learnt more about the destructive process to make mulberry silk.

It involves the boiling alive of silk worms and it’s shocking for the environment.

It’s too awful to ignore.

If you aren’t aware, I wrote about the Mulberry silk production process here.

So we’ve made a call.

We are discontinuing our Mulberry silk range, and focusing solely on Eucalyptus products.

We are down to just the White Mulberry pillowcases and a few colours in the Mulberry sleep masks.

Once they are sold out - that will be it.

We believe our Eucalyptus products are just as luxurious and impactful to your sleep as Mulberry.

BUT with ZERO animal harm and a far less environmental impact.

So if you love our Mulberry products, grab one here before they go.

This will be the last time they are available!

And on that note, it’s time to say adios.

Until next time 💤

-jim (Founder of COZO)