Happy 2025, everyone! A brand new year is here, full of possibilities and opportunities! If you’re like me, the flip of the calendar inspires you to set some ambitious goals to enhance your life. Whether it’s getting more exercise, eating healthier, landing a new job, saving money, or spending more quality time with family, there’s no shortage of resolutions we can make to create happier and healthier lives. The tradition of making New Year’s resolutions has been around for centuries.
Unfortunately, studies show that around 88% of people fall short of their resolution goals. But don’t worry—I’ve got a strategy that can help you join the happy minority who set their intentions on January 1st and actually succeed.
How? Well, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that it involves sleep. (Surprise!) But don’t jump to conclusions! I’ll be covering four of the most common non-sleep-related New Year’s resolutions and showing how a good night’s sleep can scientifically increase your chances of achieving them.
Take a look! Here they are, along with the percentage of people who swear they’ll achieve them on an average New Year’s Eve.
Lose Weight – 40%
If you’re not getting the recommended 7 hours of sleep per night, it might be affecting your ability to
lose weight.
That may seem a little counterintuitive to some people. After all, the more time we spend awake and
active, the more calories we burn, right?
The problem is that sleep plays a crucial role in moderating two very important hormones called
ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin sends hunger signals to your brain and leptin does the opposite, signaling
fullness and suppressing hunger.
A 2004 study found that ghrelin levels were almost 15% higher in people who didn’t get enough
sleep, and leptin levels were 15.5% lower, causing them to feel hungry more often. So if you’re
determined to lose weight this year, getting enough sleep can go a long way to helping you reach
that goal.
Get more exercise – 52%
Getting in shape is always a commendable goal. Whether it’s getting your heart rate up, staying active, improving flexibility, or building strength, these are all great ways to stay healthy and feel your best. But if you’re not getting enough sleep, it can be much harder to stay motivated to hit the gym or go for a run, and you’re likely to tire out faster, which can slow down your progress. Plus, you won’t see the results as quickly as you would if you were getting enough rest. Sleep is the body’s regeneration phase, and even if you work out intensely during the day, your muscles won’t regenerate stronger if you aren’t getting the recommended amount of sleep at night. Or, as gym enthusiasts would say, “You ain’t gonna see those gains, girl!”
This is actually one of my personal goals as well—learning to do unassisted push-ups and mastering a handstand. Getting a good night’s sleep is crucial for maximizing the results of my workouts and staying motivated to keep pushing toward these goals. In short, getting the biggest return on the effort you put into your workout requires proper sleep, and seeing those results is a great way to stay motivated!
Spend more time with family and friends – 37%
We’re all striving to make the most of our time, but we also have responsibilities that can take up much of our day. Whether you’re working a 9-5 job, running a small business, or managing the household as a stay-at-home mom, by the time you’ve handled everything that needs to be done, there’s often little time left to simply gather with family and friends and enjoy each other’s company.
While we can’t increase the number of hours in a day, we can increase our productivity, freeing up time to do the things we love. And to do that, all you need to do is get to bed on time.
According to Dr. Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program, “Many people believe that in order to get more done, they need to sacrifice sleep. This study shows that, quite to the contrary, poor sleep is associated with lower productivity in general, and specifically across a wide range of areas.”
So, even though you may be going to bed earlier, that extra sleep will actually boost your productivity, giving you more time during the day to spend with your loved ones—family, friends, or both!
Eat Healthier – 50%
Here’s something interesting: A 2013 study actually found that sleep deprivation led to significantly stronger cravings for foods high in fat and/or sugar. You can dive into the article for all the scientific details, but I’ll break it down in simpler terms, based on what the study’s authors found.
“What we have discovered is that high-level brain regions responsible for complex judgments and decisions become blunted by a lack of sleep, while more primal brain structures that control motivation and desire are amplified. These results show how sleep deprivation impairs the brain, leading to the selection of more unhealthy foods and, ultimately, higher rates of obesity.”
So, getting enough sleep can actually make it easier to make healthier food choices. How awesome is that?
And there you have it, folks. If you want to set yourself up for New Year’s resolution success, there’s one habit you can focus on that’ll make all the others much easier to achieve: Get to bed on time, turn off those screens at least an hour before you hit the hay, leave your phone in the living room, and take the time to wind down before bed.
And if you’re not sleeping well because your little one is waking up in the night, let’s talk! Solving your baby’s sleep issues is the first step toward solving your own, and I’ve helped many families do exactly that. (Book a free evaluation call right now!)
