Welcome to The Remedy with Dr. Rani Whitfield, where medicine, music, literacy, and other hot topics meet. I appreciate you being here, and if you're like most folks, I know you're probably listening while multitasking, maybe working out, driving or fighting to stay awake at your desk. So let me hit you with this. What are sweet dreams made of? Eight hours, a dark cool room, a little magnesium, and of course, no phone in your bed, but we'll get to that later. Today, we're flipping the script on hustle culture because in 2025, sleep isn't soft. It's savage. Let's get into it. Sleep is the New Flex. And trust me in 2025, being well rested is sexier than being overbooked. Hustle culture told us to sleep when you're dead. But the truth is, if you don't sleep, you're speeding up that expiration date very, very fast. Sleep isn't a weakness. It's a weapon and in a world of burnout being rested is your competitive edge. Now listen, I'm not here to put you to sleep, but I am here to wake you up to how powerful sleep is for your body, your brain, your mood, your metabolism, your memory, and your muscles. I've been reading a book called Why We Sleep by Dr. Matthew Walker. It's not like reading unless you're already sleep deprived, in which case it might knock you out in five pages. But seriously, it's a powerful look at how we misunderstood and mistreated sleep in modern life. Walker breaks it down like this. Sleep is not optional. It's foundational. And when you rob yourself of it, you don't wake up tired. You wake up inflamed, foggy, insulin resistant, and emotionally off balance; and that insulin resistance piece one night of poor sleep can jack up your blood sugar response just as much as a bad meal. You could eat the same breakfast two days in a row, but after five and a half hours of sleep instead of eight, your blood sugar response can be drastically worse. That's how closely tied sleep is to metabolic health. And speaking of books that make an impact, shout out to Samuel Jackson's classic read aloud. Go the F to sleep. Some of y'all need that bedtime story for grown folks because scrolling TikTok till 1:00 AM is keeping your nervous system fried and your cortisol levels way, way too high. So if you want better energy, better workouts, better sex, better focus, better skin, stop chasing supplements and start chasing sleep. The glow up starts with eight hours, not eight filters. Now I know what you're thinking, Doc, I wanna sleep, but I can't shut it off. You're not alone. Half of America is laying in bed with a racing mind and restless body. Here's where the remedy comes in. Number one, your body needs a signal that it's time to downshift. One of my favorite ways to do that, the sauna. Whether it's infrared or traditional, sitting in that heat for 15 to 20 minutes before bed can calm the nervous system, boost melatonin and help your body naturally prep for rest. Follow up with a cold shower or plunge, and boom, you've just primed your body for some serious shuteye. Number two, magnesium. This mineral is a natural chill pill. It helps regulate gaba your brain's calming neurotransmitter, and has been shown to reduce insomnia and improve sleep quality. I take magnesium glycinate and I've recommended it to a lot of my colleagues, especially those dealing with stress and muscle tightness. But always check with your primary care doctor first. Number three, tech hygiene. Your phone. It's Sleep thief. The blue light delays melatonin production and the endless scroll keeps your brain in high alert mode. Try this one hour before bed, go screen free. Read a book, meditate, stretch, sauna, and or journal. Yes, even a few pages from Why We Sleep Counts. And let me remind you, your bed is for two things. Sex and sleep. That's it. Not for emails, not for tiktoks, not for late night arguments with strangers on Twitter. Protect that space, like your peace depends upon it because it does. Your phone is not just killing your attention span, it's killing your sleep. Scroll less and snooze more. And if you're really trying to win the night, make your bedroom a cave. Cool, dark, quiet, and distraction free, blackout curtains, white noise, no tv. And if your bed's a work zone, your brain won't know it's time to rest. Now look, I'm not saying life won't throw off your sleep, but when you treat sleep like sacred time, when you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends, you train your body to flow with its natural rhythm. Give yourself eight hours in bed. Avoid alcohol or heavy meals three hours before sleep and cut the drama and screens two hours before. These aren't hacks. They're healing habits. They're what I call no regret moves. You build these in and most people, eight out of 10 get better. Poor sleep increases your risk of obesity, diabetes. Heart disease, depression, dementia, and even cancer. So when people say, I'll sleep when I'm dead, my response is, nah, you'll die sooner if you don't sleep. Sleep is when the brain detoxes. It's when Get locked in. It's when muscles recover. It's when creativity sparks and cortisol drops. It is the foundation of performance and peace, and yet sleep deprivation is often worn like a badge of honor for me. Not anymore. In 2025, sleep is the new flex. Brag about your REM cycles, not your red eye flights. Now I get asked this a lot. What if I'm an athlete or someone who trains hard? Can intense exercise help balance poor sleep? Surprisingly, yes. High intensity interval training can stimulate lactate production, and instead of being a waste product, lactate actually plays a role in glucose metabolism. It's not a free pass to skip sleep, but movement does mitigate some of the damage that is done. Just don't use your workout as an excuse to stay up watching four episodes of Netflix with a plate of wings in an old fashioned. Even if you're not an athlete, just someone trying to stay alive out here, remember this rest makes you dangerous. Like that old lumberjack who kept winning woodcutting contests by doing less. Why? Because every time he sat down, he sharpened his axe. That's what rest does. It doesn't make you soft, it makes you sharp. So let's flip the script. Start winding down 90 minutes before bed. Treat sleep like it's sacred. Schedule it like you would your workouts or your money meetings. And for my brothers and sisters, grinding day and night, you deserve rest too. Don't let hustle culture rob you of healing. And that's what Sweet Dreams are made of. That's it for today's episode of The Remedy with Dr. Rani Whitfield, where medicine, music, literacy, and other hot topics meet. And remember, we are born looking like our parents, but we die looking like our decisions. Make sleep one of your best. Join me every Sunday for a new episode. You can check me out at the website, www.h2doc.com. Spotify, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your audio fixed. It's Tha Hip Hop Doc, they call me H 2D. Come on y'all, let's get hip hop, healthy, peace and blessings. I'm out. The content on the Remedy with Dr. Rani Whitfield is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for personalized medical guidance. Dr. Rani Whitfield is a licensed family physician, but the information provided on this podcast should not replace professional medical consultation.