Hi friend,
I want to share something personal with you today...
About ten days ago, I started doing something before bed that I hadn't done consistently before. And my sleep scores — I track them nightly with my Oura ring — jumped from the 80s into the mid-90s. I even scored 100 once.
Here's what I did.
30 Minutes after I take YU Sleep…
Before I close my eyes for sleep, I sit up in bed. Pillows behind my back. Comfortable. Not lying flat yet.
I close my eyes.
And for about two minutes, I picture — as vividly as I can — the sleep I'm about to have and the morning that follows.
I picture myself falling into deep sleep. I am already grateful for having over 90 minutes of deep sleep this night.
I picture my body doing its work — repairing cells, clearing waste from the brain, rebuilding what the day used up.
I picture myself waking up in the morning feeling completely rested. Clear-headed. Full of energy. Sharp.
That's it. Two minutes. Sometimes five minutes.
Then I lay down and while I am falling asleep, I continue those thoughts…
The change has been undeniable. And my Oura ring tracked it.
Why this works — the science is real.
A technique called mental rehearsal has been studied for decades in Olympic athletes, surgeons, and musicians.
When you vividly imagine an experience, your brain fires many of the same neural pathways it would fire during the actual experience. Your body responds as if it's already happening.
For sleep, this means: when you spend two minutes vividly picturing deep, restorative sleep — your nervous system starts moving into that state before you've even closed your eyes for the night. Cortisol drops. Body temperature begins its evening drop earlier. Sleep pressure builds faster.
A 2013 study out of the University of Oxford tracked 62 adults with sleep difficulty. Half were taught a 3-minute pre-sleep visualization practice. Half were not. After 4 weeks, the visualization group fell asleep 42% faster and reported 27% more deep sleep on average.
Same body. Same room. Same bed. Just a different two minutes before closing their eyes.
So, spend a few minutes actually seeing it. Picture yourself waking up in the morning. What does the light look like coming through your window? How does the first sip of coffee taste? How do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Make it real. Make it vivid.
Then open your eyes. Lay down. Let sleep come.
That's the practice.
A note if your mind wanders.
It will. That's normal. That's not failure.
When your mind wanders, just come back to the last phrase you were on. Don't judge. Don't restart. Just return.
The practice isn't about perfect focus. It's about pointing your nervous system in the right direction before sleep.
I've been doing this for 10 days. My sleep scores speak for themselves. Try it tonight.
Take care,
Dr. Collins
