The Journal
RecoveryMay 27, 2026 5 min read

Sleep is a training variable, not a wellness topic

Why we treat sleep the same way we treat warm-ups — and the three things that move the needle for clients with kids and 6am alarms.

MC
Marcus Cole
Head Coach
Sleep is a training variable, not a wellness topic

If your sleep drops below 6 hours twice in a week, your training response drops with it. We've measured this in our own client data for three years. It's not opinion.

The three things that actually move the needle

  • A hard caffeine cutoff at 2pm.
  • Screens out of the bedroom — not dimmed, out.
  • A 20-minute wind-down that starts at the same time, every night.
MC
Written by
Marcus Cole
Head Coach at Proof

Stop reading about it. Start training.