The New Fundamentals of Sleep Hygiene in 2025

For years, the standard advice around sleep has sounded the same: cut screen time, take magnesium, keep your room cool and dark. But sleep science doesn’t stand still, and in 2025, we know more than ever about what really helps (and what doesn’t). Some of the fundamentals are shifting, and it’s time to update your playbook.

At Ignite Performance and Wellness, we see sleep as the foundation of recovery, performance, and mental clarity. Here are the new fundamentals of sleep hygiene you should know this year:

1. Blue Light: It’s About Timing, Not Just Avoidance

For a long time, blue light got a bad reputation as the enemy of sleep. The advice was simple: avoid screens at night. But the research now shows it’s more nuanced. Blue light in the morning and throughout the day can actually help regulate your circadian rhythm, improve alertness, and support better sleep later.

The real disruptor is blue light after sunset, which tricks your brain into thinking it’s still daytime. The new approach? Get natural light exposure within the first hour of waking, and use warm, dim lighting at night. Instead of cutting screens altogether, consider blue-light filtering settings or glasses after dark. It’s not about elimination—it’s about smart timing.

2. Magnesium: Form and Function Matter

Magnesium has long been called the “sleep/relax mineral,” but the blanket recommendation to “take magnesium” doesn’t tell the full story. More recently, we now understand that the form of magnesium makes all the difference.

• Magnesium glycinate tends to support relaxation and sleep quality.

• Magnesium threonate has unique effects on the brain, supporting cognition and stress regulation.

• Magnesium citrate, on the other hand, is better known for digestion and isn’t ideal before bed.

The key is personalization: choose the form that aligns with your needs, and take it consistently. For most people, magnesium glycinate about 30–60 minutes before bed is the go-to for sleep and relaxation support.

3. Sleep Environments: Beyond Cool and Dark

“Make your room cool, quiet, and dark” is still solid advice—but it’s just the beginning. In 2025, we now emphasize creating a sleep environment that communicates safety and calm to your brain. That means more than blackout curtains:

• Soundscapes or white noise can block disruptive background sounds.

• Decluttering your bedroom reduces subtle stress triggers.

• Air quality—using a purifier or adding plants—can improve breathing and recovery.

• For others using specific scents like lavender or weighted blankets can help signal to your nervous system that it’s time to downshift.

Think of your room as a recovery chamber: every element should promote rest. Do you have something that helps you get some good ZZZZzzzz’s? Share with all of us Social Media and let’s get some good sleep tonight!

The ROI of Slowness

We live in a culture that rewards speed. Faster delivery. Faster results. Faster progress. In fitness and business alike, the mantra is often: “Go hard or go home.” But what if the real ROI—the return on investment—comes not from going faster, but from slowing down?

Yes, I’m talking about the paradoxical power of slowness. Deliberate slowness. Intentional pacing. Slowness with purpose.

It’s something I’ve learned as both a business owner and an athlete-in-training. The fastest progress often comes from slowing things down.

The Hidden Power of Slow in Workouts

Let’s start with the gym. Ever tried tempo training? Slowing down your reps—3 seconds down, 2 seconds up—brings your muscles under more tension, for longer. The result? Better strength gains, improved control, and less risk of injury.

The same applies to endurance training. Zone 2 heart rate workouts—those long, slow sessions where it feels like you’re barely breaking a sweat—are where aerobic capacity is truly built. It’s not glamorous, but it’s where the base is laid for future speed. Elite endurance athletes spend up to 80% of their training time in these slower heart rate zones.

In other words, slowness isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom.

Slowness as a Strategic Advantage in Life

This idea isn’t just for your body—it applies to your mind and business, too.

When you slow down, you gain clarity. You give yourself space to think deeply instead of reacting impulsively. You build habits instead of chasing hacks. You plan deliberately rather than sprinting from one fire to the next.

For example, in my own businesses, I've seen the most growth when I stepped back from trying to “scale fast” and instead focused on building the right systems, investing in relationships, and getting crystal-clear on mission and value. Slowing down created the margin to make smarter decisions.

The ROI of Slowness

So what does slowness earn you?

• Efficiency: When you move deliberately, you make fewer mistakes—so you don't waste time doubling back.

• Resilience: Slower, intentional progress builds a more solid foundation—whether it’s muscle tissue or mental bandwidth.

• Sustainability: Fast burns out. Slow endures.

• Speed—eventually: Like the tortoise in the old fable, deliberate slowness often wins the long race.

Slowing Down to Speed Up

If you're the kind of person who’s always driving, always grinding, always pushing—it might feel counterintuitive to hit the brakes. But sometimes, the smartest move is to pause.

Pause in your workouts. Pause in your calendar. Pause in your decision-making.

Not to lose momentum—but to gather power.

Because here’s the truth: Slowness is not the opposite of speed. It’s the foundation of it.

And when you train yourself to embrace that rhythm—slow, steady, intentional—you’ll be shocked at how much faster, stronger, and more effective you become.

What’s one area of your life where you could slow down today… in order to speed up tomorrow?

Is Your Church Volunteer-friendly

“Help…we are in need of volunteers!”

If you have attended a church for any length of time, you have heard or said that sentence more times than you can count. In every church I have been apart of from childhood to adulthood, has struggled with having enough volunteers.

Here is the reality:  the persistent and chronic lack of volunteers is an indication that leadership/volunteer development isn’t a high priority.

What can we do differently to see this trend change overtime in our churches?

1.    Grow your own leadership capacity

Sometimes leaders have difficulty in recruiting, training, and mobilizing other leaders because they have never been trained themselves. Investing in your own leadership competencies will help you have more leaders. This can look different depending where and who you are, but consider going to a conference, hiring a coach or joining a local cohort of leaders. The truth is we all have more capacity than we are unlocking. Have the courage to find people who can help you unlock future potential.

In my circle at Converge, this is where our Transform conference has been helpful to me as a pastor. Transform offers peer-to-peer conversations with pastors of similar sized churches.

2.   Let go

Sometimes we don’t have enough volunteers because of one simple reason - we are too controlling. It’s easy to strive for excellence to the point that people are never given a chance to lead. This is a sure fire way to run off your best leaders.The more you are willing to release and empower others, the more people you will find who want to help. Engaging new volunteers requires a willingness to empower and to let go, but in reality you can never let go of responsibility. As the leader you own the wins but also the failures. When you make responsibility a high priority it focuses you to care and train the leaders you have empowered.

3.   Alleviate the fear

I am convinced fear is one of the greatest barriers to people stepping up and volunteering. They are afraid that if they sign up as a volunteer, they could be stuck doing that task/role for the rest of their life with no hope of escaping. The fear of not having a graceful way to exit is enough to keep people from volunteering.

What are ways you can communicate your heart for your people to allow people to start serving with “no strings attached?” The more people feel they are using their gifts, experience, and passions the more likely they will become a long term volunteer. However, it can take time and multiple attempts to find the right fit.

4.   Have the right entry points

Sometimes it is simple math. We don’t have enough volunteers because we have too many needs. Sometimes churches get consumed by programs, tasks, and opportunities that it can unknowingly become an abusive environment in which to volunteer. Be strategic about streamlining your ministries and limit the entry points. This helps you maximize the number of contacts and incoming volunteers.

5.   Give people a reason 

Many churches lack a compelling vision. A strong vision is more than a cute phrase in the entry way of a church. A strong vision permeates down to the culture of the church. A Vision is working when it’s seen in people’s desires. They buy into the church’s future impact. Well-crafted visions are clear about a specific future. Give people a reason to volunteer. Show them they are actually missing out if they didn’t jump in. Vision is the key to growing a strong volunteer base. Where it is lacking, so are the volunteers.

Learn how to share a compelling vision.