Sleeping, Lifting, Supplements: How I Manage Stress as a Dad in my 40s

📚 Read time: 4 minutes

Coming up: protein, priorities, leaving your phone at home, a boring-but-useful sleep schedule, two game-changing supplements, boosting your testosterone, not staring at screens all night, and how I manage stress as a dad in my 40s.

I’m a busy dad:

I have a job.
I have two kids: Henry (10) and Hannah (5).
I make supplements with Sentro Labs (and my wife Elaine).

… so, like every other man my age, I have plenty to get stressed about.

But, I’ve found 7 simple ways to control it*.

(*don’t worry, I’m not gonna recommend meditating or journalling or telling yourself you’re at one with the universe—those things aren't for me either).

Anyway, on we go:

Daily movement

For me, the big one is the gym.

I lift weights 3-4 times a week, for 30-60 minutes at a time.

💪 Sometimes, I use heavy weights. Sometimes, I use lighter weights, for circuit-style training.

Some examples:

On the days when I’m not in the gym, I’ll go for a quick walk—and I usually leave my phone and headphones at home.

(btw, the reason I don’t gym more than 4 days a week? At our age, we need to prioritise rest and recovery—so days away from the gym are just as important as days in the gym. If I’m in the gym every day, my cortisol will likely be higher—so my stress will also be higher).

Varied, nutritious, high-protein meals

Some rules I have:

I keep protein high—to help with recovery, building muscle, and gym performance
I eat lots of fruit and veg (and nuts and seeds and wholegrains)
I drink plenty of water (2-3 litres a day, often more)
I make my plates colourful

All this keeps my energy stable—and keeps me feeling full and healthy.

Prioritising sleep

I have 7 major sleep habits, which I do as often as I can.

The 4 most important are:

I aim for 7-8 hours per night
I make sure my bedroom is very dark
I try to keep a consistent sleeping routine, even on weekends
I spend the hour before bed winding down (ie, not working, and staring at my phone)

🥱 Yeah, this is all a bit boring.

👍 But we’re in our 40s now; being boring is alright.

Interestingly, sleep and stress are linked in many ways. Which basically means…

… if you better control your sleep, you can better control your stress. And if you better control your stress, you can better control your sleep. And so on and so on and so on.

So: one of the ways I improve BOTH my sleep and stress is by taking EQUILIBRIUM. Featuring Ashwagandha, Magnesium, L-Theanine, and 4 more ingredients, it helps me sleep better and stress less.

Getting outside

🌚 An evening walk is good for winding down
☀️ A morning walk is a nice way to start the day

… AND… lots of research has shown that both morning walks (within 30-60 minutes of waking) and evening walks (after dinner) can help with sleeping better AND reducing stress.

On top of all that, walking is a good form of gentle exercise:

And gentle exercise is perfect for reducing stress.

(especially given that too much endurance-based cardio can reduce testosterone levels)

Limiting evening screen time

Most evenings, I don’t use my phone or laptop in the hour before bed.

When I stick to this rule:

I’m more relaxed
I fall asleep faster
I sleep better

It’s a simple change, but it makes a massive difference.

Reducing caffeine—especially after midday

Caffeine increases stress, AND reduces sleep quality.

Why? Well:

Caffeine’s half life is around 5 hours. So, if you drink two coffees five hours before bed, it’s basically the same as having one cup immediately before bed.
Caffeine can increase cortisol (the body’s stress hormone). Which means: more coffee = more stress.

So: I’ve reduced my caffeine intake generally—and I don’t drink any after midday.

Managing my testosterone

Low testosterone doesn’t cause high stress…

… but low testosterone can have loads of negative side-effects. Like:

Low sex drive
Low motivation
Sleep problems
Erectile dysfunction
Worse mental health
Reduced muscle mass
Feeling constantly tired
Reduced gym performance

In the past, I’ve struggled with some of these symptoms…

… and struggling with these symptoms made my stress worse.

(while obviously also making my quality of life worse).

So, these days, I manage my testosterone in many ways (more detail here). But the main things I’ve done are:

Prioritised rest and recovery (instead of doing doing any and all exercise)
Changed many habits around alcohol, daylight, diet, and caffeine
Really focused on improving my sleep and stress

I also take the testosterone-boosting supplement PERFORMANCE, featuring Zinc, Vitamin D, and 5 lesser-known ingredients. It’s boosted my mood, sex drive, energy, and muscle mass—and basically made me feel about ten years younger.