The concept of marginal gains is not new and has been applied to example in areas such as business, healthcare, sport and the military.
Almost every habit or behavior we have, good or bad, is the result of many small decisions over time.
When small gains are applied over time it can add up to remarkable improvement.
British cycling and Team Stay under GM Performance Director Sir David Brailsford had outstanding results and success int he Olympics and the Tour de France.
Instead of a huge improvement in one area he sought small improvements in a lot of areas eg. nutrition, training, ergonomics of the bike seat and also massage, sleep and infection control.
For recovery riders had their personalised mattress and pillow which offered the best sleep. Riders had strict pre and post sleep routines and slept in blacked out rooms.
With respect to our sleep, we can adopt the same concept, apply a number of minor changes to what we do when we wake, throughout the day, and before going to bed.
The sum of all of these changes, can result in a huge improvement in our quality of sleep and impact how we feel throughout the day.