Different route
Thus, what Gary had to do first was learn how to control his sleep, allowing him to sleep at a moments notice and wake up the moment he was done cultivating.
A rather simple method on paper but actually doing it wasn't so easy. After all, it was hard for a person to concentrate on cultivating when the allure of a beauty sleep called out to him or her.
Thus, first, one had to temper self control and that was not an easy task. Having to fight against the temptations that came with a good sleep and then taking reigns over the situation allowed one to perfect the breathing technique.
Of course, Gary couldn't say he had perfected his mastery over the breathing technique since he sometimes got swayed by the desire to have a nice rest but on important occasions he could be relied on to not be swayed by the allure of a beauty sleep.