Define your individual biological needs, social needs, and work requirements, then actively tune your lifestyle to align with them for optimal well-being.
Go to bed earlier and prioritize sleep, as a tired brain remembers negative experiences and forgets positive ones, influencing a negative world view.
Define how much sleep you need for optimal daytime performance, as individual sleep needs vary widely (6 to 10.5 hours), and avoid anxiety over not meeting a specific ’eight-hour’ myth.
Monitor for signs of insufficient sleep, such as needing an alarm to wake, slow waking, caffeine cravings, increased irritability, or sleeping significantly longer on free days, to determine if you are getting enough rest.
Aim for 10 to 30 minutes of natural, bright morning light as soon as possible after waking to advance your biological clock and shift your sleep-wake cycle earlier.
Expose yourself to morning light, particularly for 90% of people whose body clocks naturally drift later, as morning light advances the clock, helping you get up and go to bed earlier.
Increase light in daytime spaces, especially for elderly individuals or those with mild dementia, and consider having breakfast by a window to improve sleep-wake behavior and potentially cognition by 10%.
To improve circadian rhythm and sleep, try to limit light exposure in the evening, even natural light, especially if you tend to go to bed too late.
Install low-lux, amber-colored bulbs in your bedroom and other evening spaces to reduce alertness and make it easier to fall asleep, as lower light intensity helps signal rest time.
Define your bedroom as a dedicated sleeping space by ensuring a comfortable mattress and pillows, and using distinctive scents like lavender to associate the space with sleep, embracing any sensory cues that help you relax.
Implement a personalized winding-down routine before bed, such as reading under dim light or listening to relaxing music, to ease the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
Avoid emotionally charged discussions, such as family finances, before bed, as they can increase alertness and delay sleep onset; instead, carve out a different time for such conversations.
Recognize that poor sleep is often a stress problem, not just a sleep problem; implement a winding-down routine at the end of the day, leaving work at home and engaging in relaxing activities to reduce stress.
To improve sleep, remove electronic devices like smartphones and tablets from your bedroom, as their presence and notifications can disrupt sleep and increase alertness.
Do not be alarmed if you wake up in the middle of the night, as biphasic or polyphasic sleep patterns are normal for mammals and do not necessarily mean the end of sleep.
If you wake up during the night, stay calm, keep lights low, and avoid engaging in mentally stimulating activities like checking emails, as you will likely fall back to sleep naturally.
If you have an illuminated alarm clock, cover its display with tape to prevent clock-watching, which can cause anxiety about remaining sleep time and hinder falling back asleep.
Stabilize sleep-wake cycles, even partially, as it can reduce symptoms like paranoia and hallucinatory experiences, making sleep-wake systems a therapeutic target for mental health conditions.
If prescribed anti-hypertensive or anti-stroke medication, take it before bedtime rather than in the morning, as this can halve the chances of stroke or heart attack over a 4-5 year period.
Concentrate your calorie intake during breakfast and lunchtime, aiming for a very light or earlier supper, as this is better for metabolic health and reduces the risk of weight gain, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
Understand your chronotype and actively manipulate it using light exposure (e.g., bright morning light, dim evening light) to align with your work or social demands, reducing vulnerability to sleep disruption.
If you are an extreme late chronotype struggling to wake early, set an alarm and get outside first thing in the morning or use a light box to advance your biological clock.
If natural morning light is difficult to access, use a light box providing 10,000 lux for 30 minutes to help set your biological clock and advance your sleep-wake cycle.
New parents, especially mothers, should not feel guilty about being tired and should actively reach out for support from family or friends to mitigate chronic sleep loss, recognizing that humans did not evolve for sole parenting.
Provide education for night shift workers and their families to understand the biological consequences of working at night, which can impact relationships (e.g., six times higher divorce rate in some sectors).
Employers should chronotype their workforce to assign shifts that align with individuals’ natural morning or evening preferences, avoiding placing late chronotypes on early morning shifts.
Employers with night shift workers should make available or subsidize dashboard devices that measure head nod or car veering to alert tired drivers, mitigating the risk of accidents.
Employers should consider providing facilities or arrangements for night shift workers to sleep after their shift, preventing them from driving home chronically tired and reducing accident risks.
Employers should institute higher-frequency health checks (e.g., every six months) for night shift workers to catch conditions like cancer, coronary heart disease, and type 2 diabetes before they become chronic.
Employers should provide easy-to-digest, high-protein snacks for night shift workers, as current offerings are often high in fat and sugar, contributing to health problems.
Consensual sex or masturbation can promote sleep by relaxing individuals and releasing hormones that induce sleepiness.
For couples trying to conceive, consider having sex in the morning when male fertility peaks due to rising testosterone and optimal sperm motility.
If your goal is to reduce alertness in the evening, wearing blue light blocking glasses may be useful, as blue light is the most effective wavelength for increasing alertness.
Consider using bathroom lighting that can switch from bright, alerting light in the morning to dimmer, less alerting light in the evening to support circadian rhythms and sleep preparation.
If using a sleep tracker, focus on basic metrics like sleep timing, duration, and fragmentation, and disregard advanced metrics like deep or REM sleep stages, as these are often inaccurate and can cause anxiety.