Refrain from drinking alcohol within eight hours prior to bedtime, or ideally at all, as it can significantly disrupt your slow-wave sleep and overall sleep architecture.
Avoid consuming caffeine within eight, and ideally within 12, hours of bedtime to greatly assist in achieving more slow-wave sleep and higher quality rapid eye movement sleep.
Abstain from cannabis (THC and CBD) use within eight to 12 hours prior to sleep if your goal is to improve the total amount of slow-wave sleep and overall sleep architecture.
Avoid eating large meals in the two hours prior to sleep to enhance growth hormone output and the depth and duration of slow-wave sleep, but ensure you are not so hungry that it prevents you from falling or staying asleep.
Perform 60 minutes of moderately intense cardiovascular exercise (around 60% of VO2 max) at least six hours prior to bedtime to enhance slow-wave sleep quality and stability.
Get morning sunlight in your eyes or bright light of other kinds upon waking to help set your circadian rhythm and improve overall sleep quality.
Avoid bright light exposure from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. to prevent disruption of your natural sleep-wake cycle and improve sleep architecture.
Take magnesium threonate (or bisglycinate), theanine, and apigenin as a sleep stack approximately 30 to 60 minutes prior to sleep to improve sleep depth and reduce sleep latency. (Note: specific dosages for these are not provided in this transcript, and theanine should be avoided if you experience intense dreams or night terrors).
Consider taking 900 milligrams of myoinositol 30 to 60 minutes prior to sleep, especially if following a low-carbohydrate diet, to enhance sleep quality, slow-wave sleep, and reduce anxiety that might disrupt sleep.
Assess your sleep sufficiency by observing whether you are sleepy during the daytime; frequent daytime sleepiness is an indication that you are likely not getting enough sleep at night.
Strive to get at least six hours of sleep per night, and ideally seven to eight hours, to increase the probability of achieving a healthy balance of slow-wave and rapid eye movement sleep.
Implement various sleep improvement strategies one by one to identify which specific tools and protocols work best for your individual needs and sleep architecture.