Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends, to anchor your sleep, improve its quantity and quality, and train your central 24-hour circadian clock.
In the last hour before bed, dim down 50% or more of the lights in your home, and use very dim, deep orange/red light in the bedroom (e.g., 5 lux) to promote melatonin release and signal darkness to your brain, aiding sleep onset.
Get bright light exposure in the morning, ideally from sunlight, or use a SAD lamp (5,000-10,000 lux) to increase morning cortisol by up to 50%, enhancing mood, focus, alertness, and making it easier to fall asleep at night.
After sundown, avoid bright artificial light, as even very little light (e.g., 15 seconds) can disrupt circadian rhythm and quash melatonin; use dim, orange/red tones, or candles/fireplaces if light is needed, and point phone flashlights at the ground.
Aim for a bedroom temperature around 67°F (18.5°C) to facilitate the necessary drop in core body and brain temperature (2-3°F or <1°C) required to fall and stay asleep. Wear thick socks or use a hot water bottle if feet feel too cold.
If you can’t fall asleep or fall back asleep within 20-25 minutes, get out of bed, go to a different room, and engage in a relaxing activity in dim light (e.g., reading, listening to a podcast) without checking email or eating, returning to bed only when sleepy, to break the association of wakefulness with your bed.
Create and engage in a consistent wind-down routine (e.g., listening to a podcast, reading, light stretching, meditation) for a period before bed, as sleep is a gradual physiological process, not an instant “light switch,” requiring deceleration.
Cut off caffeine consumption at least 10 hours before your expected bedtime and limit intake to 2-3 cups of coffee, as caffeine has a long half-life and can disrupt deep sleep and make it harder to fall back asleep if you wake up.
Do not use alcohol to aid sleep, as it is a sedative (not true sleep), fragments sleep with unremembered awakenings, and potently blocks REM sleep, impairing learning, memory, creativity, and emotional regulation. If consuming, be mindful of intake and timing, as even an afternoon glass of wine can impact sleep.
Aim for a buffer of at least 90 minutes to 2-3 hours between your last meal and bedtime, as eating too close to sleep can cause discomfort, gastric reflux, and metabolic activity that subtly increases body temperature, disrupting sleep.
Remove all clock faces and avoid looking at your phone for the time in the bedroom, especially if you wake up in the middle of the night, as knowing the time only creates anxiety and makes it harder to fall back asleep.
Avoid keeping your phone in the bedroom to prevent anticipatory anxiety (fear of missing out, checking messages upon waking) which can disrupt deep sleep and train your brain to stay in a shallow, anxious state.
After a bad night of sleep, do not sleep in later, go to bed earlier, increase caffeine, or nap during the day, as these actions disrupt your adenosine clock and circadian rhythm, making it harder to fall asleep the next night and perpetuating a vicious cycle. Instead, hold out for as long as possible until your natural bedtime.
If you’ve had a poor night’s sleep, still try to get some exercise in the morning, as it can partially offset disruptions to morning blood glucose regulation, but be mindful of intensity and increased vulnerability to illness.
Do not consume diets high in sugar and low in protein, as high sugar intake can increase metabolically active body temperature, disrupting sleep.
Experiment with eating most carbohydrates later in the evening, as starches can aid in quality sleep, possibly by supporting the tryptophan/serotonin pathway and healthy melatonin boost.
If struggling to fall asleep, close your eyes and take a highly detailed mental walk through a familiar route (e.g., walking your dog), focusing on specific sensations and observations, to get your mind off anxious thoughts and facilitate sleep.
Engage in short daily meditations or non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) protocols like Yoga Nidra (using apps like Waking Up) to improve mood, reduce anxiety, enhance focus, and boost memory, as these can increase dopamine levels by up to 60%.
Do not use THC for sleep, as it leads to tolerance and dependency, blocks REM sleep (causing REM rebound upon cessation), and creates a vicious insomnia withdrawal syndrome, making it harder to stay off.
CBD may have some sleep-promoting benefits, possibly by reducing anxiety (anxiolytic) and/or dropping core body temperature (hypothermic). If using, be aware of a U-shaped function (too little can be wake-promoting, aim for 50mg+), and seek third-party tested products due to lack of regulation.
If you struggle with insomnia, work with a clinician to implement “bedtime rescheduling” (formerly sleep restriction therapy) by ruthlessly constraining your sleep window (e.g., to 5 hours initially) to force sleep efficiency and retrain your brain to associate the bed with sleep.
Utilize a brief quiz (like Helix Sleep’s) to find a mattress suited to your unique sleep needs (back/side/stomach sleeper, hot/cold) to improve sleep quality.
Utilize a fitness wearable (like Whoop) to track daily activity and sleep, providing real-time feedback and personalized data to adjust training and sleep schedules for better performance and overall health.
Employ thermal strategies: warm up your body (e.g., hot bath/shower 1-2 hours before bed) to promote heat release and core body cooling for faster sleep onset; maintain a cool ambient temperature to stay asleep; and warm up in the morning (e.g., cold shower) to promote alertness.
To potentially enhance REM sleep, aim for a “thermo-neutral” body temperature during sleep (not too cold, not too hot), as maintaining this balance can boost REM sleep.
If struggling with insomnia, discuss Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonists (DORAs) with a physician, as these newer medications block wakefulness-promoting orexin, leading to more naturalistic sleep and potentially enhancing REM sleep without the detriments of classic sedatives.
Exercise caution with supplements that globally target specific neurotransmitter systems (e.g., serotonergic or cholinergic precursors) for sleep, as they can disrupt the natural “ballet” of sleep stages, potentially leading to imbalances like increased arousal or altered sleep architecture.
Do not use growth hormone secretagogues (e.g., sermorelin) to enhance sleep, as anecdotal evidence suggests they can drastically increase deep sleep at the cost of completely eliminating rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, disrupting the essential balance of sleep stages.
Future technologies involving transcranial direct current stimulation, especially “closed-loop” systems that synchronize stimulation with individual brain waves, show promise in boosting deep sleep brain waves and sleep spindles for enhanced sleep quality (Note: DIY is not recommended).
Emerging “closed-loop” acoustic stimulation technologies, which deliver sub-awakening tones synchronized with slow brain waves, show potential to boost deep sleep and improve memory, but require precise timing to avoid inhibiting natural sleep.
Consider using pink noise machines (which have less high-frequency intensity than white noise) as a potential aid to increase total sleep time and enhance Stage 2 non-REM sleep and modestly REM sleep, though more research is needed.
Research suggests that very slow, controlled rocking (kinesthetic stimulation) can increase the speed of sleep onset, boost deep sleep, and enhance sleep spindle oscillations, potentially by engaging the vestibular system and altering proprioceptive awareness.