Get outside for sunlight exposure to properly set your circadian clock, as viewing sunlight through a window is significantly less effective and takes 50 to 100 times longer.
Avoid bright lights between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. to prevent disruption of your circadian rhythm and reduction in dopamine levels, which can negatively impact learning, memory, and mood.
Actively seek ample blue light early in the day and throughout the day, especially from sunlight and overhead lights, and avoid wearing blue blockers during these times.
View afternoon or evening sunlight (even if not setting) to adjust retinal sensitivity and the melatonin pathway, which can protect against some detrimental effects of artificial light exposure at night.
Incorporate 20-minute non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) or light naps after 90-minute learning cycles to significantly accelerate learning and retention.
Consider scheduling exercise 30 minutes after waking, three hours after waking, or 11 hours after waking, as these times may optimize performance and reduce injury risk due to body temperature rhythms.
Use cold exposure for stress inoculation by actively calming your autonomic nervous system and resisting the shiver response, which helps raise your stress threshold.
To increase metabolism and promote fat loss through brown fat thermogenesis, intentionally shiver during cold exposure (ice bath or cold shower).
Engage in cold exposure (ice bath or cold shower) early in the day to induce a rapid rise in body temperature, which phase-advances your circadian clock and can make it easier to wake up earlier the next day.
Become a scientist of your own physiology by slowly and carefully tracking key variables daily: waking time, sunlight exposure, meal times, exercise, temperature sensations, and NSDR protocols, to identify patterns and optimize your sleep, attention, and wakefulness.
Prioritize behavioral and zero-cost tools to understand and optimize your biology before resorting to supplements or other interventions, unless clinically necessary.
Always consult a licensed healthcare professional before adding or removing anything from your daily life protocol, as you are responsible for your own health.
Experiment with and adjust your light exposure (more light early, less late) to optimize your mood and metabolism, understanding that individual needs vary.
Use very dim red light later in the day and at night if you want to avoid negative effects of light on your circadian rhythm, ensuring it’s much dimmer than commercial red light therapy products.
Consider viewing red light for a few minutes each morning, as a specific study suggests it may have positive effects on mitochondrial function in photoreceptor cells, which decline with age.
Enjoy moonlight, candlelight, and fireplaces at night, as their light intensity is generally too dim to disrupt your circadian rhythm.
Focus on light exposure to the eyes for mediating circadian rhythms and wakefulness, as other methods (e.g., light to ears or nose) are not scientifically supported in humans.
In low light environments (e.g., overcast days), increase the duration of outdoor light exposure or use very bright overhead lights indoors to compensate, as the brain can sum photon activation during the first few hours of the day.
To enhance learning and retention, introduce a specific, non-disruptive odor or tone while learning, and then faintly reintroduce that same stimulus during sleep.
Utilize the Waking Up app for meditation, yoga nidra, or NSDR protocols to restore cognitive and physical energy, even with short 10-minute sessions.
Take a hot shower, hot tub, or sauna late at night to induce a compensatory drop in body temperature, which can promote deep sleep, ensuring adequate hydration.
Exercise first thing in the morning to leverage your body’s anticipatory circuits for waking, and combine it with light exposure for an even stronger wake-up signal.
If you’re not feeling rested despite adequate sleep, consider reducing exercise intensity; if you’re constantly sleepy regardless of sleep, consider reducing training volume.
Avoid cold exposure (ice bath or cold shower) after 8 p.m. if you want to maintain an earlier sleep schedule, as it can increase body temperature, phase-delay your circadian clock, and make you want to stay up and wake up later.
Drink Element (electrolytes) first thing in the morning (1 packet in 16-32 oz water) and during physical exercise for proper hydration and electrolyte balance.
Consider taking an all-in-one vitamin-mineral probiotic drink like Athletic Greens once or twice a day to cover basic nutritional needs and support microbiome health.
Supplement with Vitamin D3 and K2, as D3 is essential for brain/body health and K2 regulates cardiovascular function and calcium, and many are deficient in D3.
If exploring supplements for sleep, consider magnesium threonate, taking it 30-60 minutes before sleep, but consult your doctor due to potential individual sensitivities.
If exploring supplements for sleep, consider apigenin (from chamomile) or passion flower, as they increase GABA activity to promote sleepiness by inhibiting neural activity.
To promote wakefulness, consume tyrosine-rich foods like nuts and red meats; for lethargy or sleepiness, opt for carbohydrate-rich meals or tryptophan-rich foods like white meat turkey.
For alertness, maintain a fasted state or consume smaller food volumes; for calmness and sleepiness, consume larger volumes of food, as a distended stomach promotes relaxation.
Eat meals earlier in the day to phase-advance your circadian rhythm and promote earlier waking; avoid eating very late if you want to maintain an early sleep-wake schedule.
Approach nootropics with caution, focusing on specific cognitive goals rather than a general ‘smart drug’ approach, and use them only occasionally if deemed safe and effective for you.
Be cautious with serotonin precursors like L-tryptophan or 5-HTP for sleep, as they may lead to immediate sleep onset followed by prolonged wakefulness for some individuals.
When self-experimenting, change only one or two variables at a time to accurately identify their impact on your physiology and avoid confounding results.
Establish consistent patterns for waking, exercise, and other activities to leverage neural plasticity, making it easier for your body to anticipate and adapt to these routines.
When traveling across time zones, align your meal schedule with the local time as quickly as possible to help shift your circadian rhythm more effectively.