How do I Improve Sleep?

1. Consistency:

   • Set a bedtime and wake time everyday...and stick to it! (Even on weekends)

   • Once your alarm goes off...get out of bed. 

   • Keep consistency even if you have a difficult or restless night...we want to increase our drive for sleep!

2. Set a bedtime routine

   • Engage in something that is relaxing each night​

   • Biohacking Tip: Try engaging in some mindfulness meditation right before bed. Maybe a body scan or mindfulness of breath exercise.

3. Dial in your lighting

   • Excessive blue light (i.e., tv, cellphones, tablets, overhead lights) will tell the brain to stay up.​

   • Biohacking Tip: 1-2 hours before bedtime, try turning off all electrical equipment/stimulation. Light the home with either candles or red LED bulbs. This will help to increase melatonin secretion.

   • Invest in a pair of TrueDark Twilights

4. Keep your bedroom cool and dark

   • Heat keeps us up; light keeps us up​

   • Invest in some blackout curtains

   • Eliminate all light in room--including cellphones, alarm clocks, etc.

5. Nutrition!

   • Reduce/Eliminate processed sugars​

   • Try an intermittent fasting protocol where you stop eating your last meal around 6-7pm

   • Increase foods containing magnesium: avocado, nuts, seeds, dark and leafy greens.

6. Track your sleep

   • Check out wearable technologies like the OuraRing​

7. Try taking an Epsom Salt bath

8. Use your bed for two things: Sleep and Sex

   1. We do not want to associate the bed w/ watching tv, restlessness, or wakefulness.​

9. Avoid caffeine later in the day

   • Biohacking tip: rule​ of thumb, stop drinking caffeine after 1200pm

   • Avoid strenuous exercise 2-4 hours before bedtime

10. If you experience insomnia, do not stay in bed longer than 15 minutes when experiencing "tossing and turning."

    • Again, we do not want to associate the bed with this state of restlessness and frustration​

    • Get out of bed and engage in something relaxing and mindful--do not turn on the television or do something overly activating.

11. Stop looking at the clock!

    • This only causes frustration, increases stress, and leads to poorer sleep quality.​

12. Avoid naps during the day

    • Remember, ​we want to increase our drive for sleep. Napping may fool our brain into thinking it got the rest it needed when it really did not.