Sleep Toolkit: Tools for Optimizing Sleep & Sleep-Wake Timing | Huberman Lab Podcast #84

Sleep is the foundation of mental health, physical health, and performance. It affects our immune system, wound healing, skin health, cognitive abilities, and lifespan. Optimizing sleep leads to improved focus, energy levels,and mood.

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Optimizing Sleep: The Power of Light, Dark, and Temperature To optimize your sleep, you need cues or inputs to determine when to be awake or asleep. These cues come in the form of light and darkness. Light energizes your brain and body while darkness promotes sleepiness. Additionally, temperature plays a role in falling asleep as cooling down signals your body to rest. Conversely, an increase in body temperature can wake you up.

Other Factors Affecting Sleep Quality: Food, Exercise & Supplements "Food" refers not only to what we eat but also when and how much we eat. Certain foods can impact our ability to fall asleep or stay asleep throughout the night. Exercise increases alertness by raising body temperature but has long-term benefits for better sleep quality. Caffeine acts as an adenosine antagonist that prevents drowsiness; however, its consumption timing is crucial for optimizing wakefulness. Supplements like magnesium threonate, apigenin,and theanine enhance deep stages of sleep. Glycine,GABA,andinositol are other supplements with potential benefits on anxiety levelsand improving overallsleepquality.Digital tools,suchas non-sleepdeeprestscriptsandself-hypnosis techniques,caneffectivelyaidinsleepfalling,stayingasleep,andgettingbetteratsleeping."

Morning Sunlight Viewing and Cortisol When you wake up in the morning, your body temperature increases naturally, triggering the release of cortisol. Cortisol is not just a stress hormone but also enhances your immune system and metabolism. To ensure that cortisol peaks early in the day, it's important to view bright sunlight within 30-60 minutes after waking.

"Sunlight First" Approach for Optimal Sleep "Sunlight first" approach involves getting outside and viewing bright light from sunlight as soon as possible after waking up. This triggers an increase in cortisol levels which helps with mental focus, physical movement, and sets a timer for falling asleep later at night. It is recommended to avoid looking directly into the sun or wearing sunglasses during this morning sunlight viewing practice.

The Power of Morning Sunlight Morning sunlight is a powerful tool for improving sleep and wakefulness. Numerous studies have shown that early light exposure stimulates wakefulness throughout the day and enhances nighttime sleep. Artificial lights can be used before sunrise, but they are not as effective as natural sunlight in activating the necessary mechanisms for waking up. Cloudy days require longer sun exposure to compensate for reduced brightness.

Getting Sufficient Sunlight Exposure - On clear days, aim for about 5 minutes of direct sunlight exposure to your eyes. - On partially cloudy days, increase it to around 10 minutes. - On heavily overcast or rainy days, try to get at least 20-30 minutes of sunlight. It's important not to rely on windows or windshields since they do not provide enough light intensity. If going outside is impossible due to bad weather or safety reasons, consider using artificial daylight simulators like ring lights or LED panels.

The Power of Morning Sunlight Exposing yourself to morning sunlight can increase your energy levels and make you feel more alert. Animals instinctively seek out morning sunlight, while humans need to be reminded of its benefits. Make it a daily practice to spend time outside in the morning, even if it's just next to a window on days when you can't go outdoors. If you miss a day, try to compensate by getting twice as much light or extending the duration of light exposure.

Measuring Light with an App "Light Meter" is a free app that allows your phone to act as a light meter and measure the brightness (lux) in your environment. Use this tool in the morning by pointing it at different sources of light: indoors and outdoors. You'll find that natural sunlight has significantly higher lux levels compared to artificial indoor lighting due its diffuse nature.

Benefits of Morning Sunlight Morning sunlight not only triggers cortisol production but also regulates metabolism, sets sleep patterns for later in the day, suppresses melatonin (the hormone responsible for sleepiness), interacts with adenosine system, and improves alertness throughout the day.

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Waking Up: Leveraging Temperature To wake up quickly in the morning, you can leverage temperature as a tool. One way is to expose yourself to cold water for 1-3 minutes, which releases adrenaline and increases core body temperature. Another option is to exercise early in the day, which also raises core body temperature.

Increasing Alertness with Sunlight and Movement "If you want to be alert early in the day and sleep well at night," it's recommended to get bright sunlight exposure, take a walk or do light exercise like jogging or skipping rope. Increasing your core body temperature through these activities helps increase alertness.

Optimizing Sleep with Caffeine Using caffeine early in the day can help optimize sleep. Delaying caffeine intake for 90 to 120 minutes after waking can prevent the afternoon crash and avoid disrupting sleep later in the evening. Limiting total caffeine intake to less than a hundred milligrams after 4:00 p.m., or even better, shifting it earlier in the day, can improve energy levels throughout the day.

"Afternoon Crash" and Exercise "Afternoon crash" may occur if you consume a lot of caffeine before exercising early in the morning. This is due to a drop in energy levels that follows both exercise and adenosine blockade by caffeine. However, delaying your caffeine intake until later in the morning (90-120 minutes after waking) can minimize this dip.

Timing of Eating and Alertness Eating early in the day supports a biological clock mechanism that increases alertness. However, some people choose to fast in the morning. When you eat early, it triggers an increase in metabolism and temperature, making you more alert. Food timing is one tool among others like sunlight viewing, exercise, cold water for optimizing sleep.

Food as a Lever for Circadian Rhythm "What" and "when" you eat are both important factors affecting your circadian rhythm. The volume of food consumed can affect post-meal sleepiness due to blood diversion from other organs including the brain. Eating breakfast sets a food entrained circadian clock which helps predict eating patterns throughout the day. By using multiple tools such as maximizing sunlight exposure, exercising in the morning after waking up for about 90-120 minutes later than sunrise time or drinking caffeine during this period can help improve wakefulness levels."

There are three critical periods throughout each 24-hour cycle to optimize wakefulness, focus, and mood. The first period is from waking up until about three hours after waking. This includes activities like morning sunlight viewing, consuming caffeine 90-120 minutes after waking, and exercising. The second period is the time leading into evening.

Optimizing Afternoon Activities for Better Sleep To set yourself up for better sleep at night, be mindful of your caffeine intake during the middle of the day. If you feel sleepy in the afternoon, taking a nap is fine as long as it doesn't disrupt your ability to fall and stay asleep at night. Naps shorter than 90 minutes are recommended. Alternatively, try relaxation techniques like NSDR or yoga nidra to replenish energy without grogginess.

Exercise and Body Temperature's Impact on Sleep "Delaying" exercise in the afternoon or evening can increase body temperature and shift your circadian clock, making it harder to fall asleep earlier. Be cautious about consuming too much caffeine before exercising during these times as it can further disrupt sleep patterns. Exercising early in the day has less impact on circadian rhythm.

The Importance of Sunlight Throughout the Day Dr. Samer Hattar conducted experiments to explore the effects of light on mood and brain function throughout the day, not just in the morning. While sunlight is generally beneficial for hormone production and wellbeing, we should be cautious about viewing too much light in the afternoon and early evening due to its impact on sleepiness and wakefulness.

Sunlight in Late Afternoon: A Second Reference Point "Low solar angle" sunlight in late afternoon serves as a second anchor for our circadian clock, signaling that it's evening time and preparing us for sleep. The specific wavelengths of morning versus evening light play a role in distinguishing between these two times of day. Yellow-blue contrast indicates morning while yellows, blues, oranges (and sometimes reds) signal that nighttime is approaching.

Optimizing Sleep in the Evening In the late evening and nighttime hours, it is important to avoid bright artificial lights of any color as they can wake up your brain and disrupt your sleep. Dimming the lights in your indoor environment, especially overhead lights, can help optimize sleep quality. If you need light for activities like studying or watching TV, use as little artificial light as possible or consider using candlelight or moonlight.

"Scandinavian" Approach to Lighting "Do like the Scandinavians do." Set low-intensity lights in your room at night to mimic natural lighting conditions. During daytime hours, emphasize the use of bright artificial lights and sunlight from above to stay awake and alert.

Leveraging Temperature in the Evening Taking a hot bath or sauna in the evening, followed by a cool shower, can lower your core body temperature and make it easier to fall asleep. It is best to do this if you enjoy hot baths/showers/tubs and want to facilitate sleep.

Creating a Cool Sleeping Environment - Make your sleeping environment relatively cool or cold. - Lower the room temperature by at least three degrees. - Use controllable mattress covers like Eight Sleep or fans/open windows depending on technology/budgets. - If too warm under blankets, extend hand/foot out from under them as glabrous skin helps regulate heat exchange with surroundings.

Alcohol and Sleep Quality Drinking alcohol before bed may cause disrupted sleep, as the quality of sleep after consuming alcohol is greatly affected. The architecture of sleep with alcohol in the system is suboptimal compared to without it.

THC and Sleep Quality "While THC can help some people fall asleep and stay asleep, it does not provide optimal sleep architecture like natural sleep. Using THC regularly to fall asleep disrupts the overall pattern of sleep."

CBD for Anxiety "Some people rely on CBD, especially edible forms, to lower anxiety levels that affect their ability to fall and stay asleep."

Optimizing Sleep: Behavioral Tools First After implementing behavioral tools like morning and afternoon routines, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, cooling down the room, etc., we can further optimize our sleep. One option is to consider supplementation. Three main supplements that can improve sleep are magnesium threonate, apigenin, and theanine. It's not necessary to take all three; one may be sufficient if other methods aren't working.

"Sleep Stack" Supplements: Dosages & Considerations - Magnesium threonate (145mg), apigenin (50mg), and theanine (100-400mg) are commonly used in a "sleep stack" for better sleep. - Adjust dosages based on individual needs. - Some people may experience digestive issues with magnesium threonate or intense dreams with theanine. - The ideal time to take these supplements is 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime.

The sleep stack is considered more beneficial than melatonin supplementation. Melatonin, a hormone produced naturally in the body, helps regulate sleep and can aid in falling asleep. However, commercial melatonin products contain much higher dosages than what our bodies produce naturally. This excessive dosage may have potential long-term effects on hormone systems such as testosterone and estrogen, especially for children taking it chronically.

In addition to the standard sleep stack of mag threonate, apigenin, and theanine, there are other supplements that can be taken for better sleep. Taking two grams of glycine and a hundred milligrams of GABA every third or fourth night enhances the ability to fall asleep quickly. Inositol (myo-inositol) at 900 milligrams every other night also improves sleep quality and makes it easier to fall back asleep if waking up in the middle of the night.

"Falling Back Asleep" discusses the Reveri app, NSDR, Yoga Nidra, and inositol as tools for improving sleep. The video highlights the use of inositol to fall back asleep after waking up at night. It also mentions that behavioral tools like NSDR and the Reveri app can help with falling asleep and getting back to sleep. The cost of using the Reveri app is mentioned along with alternative zero-cost options like YouTube videos for deep rest protocols.

Improving Sleep with Eye Masks Eye masks can improve your ability to stay asleep by blocking out light. However, they should not be too tight and the room should be cool enough. Glabrous skin on the face is sensitive to temperature, so if you're using an eye mask, make sure the environment is cool.

Earplugs: Pros and Cons "Some people find earplugs beneficial for preventing sound from waking them up while sleeping. However, others may experience a disruptive humming sound in their head due to their own heartbeat when wearing earplugs."

Sleep Apnea and its Effects Sleep apnea is a condition characterized by bouts of suffocation or lack of oxygenation during sleep. It can have detrimental effects on cardiovascular health, sexual function, and cognition. People with sleep apnea often use a device called PAP to improve their breathing while sleeping.

"Nose Breathing" as a Solution for Sleep Apnea "Nose breathing" during sleep can help alleviate sleep apnea symptoms and improve overall quality of sleep. Using medical tape to keep the mouth shut forces nose breathing, which also reduces snoring in most cases.

Benefits of Nose Breathing During Exercise Practicing nasal breathing during lower-intensity cardiovascular exercise helps train the body to become more efficient at nose breathing even during restful periods like sleep. Over time, sinuses dilate allowing easier airflow through the nose.

Consistency in Sleep Schedule Maintaining consistent sleep and wake times enhances the quality of sleep. While it's okay to sleep in an extra hour after staying out late, avoid sleeping longer than an hour beyond your normal wake-up time. Instead, consider taking a nap later in the day for better rest.

'Compensatory Sleep' and Caffeine "Compensatory sleep" refers to using additional caffeine to offset lack of nighttime sleep due to late nights out. However, this disrupts both nighttime and daytime restorative naps. It is recommended to delay caffeine intake by 90-120 minutes after waking up each day, especially on days when you feel tired.

Temperature Minimum and Jet Lag Understanding temperature minimum can help mitigate the effects of jet lag. Your body's lowest temperature occurs approximately two hours before your typical wake-up time. Exposing yourself to bright light, exercise, or caffeine in the two to four hours before your temperature minimum will delay your sleep-wake cycle, making you want to go to bed later and wake up later. Conversely, engaging in these activities immediately after your temperature minimum will phase advance your clock, making you want to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier.

Shift Work & Red Lights for Sleep Disruptions - For shift workers: Try staying on the same shift schedule for at least two weeks at a time. - Use red lights when needing illumination during sleep disruptions. Using red lights has been shown not disrupt cortisol rhythm while allowing individuals performing their activities safely.

Learn about the various tools that can help improve your sleep quality and daytime alertness. These include light, temperature, food, exercise, caffeine, supplements, and digital tools. Implementing these tools can significantly enhance the quality of your sleep and overall well-being.

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