Sleep Toolkit: Tools for Optimizing Sleep & Sleep-Wake Timing

In this episode, I describe a comprehensive toolkit consisting of behavioral and supplement-based tools that you can customize to enhance the quality, duration and impact of your sleep. This has an enormous positive impact on your overall health and daytime functioning, brain, hormones and immune system. I teach you how to effectively harness light (and darkness), temperature, food, exercise, caffeine, supplements, and digital devices in order to fall asleep faster, stay deeply asleep longer and overall, and achieve better quality sleep. I also describe how these tools can be modified to recover quickly from a poor night’s sleep, jet lag or bouts of shift work. Given that sleep is the foundation of all mental health, physical health and performance, this episode should benefit everyone as it provides an essential toolkit of science-supported, low- to zero-cost strategies that can be tailored to optimize your sleep routine.

For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman

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Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman

Supplements from Momentous

https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Tools to Optimize Sleep

(00:03:18) Sponsors: LMNT, Eight Sleep

(00:08:24) Factors to Control Circadian Rhythm & Sleep

(00:15:10) Morning Tool: Morning Sunlight Viewing, Cortisol

(00:20:44) Morning Sunlight: Circadian Rhythm, Artificial Lights, Cloudy Days

(00:26:18) Evaluating Light in Environment, Compensating for Missed Morning Light

(00:29:01) Sponsor: AG1

(00:30:46) Morning Tools: Temperature & Deliberate Cold Exposure, Exercise

(00:34:58) Timing Caffeine, “Afternoon Crash,” Exercise

(00:40:08) Timing Eating, Alertness & Circadian Rhythm

(00:45:20) 3 Daily Critical Periods

(00:46:49) Afternoons: Naps, Deep Relaxation (NSDR, Self-Hypnosis), Exercise & Body Temperature, Caffeine

(00:51:59) Afternoon Tools: Viewing Sunlight in Late Afternoon, Evening Light

(00:56:45) Evening/Night Tools: Overhead Artificial Lights, Light Sensitivity

(01:04:40) Evening Tools: Hot Bath/Sauna, Temperature & Sleeping Environment

(01:09:40) Alcohol, THC & Reduced Sleep Quality; CBD, Anxiety & Falling Asleep

(01:11:45) Sleep Supplements: Magnesium Threonate, Apigenin & Theanine

(01:16:34) Melatonin Supplementation (Caution)

(01:17:44) Additional Sleep Supplements: GABA, Glycine, Myo-Inositol & Anxiety

(01:20:08) Falling Back Asleep: Reveri App, NSDR, Yoga Nidra

(01:22:55) Staying Asleep: Eye Masks, Ear Plugs, Elevating Feet

(01:24:58) Tool: Sleep Apnea & Nasal Breathing

(01:28:20) Sleep Schedule Consistency, Weekends, Compensatory Sleep & Caffeine

(01:31:14) Tools: Temperature Minimum & Jet Lag, Shift Work & Red Lights

(01:37:38) Behavioral Tools for 3 Daily Critical Periods

(01:39:26) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Huberman Lab Clips, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous Supplements, Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter

Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac

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