"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop."

• Regularity
  • Sleep time regularity is KING
  • Weekday or weekend do the same
  • Even after insomnia do not change your go to bed time
  • Getting direct sunlight into your eyes first thing in the morning triggers your natural mammalian wake-rest cycle

• Darkness + Light
  • In the last hour before bed darken your lights
  • Blackout curtains help and work
  • In the first hour of the day it is critical you get some exposure to daylight - ideally at least 40 min of direct sunlight - this will stop melatonin and start adenosine - which is what builds up in your body over the day and makes you sleepy at night

• Temperature
  • Your body temperature needs to drop for you to go to sleep so dialing up the AC can help
  • Hands and feet are highly vascular and radiators of heat - the body wants to radiate heat through hands, feet and head.  
  • Recommendation: 
    • Different for different people but 65 degrees a good external temperature for most people
    • Hunter gatherers go to sleep about 1-2 hours AFTER sunlight goes away. They wake up before dawn as the temperature starts to warm up
    • Warm Bath Effect: Warm showers or baths cause vasodilation aka heat excrement and hence counterintuitively cause your temperature to drop and you can fall asleep easier

• Bedroom Hygiene
  • Do not have tightly bound sheets around your feet while you sleep (*Andrew Huberman)

• Learning from Sleep, Oxygenation and How to Fall Asleep Easier
  • As you will learn in the exercise section oxygenating your body is one of the most powerful things you can do in order to have it function optimally along with helping to fight off disease
  • A key part of sleep is the type of breathing you do while in deed sleep.  It is a very specific type of breathing you will instantly recognize, but easily forget when you are not in that particular state
  • One thing I have personally experimented with is recording and mimicking the type of breathwork I perform while I am in deep sleep.
  • I reuse this breathwork during the day and particularly as I lay at night attempting to fall asleep
  • I have found that this physiological action tricks my body and mind into a relaxed and sleeping state and that I have more energy during the day if I stay mindful of using this pattern during or after stressful times
  • Please subscribe for more details on this approach along with audio samples!

• Sleep and Impact on Mental Health
  • Lack of sleep leads to increase in suicidal thoughts, planning, suicide attempts and suicide completion
  • Potential impact for ADHD - Medications are sleep disruptors - however we know ADHD individuals have abnormal sleep
  • People taking antidepressants will typically have a reduction in REM sleep

• Additional Insights
  • Naps are a double edged sword.  The worst time to nap is before your main meal of sleep.  If you are struggling with sleep at night the recommendation is not to nap and rather build up the sleep inducing chemical named Adenosine - the longer you have been awake the chemical pressure builds up and after around 16 hours - taking a nap during the day is similar to a pressure valve on cooker - it will be that much harder.  If your going to nap - nap before 2pm.
  • Exercise is a great way to increase sleep pressure without medication
  • Stay away from anything before bed that is emotionally engaging - emails, texts, movies
  • Melatonin helps with the timing of your sleep but not the quality or quantity
  • REM Sleep is overnight therapy
  • Hunter Gatherers sleep Bi-Phasecally - 6-7 hours at night + Siesta during the day. 1-3 hours
  • Poly-Phasic Sleep - only babies sleep like this every 4 hours
  • For teens enough sleep is  up to 11 hours daily (growing a ton during puberty) (Matt even proposes a 10am school start)

  
  

  What to AVOID:

• Caffeine: Caffeine has a 8 hour half life.  That means if you have a cup of coffee at 2pm it is the equivalent of having 1\4 cup of coffee and caffeine at bedtime! 🤣  (Note: There are differences between individuals.)  
• Caffeine in your system can decrease the amount of deep sleep you can have by as much as 20%

• Alcohol: Alcohol is a sedative however sedation is not to be confused with sleep
  • Alcohol triggers fight or flight and causes fragmentation of sleep being shown to be a potent suppressor of REM sleep
  • Even a glass of wine at dinner can have measurable impact

• Anxiety: is the principle (not the only) but principle reason for insomnia - fight or flight instinct.
  • Take yourself on a walk mentally - get the mind off itself and catastrophizing

Sources (Why you Should Believe This) 

• Sleep is Non-Negotiable: Dr. Matthew Walker | Rich Roll podcast)

Matt Walker Ph.D

• Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, USA.
• Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley
• Founder and Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science
• Published over 100 science sleep studies
• International Best Selling Author: Why We Sleep
• Please Follow him at: https://www.sleepdiplomat.com/