Essentials: Sleep Toolkit for Optimizing Sleep & Sleep-Wake Timing
6/11/202639 min
In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I discuss science-supported tools to improve sleep by supporting a healthy circadian rhythm using key behaviors and environmental cues. I explain specific morning, afternoon and evening behaviors that will increase daytime alertness and support deeper, more consistent sleep at night. I also cover sleep supplements, the effects of caffeine, alcohol and THC on sleep, as well as practical strategies for managing jet lag and shift work. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Sleep Toolkit (00:00:21) Optimal Cortisol Rhythms, Tool: View Morning Sunlight (00:03:44) Morning Sunlight Guide, Artificial Light, Cloudy Days (00:08:04) Sponsor: Eight Sleep (00:09:22) Morning & Body Temperature, Tools: Deliberate Cold Exposure, Exercise (00:11:38) Morning: Caffeine Timing (00:13:22) Morning: Meal Timing & Alertness (00:15:36) Circadian Clock; 3 Daily Critical Periods (00:17:10) Afternoon: Caffeine, Naps, Exercise (00:19:34) Tool: Late Afternoon/Evening Sunlight (00:21:41) Sponsor: AG1 (00:23:00) Evening Tools: Artificial Lights; Hot Tub/Sauna, Bedroom Temperature (00:26:40) Alcohol, THC & Effects on Sleep (00:27:39) Sleep Supplements: Magnesium Threonate, Apigenin & Theanine (00:31:03) Caution for Melatonin Supplementation (00:31:41) Sponsor: LMNT (00:33:13) Weekends, Tool: Consistent Sleep Schedule (00:34:00) Jet Lag, Tool: Temperature Minimum (00:37:41) Shift Work, Tool: Red Light (00:38:30) Recap Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAndrew Huberman· Host0:00
Welcome to Huberman Lab Essentials, where we revisit past episodes for the most potent and actionable science-based tools for mental health, physical health, and performance. I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today, we're talking all about sleep and how to optimize your sleep. Let's consider what the perfect 24-hour cycle would look like. Regardless of when you wake up in the morning, one of the first things that happens is that your body temperature is increasing, and that's just going to happen naturally. That increase in body temperature, in turn, causes an increase in the release of a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is often con- demonized and considered this bad thing, and indeed, you don't want cortisol to be chronically or consistently elevated throughout the day or night. But you do want cortisol to reach its peak early in the day right about the time you wake up. One way that you can ensure that that cortisol peak occurs early in the day right about the time that you wake up is to view bright light, ideally from sunlight, within the first 30 to 60 minutes after waking. The reason for that is very simple. You want to trigger that cortisol increase to occur very early in your day, and you don't want that cortisol peak to happen later, which is what will happen if you wait to get outside and see sunlight. The reason for this is that you have a set of neurons, nerve cells, in your eye. They're called intrinsically photosensitive melanopsin