What protocols are recommended for improving sleep?

To improve sleep, several protocols are recommended by experts on the Huberman Lab. Here are the key suggestions:

Conventional Tips:

1. Maintain Regularity: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, regardless of whether it's a weekday or weekend. This consistency helps to anchor your sleep and improve both its quantity and quality 1.
2. Control Light Exposure: Dim your lights by 50% or more in the hour before bed. Darkness helps trigger melatonin release, aiding the onset of sleep 1.

Unconventional Tips:

1. Do Nothing After a Bad Night: If you have a poor night’s sleep, avoid sleeping in, going to bed earlier, increasing caffeine intake, or napping. These actions disrupt your sleep drive and circadian rhythm, making it harder to fall asleep the next night 2.
2. Limit Time in Bed: Spend only the necessary amount of time in bed to sleep. This is particularly useful for those struggling with insomnia. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI) often recommends "bedtime rescheduling" to enhance sleep efficiency 3.
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Additional Tools:

1. Reverie App: Utilize sleep hypnosis apps like Reverie to improve sleep onset and quality. These are shown to significantly benefit sleep routines 4.
2. Myofunctional Therapy: For those who snore, tongue exercises can help strengthen the tongue muscles, reducing sleep disruptions during REM sleep 5.

Supplement Strategy:

1. Use Single Ingredients: Try supplements such as Magnesium Threonate, Apigenin, or Theanine individually to see their effects on sleep. If no negative effects are observed, systematically test and incorporate supplements to find the most effective combination 6.

By following these protocols, one can optimize and significantly improve sleep quality and overall health.

To improve sleep quality, Andrew Huberman from the Huberman Lab recommends several supplements that have been shown to be effective:

1. Magnesium Threonate or Magnesium Bisglycinate:

   • Dosage: 300-400 mg
   • Benefits: Helps increase neurotransmitters like GABA, promoting drowsiness and improving the ability to fall and stay asleep. Both forms can cross the blood-brain barrier, aiding in cognitive support and neuroprotection as well 1 2 3 4.
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2. Apigenin:

   • Dosage: 50 mg
   • Benefits: Derived from chamomile, it helps reduce anxiety and rumination by turning off the forebrain, thereby making it easier to fall asleep 1 2.

3. Theanine:

   • Dosage: 100-200 mg
   • Benefits: Promotes relaxation by increasing GABA and activating chloride channels, helping to shut down neural activity. However, it may cause excessively vivid dreams for some, leading to waking up in the middle of the night, so it should be used cautiously 1 2 5 3.

4. Myo-Inositol:

   • Dosage: 900 mg
   • Benefits: Helps reduce the time it takes to fall back asleep upon waking during the night. It also has mood-enhancing properties 5.

These supplements can be used individually to see their effects or combined to observe synergistic benefits. However, Andrew Huberman emphasizes the importance of testing each supplement systematically for about a week while keeping other variables constant. This practice helps determine which supplement or combination works best 4 6.

Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement regimen.