What protocols are recommended for improving sleep?

For improving sleep, the Huberman Lab recommends a variety of protocols and strategies:

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI): This involves bedtime rescheduling or sleep restriction therapy, which restricts the time spent in bed to increase sleep efficiency 1.

2. Sleep Reset Technique: Gradually adjusting bedtimes helps retrain your brain for better sleep, akin to resetting your wifi router 2.

3. Consistent Sleep Hygiene:

   • Regularity: Maintain the same bedtime and waking time every day.
   • Darkness: Dim lights before bed to encourage melatonin production 3.

     Unconventional Sleep Protocols

     Andrew Huberman

     Matthew Walker

     Matthew discusses the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, emphasizing the importance of limiting time in bed to improve sleep efficiency. By using the analogy of rolling out pizza dough, he explains how restricting the sleep window can lead to better sleep quality and combat insomnia.

     

     Huberman Lab

     Dr. Matthew Walker: Protocols to Improve Your Sleep | Huberman Lab Guest Series

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4. Handling Bad Sleep Nights:

   • Avoid altering your sleep/wake times after a bad night to maintain a consistent sleep schedule.
   • Don't over-caffeinate or nap to counteract poor sleep 4.

5. Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) Protocols: Techniques like yoga nidra and hypnosis can help turn off your thoughts and promote relaxation. These are useful especially if you wake up in the middle of the night and need to go back to sleep 5.

6. Behavioral Tools: These include meditation and potentially using applications like Reverie for sleep hypnosis. These help improve the ability to fall and stay asleep without the need for supplements 6.

These methods, both conventional and unconventional, are designed to enhance the quality and efficiency of sleep, address insomnia, and promote overall better sleep habits.

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