What protocols are recommended for improving sleep?
Sources:
and offer a variety of protocols to improve sleep, combining conventional and unconventional methods:
Basic Sleep Hygiene
- Regularity: Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Regularity anchors and improves sleep quality by regulating the circadian clock 1.
- Darkness: Dim lights in the home by 50% or more an hour before bed to trigger melatonin release and signal the body to prepare for sleep 1.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTI)
- Bedtime Rescheduling/Sleep Restriction: Limit time in bed to enforce sleep efficiency. For example, initially limit sleep to 5 hours, and gradually extend as sleep quality improves. This can reset the brain's sleep patterns effectively 2 3.
Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR)
- Protocols: Practices like Yoga Nidra and hypnosis (e.g., Reverie app) help calm the nervous system, enabling better sleep onset and return to sleep if awakened. These practices can train the brain to better handle sleep-related anxieties 4.
Additional Tips
- Timeshifter App: Useful for managing jet lag by providing guidelines on light exposure, stimulants, and sleep schedules based on travel plans 5.
- Environmental Adjustments: Elevate the head of the bed for acid reflux or try mouth taping and myofunctional therapy for snoring and better sleep quality 5.
- Sleep Environment: Only use the bed for sleep and sex to condition the brain to associate bed with sleep, reducing insomnia 5.
Sleep Toolkit
- emphasizes downloading the sleep toolkit from the website, which consolidates actionable steps to optimize sleep, based on their research and episodes like "Master Your Sleep" and "Perfect Your Sleep" 6.
These protocols reflect a comprehensive approach to improving sleep quality from both behavioral and physiological perspectives.
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