What protocols are recommended for improving sleep?

A practical sleep routine centers on consistency, a dark and cool environment, and a gradual wind-down. 1

• Keep a regular schedule: Go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every day, including weekends; consistency helps anchor the circadian clock and supports sleep quality and quantity. 2
• Dim lights before bed: In the final hour, dim household lighting by about half or more, and make the bedroom dark. 3 4
• Make the room cool: Keep the bedroom cool and use warm bedding so you can adjust your temperature by moving under or out from the covers. 5
• Create a wind-down routine: Give yourself time to decelerate before bed with a relaxing activity such as reading, meditation, light stretching, or listening to something calming. 6
• Try a warm bath or shower: A warm bath, shower, or sauna before bed can prompt cooling afterward, which may help you fall asleep; Walker described studies using a roughly 30-minute bath, though he cautioned that the exact study details might be imprecise. 7 8
• If you wake and can’t return to sleep, use a calming practice: NSDR, Yoga Nidra, or meditation can help settle the nervous system; Huberman describes using NSDR after waking during the night. 9
• Keep the bed associated with sleep: Galpin suggests reserving the bed for sleep and sex, rather than other activities, to strengthen the bed-sleep association. 10

Treat these as tools to try and tailor, rather than rigid rules; regularity is the core recommendation. 11