What protocols are recommended for improving sleep?

Improve sleep by keeping a regular schedule, making the bedroom dark and cool, and supporting natural sleep pressure with consistent habits.

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends; try to keep weekend timing within about an hour of your usual schedule. 1 2
• Keep the bedroom dark and cool. Dim household lights in the hour before bed, use an eye mask or blackout curtains if helpful, and keep the room cool. 3 4
• If sleep is a persistent struggle, consider CBT-I with a clinician. Its “bedtime rescheduling” approach limits time in bed to build sleep efficiency; Walker cautions that it should be done with supervision, particularly if sleepiness could affect driving or hazardous work. 5 6 7
• Don’t compensate for poor sleep with extra caffeine or long lie-ins. Keep sleep-wake times relatively consistent, and avoid using extra caffeine to offset sleepiness; caffeine can also disrupt compensatory sleep. 8
• Exercise regularly, but time intense workouts carefully. Exercise can help, but late workouts may interfere with bedtime for some people; individual responses vary. 9
• Try the Reverie app for sleep hypnosis or other behavioral relaxation methods. Sleep hypnosis is one option; NSDR and yoga nidra are also described as ways to practice relaxation and help with sleep. 10