
Dr. Matt Walker: Protocols to Improve Your Sleep | Huberman Lab Guest Series
Andrew Huberman
Apr 10, 2024
Mindsip insights from this episode:
Incorporate evening carbohydrates to enhance sleep quality
Contrary to popular diet advice, eating carbohydrates in the evening can help some people sleep better, possibly by boosting the precursor ingredients for melatonin.
Utilize DORAs for naturalistic sleep improvement
A new class of sleep medications called DORAs works by blocking the brain's wakefulness chemical, orexin, allowing for more naturalistic sleep compared to older sedative drugs.
Force sleep efficiency through bedtime restriction
A core technique for treating insomnia is bedtime rescheduling, where you temporarily restrict your time in bed to brute force your brain into being more efficient at sleeping.
Incorporate slow rocking to enhance deep sleep
A very slow rocking motion of 0.25 Hz while sleeping has been shown to increase the speed of falling asleep and boost the amount of deep sleep.
Avoid napping or caffeine after a bad night of sleep
If you have a bad night of sleep, do not sleep in, nap, or increase your caffeine intake the next day to avoid disrupting your sleep schedule further.
Boost morning cortisol with bright light exposure
Getting bright light exposure in the morning can increase the amplitude of your morning cortisol spike by as much as 50%, which is beneficial for alertness and mood.
Take a mental walk to fall asleep faster
Instead of counting sheep, which can make it take longer to fall asleep, take yourself on a detailed mental walk of a very familiar route to get your mind off itself.
Avoid midday coffee to prevent sleep disruption
Because caffeine has a quarter-life of 10 to 12 hours, having a coffee at midday is like drinking a quarter cup of coffee right before bed.
Utilize CBD's U-shaped dose effect for sleep and wakefulness
CBD appears to have a U-shaped function where low doses (less than 25mg) can be wake-promoting, while higher doses (50mg and above) seem to be sleep-promoting.
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