Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Andrew Huberman on How to Optimize Sleep, published by Leon Lang on February 2, 2023 on LessWrong.

Introduction

In this post, I list all the advice from Andrew Huberman's podcast Sleep Toolkit: Tools for Optimizing Sleep & sleep and Sleep-Wake Timing. A large subset of that advice can also be found on his website, so feel free to read there and ignore this post.

I did not do any research to check whether the advice is actually correct and comprehensive. If you know of any important missing tools or wrong advice in the list below, please let me know. I think the main tools for improving sleep that are missing from this podcast episode are:

General CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia);

General stress reduction;

Any other psychological improvement strategies (e.g., therapy against depression and anxiety);

Choice of clothes, pillow, mattress, and blanket for sleeping;

bedtime routines;

Nutrition (except for some short advice on breakfast);

Prescription Drugs.

If you know of other important factors, please let me know in the comments.

In summary, the advice is centered around using 8 "tools" in such a way as to obtain a stable, healthy circadian rhythm:

Light

Darkness

Temperature

Food

Exercise

Caffeine

Supplements

Digital Tools

Below, I mostly focus on the advice and less on the reasoning behind that advice. My impression is that you can probably ignore much of the advice if you feel like your sleep is already great, though especially light exposure in the morning and dim light in the evenings seem like clearly useful for almost everyone.

The Three "Critical Periods"

Huberman names three "critical periods": the morning, throughout the day, and the evening. He emphasizes the importance of one's behavior in the morning the most, as he claims it has a crucial effect on the circadian rhythm.

Period 1: Morning (until ~3 hours after waking)

Early in the morning, Huberman recommends getting natural light exposure for setting the circadian rhythm, and to exercise, getting a short cold shower, and having breakfast for activating the body and increasing the core body temperature. While all of this "wakes up the body", Huberman indicates that it is also useful for getting better sleep later on.

Finally, Huberman lists some advice on how to responsibly use caffeine. I am not sure if he claims that caffeine can help with sleep (e.g., since it increases the core body temperature and thus might help for setting the circadian rhythm) or if his advice is mainly meant to reduce the damage to sleep caused by caffeine.

Light Exposure

Timing: immediately after waking or at least within the first 60 minutes

Look into the general direction of the sun at a low solar angle

Don't look at it, especially if it's painful.

Don't wear sunglasses.

Eyeglasses or contact lenses are good, but windows are not.

UV protection is okay

Duration:

Clear day: ~5 minutes

Cloud cover: ~10 minutes

Very overcast/rainy: ~20-30 minutes

If this is not possible: use sunlight simulators/daylight simulators.

Cheap replacement:

ring lights (they are often used for selfies)

Drawing LED Tablet

If you wake up before the sun rises and want this to be your regular wake-up time, turn on bright artificial lights.

Do this at least 80% of the days in your life

Do it for an extended duration (twice as much) after missed days

Exercise

Ideally: immediately after waking up.

Can be combined with sunlight viewing.

Examples of morning exercise:

Take a walk, light jog, skip ropes

It doesn't have to be the most intense workout

Cold Shower

Take a cold shower for 1-3 minutes

It increases the body temperature when the exposure is short

Alternative: Cold tub/ice bath

Breakfast

This also helps for increasing the body temperature

After a big meal, you will be sleepy; thus, don't eat a huge breakfast

Caffeine

Take into account that the ...