Huberman Lab
Podcast Notes Key Takeaways * High-quality sleep is critical! Sleep is the foundation of mental health, cognitive health, and performance * Viewing direct morning sunlight within 30-60 minutes of waking will help you fall asleep and stay asleep at night, and optimize cortisol & adenosine levels * Layer in multiple levers to be more alert: morning sunlight viewing, increasing body temperature, delaying caffeine, movement/exercise upon waking, light breakfast * Stack the deck to give your body predictable autonomic timing and properly set circadian rhythm to optimize sleep and wakefulness – even if you’re tired, exercise a little (doesn’t have to be intense) and eat a light breakfast, etc. * Avoid overhead fluorescent light as much as possible between 10pm-4am – these lights will eliminate melatonin circulating in brain & body and will hinder ability to fall and stay asleep (instead, try soft lamps and dim screens as much as possible without straining eyes) * Viewing afternoon sunlight from sunset can help offset some of the negative effects of light viewing in the evening (10 pm-4 am) * Try to maintain a consistent sleep/wake schedule (+/- 1 hour) 7 days a week! * When all else fails, try this sleep stack cocktail (buy single ingredient supplements so you can use what works, ditch what doesn’t): magnesium threonate (145mg, 30-60 minutes before bed) + theanine (100-400mg, 30-60 minutes before bed) + apigenin (50mg, 30-60 minutes before bed) * Sleep apnea can have very damaging effects on sleep and health – train nasal breathing with these methods: (1) use medical tape to tape mouth shut during sleep; (2) practice nasal breathing only during light exercise/cardio bouts
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In this episode, I describe a comprehensive toolkit consisting of behavioral and supplement-based tools that you can customize to enhance the quality, duration and impact of your sleep. This has an enormous positive impact on your overall health and daytime functioning, brain, hormones and immune system. I teach you how to effectively harness light (and darkness), temperature, food, exercise, caffeine, supplements, and digital devices in order to fall asleep faster, stay deeply asleep longer and overall, and achieve better quality sleep. I also describe how these tools can be modified to recover quickly from a poor night’s sleep, jet lag or bouts of shift work. Given that sleep is the foundation of all mental health, physical health and performance, this episode should benefit everyone as it provides an essential toolkit of science-supported, low- to zero-cost strategies that can be tailored to optimize your sleep routine.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman
Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/huberman
LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman
Supplements from Momentous
https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman
For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Tools to Optimize Sleep
(00:03:02) Momentous Supplements
(00:04:16) InsideTracker, Eight Sleep, LMNT
(00:08:24) Factors to Control Circadian Rhythm & Sleep
(00:15:10) Morning Tool: Morning Sunlight Viewing, Cortisol
(00:20:44) Morning Sunlight: Circadian Rhythm, Artificial Lights, Cloudy Days
(00:26:18) Evaluating Light in Environment, Compensating for Missed Morning Light
(00:29:26) AG1 (Athletic Greens)
(00:30:46) Morning Tools: Temperature & Deliberate Cold Exposure, Exercise
(00:34:58) Timing Caffeine, “Afternoon Crash,” Exercise
(00:40:08) Timing Eating, Alertness & Circadian Rhythm
(00:45:20) 3 Daily Critical Periods
(00:46:49) Afternoons: Naps, Deep Relaxation (NSDR, Self-Hypnosis), Exercise & Body Temperature, Caffeine
(00:51:59) Afternoon Tools: Viewing Sunlight in Late Afternoon, Evening Light
(00:56:45) Evening/Night Tools: Overhead Artificial Lights, Light Sensitivity
(01:04:40) Evening Tools: Hot Bath/Sauna, Temperature & Sleeping Environment
(01:09:40) Alcohol, THC & Reduced Sleep Quality; CBD, Anxiety & Falling Asleep
(01:11:45) Sleep Supplements: Magnesium Threonate, Apigenin & Theanine
(01:16:34) Melatonin Supplementation (Caution)
(01:17:44) Additional Sleep Supplements: GABA, Glycine, Myo-Inositol & Anxiety
(01:20:08) Falling Back Asleep: Reveri App, NSDR, Yoga Nidra
(01:22:55) Staying Asleep: Eye Masks, Ear Plugs, Elevating Feet
(01:24:58) Tool: Sleep Apnea & Nasal Breathing
(01:28:20) Sleep Schedule Consistency, Weekends, Compensatory Sleep & Caffeine
(01:31:14) Tools: Temperature Minimum & Jet Lag, Shift Work & Red Lights
(01:37:38) Behavioral Tools for 3 Daily Critical Periods
(01:39:26) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Huberman Lab Clips, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous Supplements, Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac
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