Light information into the eye receptors and relayed to your internal clock allows your brain to determine the time of day via specific characteristics of light from sunrise and sunset. Therefore, light from sunrise and sunset are potent signals that help your brain and body establish a healthy circadian rhythm that activates energizing systems during the day and promotes restfulness at night. 

• Please avoid painful light viewing as this signals retina damage. 
• There is no need to stare directly into the sun; looking in the direction of the sun is an adequate viewing behavior to get photons into eye receptors. 
• If you can not get light into the eyes at these times, light viewing is still helpful; just aim to get as close to these times as possible. 

The absence of light activates your internal source of melatonin to enable healthy sleep onset. As it gets darker outside, eye sensitivity to light increases. Therefore, even small amounts of light at night will suppress melatonin, making it difficult to fall asleep. Lights on the blue spectrum such as LEDS, bright lights, and overhead lights are the most detrimental as light receptors in the eye view the upper visual field. 

• You can wear a hat or sunglasses in places with bright lights at night. 😎
• Utilize blue light-blocking glasses. Red-tinted lenses block more blue light than non-tinted.

Light from fire, such as candlelight, and red lights that are very dim will not disrupt melatonin.

• You can change your device screens to red using your device’s color filter settings and turn brightness to a minimum if you need to utilize them after dark.
• Use candlelight, red bulbs, and dim lights low in the visual field such as outlet plug-in lamps as light sources at night.

Once light information is communicated to your internal clock, also known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus(SCN), the SCN signals the rest of your body to align its circadian system. Your core temperature, a key component of your circadian system, then aligns accordingly with the time of day.  This generates a temperature rhythm that generally rises in the morning, peaks in the afternoon, and falls as night approaches reaching its minimum in the early morning hours. When body temperature rises, we tend to feel more awake, while a decrease in body temperature tends to make us feel sleepy. 

• We can increase wakefulness by increasing core temperature more rapidly. 
• We can increase sleepiness by influencing core temperature to drop more rapidly.
• Exposing your body to hot or cold conditions can influence these temperature fluctuations.

Promoting an early rise in core temperature can be energizing and sets in motion an ideal temperature rhythm that will support healthy sleep later on.

• Significantly increase core temperature with any heart-rate-elevating exercise. 
• Eating slightly elevates core temperature by activating your metabolism. 
• Try a few minutes of cold exposure such as a cold shower, dipping your face in ice water, or a cold plunge. Once removed from cold your core temperature will heat to compensate. 

*Prolonged cold exposure can lower core temperature and stress the body. Any extreme cold exposure is potentially harmful to those predisposed to stress conditions. Listen to your body, consult a healthcare practitioner, and experiment with caution. *

Your body’s thermostat mechanism also works with heat. Take a hot bath or shower, use a low emf heating pad, or do a sauna session in the evening to accelerate your evening drop in temperature and promote sleepiness. Because external heat exposure brings blood to the skin’s surface, once you are removed from the heat, your core temperature will drop, inducing sleepiness.

To fall asleep, your body temperature must drop by 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit and maintain a cool temperature to stay asleep throughout the night. An increase in body temperature across the night will result in conscious or unconscious waking, preventing deep sleep. Keep your room cold, (studies show around 67 degrees Fahrenheit is generally ideal), wear breathable sleepwear, and use breathable light bedding such as bamboo sheets and muslin cotton blankets in layers for easy removal throughout the night. You can also try cooling devices such as a cooling fan or cooling mattress pad if you get hot easily at night. 

If you are meeting your sleep need duration and still feel tired it may be because you are unknowingly experiencing respiratory disturbances throughout the night and thus not getting quality sleep. You can work with a practitioner to conduct an at-home sleep study to check your respiratory disturbance index (RDI). I went through treatment with a dental device called Vivos in conjunction with myofunctional therapy which reduced my RDIs greatly and increased my sleep quality. To find a practitioner to help correct any sleep breathing issues you can search for craniofacial dental sleep medicine practitioners in your area or use the Vivos website to look up practitioners who offer this treatment near you. Even if you do not need this treatment these practitioners will know about dental sleep medicine and can inform you on treatment options. In addition, you can utilize an air purifier, HEPA bed vacuum, mouth tape, breathe right strips, microbiome-friendly nasal spray, and essential oil cream to aid healthy nasal breathing throughout the night.

Caffeine has a long half-life, meaning that half the amount of caffeine you consume will still circulate in your brain and body up to 6 hours after consumption. Caffeine makes us feel awake by blocking adenosine, a compound in our brain that signals our need for sleep. By consuming caffeine early in the day, we give our brain and body enough time to clear out caffeine completely so that adenosine can activate our biological demand for sleep, allowing us to fall asleep easily. Even if you are the type of person who can drink caffeine in the evening and still have no trouble falling asleep, the caffeine in your system will harm your sleep quality.

Studies show that compounds such as alcohol, sleeping pills, THC, and high amounts of caffeine can greatly impact our sleep quality and have harmful effects on health. However, there are plenty of healthy alternatives that do not disrupt sleep quality. In place of weed and alcohol, I like to drink mood-boosting or calming mocktails. You can make them yourself by mixing your favorite mixers with uplifting or calming botanical concentrates or buy pre-made drinks. Some of the ones I have tried and enjoyed are this euphoria elixir, the social elixir, and the kin euphorics drinks spritz, bloom, and lightwave (be sure to check caffeine content). Instead of highly caffeinated drinks, I use cacao, teccinos, matcha, low-caffeine coffee, or decaf coffee. Implementing healthy sleep habits such as the ones in this post can significantly reduce the need for sleeping pills. If you still need additional help studies show sleep benefits from magnesium supplementation. Try different bioavailable forms such as Threonate or Glycinate until you find one that works best for you. Personally, I find that liquid forms work best, and I love using this magnesium glycinate. Another interesting discovery is tart cherry juice which has been shown in studies to reduce time awake in bed and increase sleep time significantly. You can end your night with the popular sleepy girl mocktail recipe which mixes tart cherry juice, magnesium powder, and sparkling water. Whole kiwis with the skin have also been shown to decrease the time it takes to fall asleep. While these options are safer to experiment with, as always, consult your healthcare practitioner to figure out what’s safe for you as all compounds can have side effects.

Studies show that writing down all your thoughts or worries an hour or two before bed can decrease the time it takes to fall asleep by 50% displaying how a cathartic activity can greatly benefit sleep. Other cathartic and decompressing activities include sleep-inducing breathwork such as the 4-7-8 method (in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, out for 8 seconds) or the 4-6 method (in for 4 seconds, out for 6 seconds). You can also try relaxing guided meditations such as yoga nidra, also known as yogic sleep or sleep hypnosis audio tracks. Additionally, to activate your parasympathetic nervous system you can try the 9 EFT tapping points or other tapping methods such as natural bio-destressing to release anxiety and induce calm. Having a wind-down routine is also beneficial, as it sends signals that train your brain and body to start decompressing during these activities. You can implement habits such as playing relaxing music or sounds, lighting candles, taking a hot bath, and putting on comfy pajamas as cues to initiate relaxation mode for a more effortless drift into sleep. Try to avoid mentally or emotionally stimulating activities such as watching TV and phone scrolling.

You can take an online quiz to reveal your chronotype, which is your genetically engrained sleep pattern ranging from early bird to night owl. Knowing your most natural sleep pattern can outline your optimal sleep window. The more we align with this window, the more we can improve sleep quality and boost daytime productivity. You can also use sleep trackers like an ultrahuman ring, Oura ring, whoop, or other smart devices that give sleep statistics. With this information, you can get nightly feedback on your sleep, and more easily identify variables that affect your sleep quality. By having the data in front of us we give ourselves the proof needed to stick to the habits that help us get the best sleep.

If you have adopted healthy sleep habits and are still having trouble you can look into CBT-I. CBT-I is the most effective behavioral therapy that implements lifestyle habits such as the ones mentioned above with the help of a therapist to improve sleep quality. Numerous clinical studies done all around the globe have shown CBT-I to be consistently successful and even more effective than sleeping pills. Some of the popular techniques used in this method are limiting or cutting out caffeine, training the mind and body to wind down, and purging the sleep environment of screens. To learn more about this therapy you can visit sleepfoundation.org.