Behaviors

Lying down improves heat dissipation and reduction in core body temperature compared with sleeping inclined, which may improve sleep onset and quality.

If you would sleep past your alarm without it, you are probably not getting enough sleep. Also monitor for excessive daytime sleepiness outside the normal afternoon dip; if you still feel groggy and not alert around 11 to 11:30 a.m., adjusted for chronotype, that may indicate insufficient or poor-quality sleep.

Recommended as a channel for aggression/wildness and as a discipline-building sport; described as life-changing and associated with improved grades and behavior.

Recommended broadly for the respect and self-discovery they engender; discussed in the context of wrestling and boxing.

Described as a helpful body-based entry point; very light touch, closer to myofascial work, with tapping/manipulation while lying down clothed and relaxed.

Recommended as part of a somatic/body-based approach; described as a useful entry point because of athletic background.

Recommended broadly via body-based approaches; described as especially useful for someone physically oriented to the world.

Current routine is training about 5 out of 7 days; framed as essential for mental health and functioning.

He watches sleep closely and aims to be in bed by about 10:30 p.m.; if later than that he becomes concerned.

If struggling with conditioned wakefulness in bed, try reversing top-to-bottom in the bed with pillow at the opposite end to alter the sleep context.

Use meditation to get the mind off itself; Walker reports doing 10 minutes every night before bed.

Use breathing methods to focus on the breath instead of thoughts when trying to sleep.

If using CBD, choose products with third-party laboratory testing and verify via QR code or similar documentation to confirm purity.

Use two short sessions of about 20–25 minutes each to teach growth mindset, especially at vulnerable times such as ninth grade transitions. Effective interventions present new scientific information that feels non-obvious and useful, include stories from similar others who applied the idea successfully, and ask participants to write their own narrative about struggle and improvement ('saying is believing'). Simple narratives should frame difficulty as changeable: difficulty occurred, it did not determine the future, specific steps were taken, and improvement followed.

If you're stressed before an important presentation or challenge, do not automatically distract yourself or assume you need to eliminate the stress. Use that energy to prepare and perform instead.

For optimal challenge states, pair necessary demands with a belief that your resources are sufficient to meet them; resources can include confidence, reappraisal skill, support, training, time, or friends.

Consider exploring biphasic sleep, especially an afternoon nap or NSDR protocol, if it benefits cognition and energy and does not impair nighttime sleep.

When testing whether changing nap timing helps, use an on-off-on experiment: do your usual protocol, switch to the new earlier protocol for about two weeks, then return to the original protocol to see if problems recur.

For a 'nappuccino,' drink a quick espresso immediately before turning the lights out for a 20-minute nap so caffeine kicks in as you wake, reducing sleep inertia while preserving nap benefits.

If you get the afternoon postprandial dip and do not want to nap, get outside and walk around to increase alertness; the benefit likely comes from both physical activity and daylight exposure.

Immediately after a nap, increase alertness by washing hands and face with cold water and/or getting bright light exposure. The cited study used cold hand and face washing and bright light at 2000 lux immediately after waking. A fuller 'nap plus plus' version is: drink an espresso immediately before a 20-minute nap, then upon waking wash hands and face with cold water and get 5 to 10 minutes of outdoor daylight.

After waking, splash cold water on your face and/or hands to promote alertness.

Before bed, use warm water and warming strategies for the extremities to support sleep onset via thermoregulation; specifically, wash face and hands with warm water and warm the hands and feet.

Get sunlight in your eyes in the middle of the day for mood benefits; this does not shift circadian timing.

When traveling or trying not to shift your clock, wear sunglasses and a brimmed hat to reduce light exposure and avoid unwanted circadian shifting.

Use the minimal effective dose with sauna and cold exposure; do not overdo either stimulus.

If overactivated or jittery during precise work, use rhythmic movement such as tapping your foot or another context-appropriate body part to dispel anticipatory energy and steady performance.

Parents, educators, police, and the public should enforce and regulate the U.S. legal age of 21 for nicotine product sales because teens were described as obtaining them too easily from vape shops.

Avoid vaping cannabis and avoid high-THC cannabis products, especially in youth, due to addiction risk, inhalation-related chemical exposure, and concern that cannabis may trigger psychosis in predisposed individuals.

During nicotine withdrawal, use short distraction and urge-management strategies such as listening to a 3–4 minute song, running or doing something active, chewing on a plain toothpick, and otherwise getting your mind off the feeling until the urge passes.