All protocols

Use body-based methods, especially exhale-emphasized breathing, as part of meditation, hypnosis, or yoga nidra to help calm the mind and fall asleep; use the body to control the mind rather than trying to force the mind to relax.

Use Headspace as a tool to adopt a meditation practice.

Women who want to keep estrogen levels high should probably avoid apigenin; men should also consider estrogen-related effects.

If using bright commercial red light products, use them early in the day, not later, because they are bright enough to wake up the body and brain; possible retinal mitochondrial benefit was discussed for a few minutes each morning.

It is fine to wear prescription lenses or contacts when getting outdoor light exposure because they focus light onto the retina; unlike viewing light through a window, they do not meaningfully diminish the effect.

If you want to remember dreams better, set your alarm to wake in the middle of a 90-minute cycle, especially toward morning when REM predominates.

Writing down thoughts immediately upon waking may help spontaneous later recall of dreams.

Sleep-support compound that impacts the GABA system and chloride channels; found in many supplements designed to increase sleepiness and sleep.

For dinner, choose a calmer, sleepier meal pattern built around white meat or fish plus carbohydrate sources such as pasta or rice.

Record when you went outside for sunlight and how long after waking you did it.

Record the rough times of your meals to identify patterns affecting sleep and wakefulness.

Record when you exercised, including weight training or aerobic exercise.

Note when you felt chilled, cold, particularly hot, or woke hot in the night to identify temperature-related patterns.

Write down if and when you did an NSDR protocol such as meditation, yoga nidra, or hypnosis.

After westward travel, use exercise to help stay awake later and delay your clock toward local time.

After westward travel, view sunlight in the evening, such as around 6 p.m. or 8 p.m., to delay your clock and help you stay awake later.

Avoid sleeping in on Sunday or drifting too far on weekends, even if you are not a shift worker.

After a night shift, avoid watching TV before going to sleep if possible. If you need screens before sleep after a shift, dim the screen.

For fully nocturnal shift workers, use evening sunset light as the equivalent of morning light to help wake up for the night shift.

Do not use sunlight or very bright light on young babies the way you would for adults because their eyes are more sensitive and optics are underdeveloped.

For babies, use shortened phases of darkness and phases of light to encourage sleep at desired times because their rhythms are ultradian rather than adult-like.

Keep the room slightly colder during times you want babies to be asleep and slightly warmer during times you want them to be awake, while being very careful to avoid all extremes of temperature, hot or cold.

If caring for a baby, use polyphasic sleep in 45-minute increments or batches spread through the day if that is what circumstances allow; this may reduce the total overall amount of sleep needed.

For young children, if full-night sleep is not possible, aim for sleep batches that match 90-minute ultradian cycles—one, two, or three cycles—rather than waking in the middle of a cycle.

Turn on the lights in a teen’s room before they wake up to help them fall asleep earlier the next night and get about 45 minutes more deep sleep and more total sleep. Some parents also use a flashlight through closed eyelids before wake time to mimic this effect, though this was not part of the standard study.

Older adults should get as much natural light as safely possible to support sleep and circadian rhythms. If they cannot safely get outside, place them near a window for natural light exposure, ideally with the window open if feasible.

For older adults, prioritize natural light and keep them away from artificial light early in the day when possible.

Older adults should keep a regular schedule as a key lever for adjusting sleep and circadian rhythms.

For people younger than about 25, get the broadest education possible across multiple domains—e.g., math, chemistry, physics, literature, music, and learning an instrument—then identify what captures your passion and put substantial additional effort there. Also includes emotional development.

In motor learning, try different movement parameters until you begin to approximate the desired behavior, then work toward consistency.