How to Hack Your Way to a Great Night’s Sleep

Sleep like your life depends on it, because really, it does

Having written the 50/30/10/10 rule for how to wake up earlier and work on your dream, I regularly receive requests for sleep-related advice, specifically how to get better sleep and feel more rested.

I’m not a doctor or professional who studies sleep for a living, but I am a guy who geeks out on it, is quite humbly fantastic at it, and has blown off many nights out, romantic escapades, etc. all in favor of not sacrificing sleep.

As such, here are the principles I follow and a bunch of other strategies you can use to hack your way to some seriously mind-blowing sleep.

Sleep Principles

These are the basic principles upon which a good night’s sleep rests. Obey these like your life depends on it (because it actually kinda does).

1. Get the recommended 7–9 hours of sleep

This is the National Sleep Foundation’s (NSF) recommended sleep duration for adults (26–64). You need to consistently hit this target if you want to live a long and prosperous life. A very small percentage of the population functions optimally on 6 or less, and these are people who were blessed with a rare sleep gene mutation. It’s generally safe to assume that you don’t have it unless proven otherwise.

2. Quality is just as important as quantity

Not all sleep is created equal. Just because you’re passed out doesn’t mean you’re getting restful, aka “quality”, sleep. Your body needs to cycle through the various stages of sleep, which are all very important in different ways, in order to fulfill its regular nightly duties.

External factors such as stress, alcohol, other drugs (even common sleep aids), and noise can all disrupt and sometimes block normal sleep patterns, leading to reduced quality of sleep.

Avoid and/or mitigate these as much as possible, and implement habits that aim to help you sleep better naturally.

3. Get on a schedule

Your body’s circadian rhythm — its 24-hour internal clock — is largely responsible for controlling when you feel tired or wide awake. When it’s operating as it should, it secretes sleep-inducing chemicals into your system before bedtime, and it does the opposite to wake your body in the morning (which is why, if you stick to a regular schedule, you often wake up before your alarm goes off).

Any major shifts in either direction screw with the system, leading you to feel sleepy when you want to be awake, and wide-awake when you want to be sleeping. That’s why a consistent sleep schedule is super important for optimal sleep.

4. Listen to your body’s chronotype

Morning larks and night owls exist — some people are genetically fated to fall asleep late and wake up late, and vice versa. To the best of your ability (it’s often a challenge with work, school, etc.), you should plan your sleep schedule according to your chronotype.

If you try to force your body into an undesirable situation, sleeping and/or waking up will be a struggle, and you’ll likely feel more tired all the time.

Don’t immediately assume you’re one chronotype or the other. Sometimes people think they’re night owls when they’re really morning larks. If you’re trying a new sleep schedule, it takes a few days for your body to adjust to a new circadian rhythm (sort of like jet lag but without changing timezones).

Give it time before you jump to conclusions.

Sleep Improvers

Those four principles will put you on the path to better sleep. The rest of these suggestions are tips and strategies to help you adhere to them.

Note that most of these will work for everybody; however, some are situational and benefits may vary from person to person. I suggest to give some a try and stick with what works for you.

1. Create a wind-down routine before bed. Your body can’t go from full-throttle to fast asleep at the drop of a dime. It needs time to transition from wakefulness to sleep. I recommend starting your wind-down about an hour before bed. Examples of activities to create an effective routine: avoiding electronics, tea, relaxing music, reading, journaling, and light conversation.
2. Don’t drink caffeine after 2 pm. This is a rule I implemented for myself after reading about the effects of caffeine on sleep. I’m sure the exact time is slightly different for everybody, so do what works for you.
3. Exercise and be active. It’s proven that those who exercise sleep better on a consistent basis. The more energy you utilize during the day, the more recovery your body craves at night. Trust me, it will be more than willing to get it.
4. Invest in a good mattress. It’s true that you spend (or should spend) about a third of your life in there. Make it count.
5. Hang up blackout curtains. Outside light, even with your eyes closed, affects sleep. If you struggle to fall asleep — or stay asleep — they’re worth the small investment.
6. Ditch the night lights. Same reason as blackout curtains. If you sleep with a partner who likes the light on (and clearly hates optimal sleep), wear a sleep mask.
7. Lose the clock, too. The light from the clock isn’t great for the reasons above. Also, “clock-checking” when you can’t sleep actually exacerbates the situation.
8. Find pillows you love. Try this guide to pick the perfect pillow.
9. Turn down the thermostat. The NSF says between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature for sleep. 60 seems crazy low to me, but for sure a cooler room is sleep-inducing.
10. Get a sleep tracker, such as an Ouro ring, to track your sleep and improve sleep habits.
11. Remove the TV from your bedroom. It’s generally good practice to keep your bedroom as a haven to sleep and have sex. This improves the likelihood of tiredness upon entering the room, as the body recognizes it as a place for rest.
12. Paint your bedroom walls blue or some other relaxing color. Sleep studies show that blue is the color that leads to the best sleep, but others work too.
13. Tidy up your bedroom. Clean room, clean mind. Messy room…messy mind.
14. Sleeping with a partner? Get a bigger bed. Everyone loves cuddles, but more room is better for actual sleep.
15. Prolong having kids as long as possible (kidding, somewhat). All my friends with kids are insanely sleep-deprived. I think kids are awesome and would like to have some of my own someday, but for now, I’m happy not sacrificing my sleep.
16. Same goes for puppies. Except not nearly as bad by several magnitudes.
17. Read. Reading is an awesome wind-down activity, especially fiction, which takes you to fantasy worlds and removes you from the stress of daily life— aka one step closer to already dreaming.
18. Journal. The act of journaling helps to unload a lot of that shit in your head, and it helps in many other ways too.
19. Listen to relaxing music. Another awesome wind-down activity.
20. Express gratitude. Saying just one thing you’re grateful for each night invokes calmness and satisfaction.
21. Have sex. There are many studies out there that show the bi-directional relationship between sleep and sex. Do it as often as you can.
22. Try meditating. Mindfulness improves focus and your ability to reign in rampant thoughts. It’s an especially useful skill to build if you struggle with constant thinking while lying in bed at night.
23. Don’t scroll through your phone before bed. The blue light messes with your body’s circadian rhythm, and you never know when you’ll find something that completely derails your chances of falling asleep (aka shocking news, triggering things on social media, etc.)
24. Take a hot shower or bath before bed. Among other cues, your brain uses body temperature to determine when it’s time to sleep. (Cooler body temperature means bedtime.) You can trick your body into thinking it’s time for bed by raising your body temperature with a hot shower then quickly cooling it by getting out and drying off.
25. Experiment with naps. Naps can sometimes help when you’re forced to diverge from your normal sleep schedule. Try to stick to 20 to 30-minute naps, otherwise you can throw the whole system out of whack.
26. Use white noise. Items that create drone-like sounds, such as fans, help minimize random, sporadic background noise that can jolt you awake. They can also have a sleep-inducing effect, which is why some people fall asleep on airplanes super easy.
27. Practice deep breathing. A few deep, focused breaths while laying in bed at night invoke calmness and stillness.
28. Experiment with different meal times before bed. I couldn’t find a source that definitively stated one way of eating being better than another (there were lots of conflicting studies). But for sure, diet has some effects on sleep and is worth experimenting with.
29. Avoid drinking lots of liquids late at night. Waking up to pee disrupts your sleep cycles.
30. If you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back asleep, get out of bed. Go somewhere else to read or do whatever until you feel tired again. Keep the bedroom a place for sleep.
31. Avoid alcohol. Though the sedation effects of alcohol will help you fall asleep faster, they will not improve your sleep. Remember Principle #2. Alcohol heavily disrupts your sleep cycles, which is one of the reasons why you feel exhausted after a night of heavy drinking (among other obvious reasons).
32. Avoid sleeping pills if possible. Sleep aids act in a similar fashion to alcohol. If recommended by a professional, use as needed, but you should aim to improve your sleep in other ways if and when at all possible.
33. Use melatonin sparingly. Yes, it’s naturally produced in the body, but you still don’t want to become dependent on an outside supplement for sleep. It’s great for short-term use and for resetting your circadian rhythm, though, when thrown off by a wild weekend or from traveling and jet lag.
34. Reduce stress and anxiety in your life. Ask yourself what keeps you up and night (bills, relationships, jobs, etc.) and start actually dealing with those issues. Even the act of starting to address them makes you feel better about your situation and leads to better sleep.
35. DO work that matters to you. Late night thoughts are really just regrets built up over the things you wish you’d done and the person you wish you were. Do those things and be that person, and you won’t have those late-night regrets.

Sleep like your life depends on it

…because it really does.

Seriously. I can’t think of a single activity better than sleep that provides nearly as many benefits.

Follow the principles and use the strategies above and I promise nothing but good things will come from it.