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This is episode 2 of a 6-part special series on sleep with Dr. Matthew Walker, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience and psychology and founder of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley.
We discuss basic and advanced tools for improving sleep and explain how sleep quality is affected by temperature, light and dark, caffeine, alcohol, cannabis, nutrition, meal timing, and different medications.
Dr. Walker also provides strategies for coping with a poor night of sleep, wind-down routines, technology in the bedroom, insomnia, visualizations, and building sleep “confidence.”
We also discuss the current status of sleep research for developing advanced techniques to optimize sleep.
This episode provides numerous zero-cost behavioral protocols for improving sleep quality and restorative power, which can benefit daytime mood, energy, performance, and overall health.
The next episode in this special series explores napping, caffeine, and additional protocols to improve sleep.
Articles
- Transition from Dim to Bright Light in the Morning Induces an Immediate Elevation of Cortisol Levels (The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism)
- Effect of Light on Human Circadian Physiology (Sleep Medicine Clinics)
- Chronic Insomnia and the Stress System (Sleep Medicine Clinics)
- Can physical activity eliminate the mortality risk associated with poor sleep? A 15-year follow-up of 341,248 MJ Cohort participants (Journal of Sport and Health Science)
- The management of unwanted pre-sleep thoughts in insomnia: distraction with imagery versus general distraction (Behaviour Research and Therapy)
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation during Sleep Improves Declarative Memory (The Journal of Neuroscience)
- Auditory closed-loop stimulation of EEG slow oscillations strengthens sleep and signs of its immune-supportive function (Nature Communications)
- Warm feet promote the rapid onset of sleep (Nature)
- Cutaneous warming promotes sleep onset (American Journal of Physiology)
- Skin deep: enhanced sleep depth by cutaneous temperature manipulation (Brain)
- Diminished Capability to Recognize the Optimal Temperature for Sleep Initiation May Contribute to Poor Sleep in Elderly People (Sleep)
- Attenuated Thermoregulatory Response to Mild Thermal Challenge in Subjects With Sleep-Onset Insomnia (Sleep)
- Night-time sleep EEG changes following body heating in a warm bath (Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology)
- Auditory Closed-Loop Stimulation of the Sleep Slow Oscillation Enhances Memory (Neuron)
- Noise as a sleep aid: A systematic review (Sleep Medicine Reviews)
- Overnight exposure to pink noise could jeopardize sleep-dependent insight and pattern detection (Frontiers in Human Neuroscience)
- Whole-Night Continuous Rocking Entrains Spontaneous Neural Oscillations with Benefits for Sleep and Memory (Current Biology)
- Rocking Promotes Sleep in Mice through Rhythmic Stimulation of the Vestibular System (Current Biology)
- The Sleep Disorder Canine Narcolepsy Is Caused by a Mutation in the Hypocretin (Orexin) Receptor 2 Gene (Cell)
Other Resources
- Defending Switzerland’s coffee stockpile (The Economist)
Huberman Lab Episodes Mentioned
About this Guest
Dr. Matthew Walker
Matthew Walker, Ph.D., is a professor of neuroscience and psychology and founder of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkley, and the author of the book, “Why We Sleep.”
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