The Ultimate Sleep Guide

Bedding

The importance of bed quality and fit tailored to your preferred comfort level cannot be understated. If it’s been more than 7-10 years since you purchased your current mattress, or if it's sagging in the middle, it may be time for a new one. 

Note: If you do decide to get a new mattress, remember most modern mattresses are made with a lot of chemicals which off-gas particularly when new. So you’ll want to have a covered place outdoors where you can allow the mattress to air out for a couple weeks without getting wet. 

• Material: you want the mattress to be made of natural, organic fibers (eg organic latex). The reason is standard mattresses are made with synthetic materials that off-gas toxic fumes while you sleep (especially memory foam mattresses). They are also heavily doused with chemical fire retardants that also off-gas toxic fumes. There are many brands out there that specialize in making beds with healthy materials as a priority. So you’ll need to carefully do your research here and invest a bit more than you would normally expect. 

• Firmness: you’ll want to focus closely on the firmness level that’s right for you. We’ve been told that the firmer the mattress, the better it is for our backs. But your body type, sleep position, and weight all play a role in determining the ideal firmness level. Our suggestion is to visit a knowledgeable mattress store that knows how to test which firmness level is right for you. 

• Pillow: the pillow should also be made from natural materials and the height and firmness should be matched to your body shape and the mattress you’re using. So keep in mind the softer the mattress, the more your body will sink in and the less height you will require on your pillow to keep your neck and spine straight. 

• Supporting platform: whether using a box spring or a platform, everything should be solid, noise-free, and the support slats shouldn’t be too far apart. You can also play with how high or low you want to sleep. If sleep hasn’t been working for you, switching to a position that’s much lower to the ground can make certain people feel more comfortable. 

  • Note: Putting the box spring and/or the mattress directly on the floor will limit its ability to breathe and can trap your body heat and moisture creating a potential mold situation. 

• Sheets: your sheets should be of a natural, organic material (eg cotton, bamboo, etc.) and a high thread count so that they feel good against your bare skin. 

Circadian rhythm sync

We are meant to be in sync with the cycles of the sun to properly support our circadian rhythms. To resync with the natural cycles of the sun, try to get outside early in the morning upon waking and let the natural sunlight into your eyes (do not look directly at the sun). If it’s a clear day, you only need 10 min. Do the same in the late afternoon, just prior to sunset. These are good opportunities to lay out on your deck/porch and meditate, or go for a quiet walk. Regarding sunglasses, they should only be worn when there is high glare, especially in situations like driving. However, too many people wear sunglasses as a fashion statement and this can be very disruptive to your circadian rhythms, as well as your ability to produce vitamin D effectively. 

Blue light

Blue light is a part of the visible light spectrum. It is considered to be higher energy because of its shorter wavelength and thus promotes alertness, elevates mood, boosts cognitive function and regulates circadian rhythms. However, our excessive use of devices with screens has been proven to disrupt our natural sleep cycles, especially when used in the evening without protection. Follow these basic steps to protect yourself:  

• Blue blocking glasses - These will filter out the blue light spectrum which will reduce eye strain and protect you from the harmful effects of staring at a screen excessively. Ideally you would wear these any time you are looking at a screen (cell phone, computer, tv) for longer than 15 minutes, day or night. 

  • Note: We don’t recommend wearing these around all the time when you’re not using a device because that can disrupt the natural blue light's impact on your wakefulness during the day. So if you wear glasses regularly, do not get the filtering built into your everyday prescription. You’ll instead want a dedicated prescription pair for screen and evening use. 

• Night-time mode - Most Android and Apple mobile devices now have the built-in ability to filter blue light. You can either set this to be on all the time, or to turn on/off automatically with the sun. Newer versions of Windows have this feature under the “Night Light” setting. On Mac, this setting is called “Night Shift”. 

• Device distance - Any time you use a device (mobile, computer, or tv), you’ll want to keep your eyes at a safe distance and not hold it too close to your face because it amplifies the intensity of the light significantly. If being further away makes it harder to read, you can easily switch your device's settings to display fonts larger than normal. 

• Device evening use - Although many of us have become accustomed to consuming all our content through our phones, computers or TVs, it is generally not good to do this in the evening hours. We recommend against having a TV in your bedroom for this reason. At the very least, if you are going to watch something in the evening time, take the blue blocking measures listed above and reduce the brightness on all your devices. It’s also important not to consume any content that is high-energy, simulating, fearful or stressful. This means no evening news, scary/violent/drama shows/movies, and no loud/aggressive music or sounds. For the evening time, choose something that is more calming and peaceful. 

Wind-down time

After the sun goes down, you generally want to have your own routine wind down along with the cycles of nature. This means moving to a more calming state by reading, reducing/dimming the lighting, playing board games with family, reducing the noise, and allowing yourself a break from any activities or thoughts that are work or stress related. This is a very important step, so give some thought as to how you can promote more calm during the evening hours after the sun goes down. 

Lighting

The type of lighting in your home has an impact on your sleep and overall well being as well. Most modern homes have now switched over to LED or CFL type bulbs which are meant to save energy, but are not natural in the way they emit their light energy. The more natural types of bulbs are incandescent or halogen, even though they consume more energy. If you’re like most who’ve already switched their entire home over to the “newer/better” bulbs, consider at least using the more natural, energy consuming bulbs in the rooms you typically spend time in the evenings. You can also get bulbs and switches which are dimmable, so that you can bring the light intensity down as well. In terms of color temperature, we don’t recommend one of those “cool white” or “daylight” colored bulbs that look bluish. You want soft white which ends up looking yellowish (a more natural light). Himalayan salt lamps also emit a very relaxing light (and energy) if you want ambient lighting to promote calmness. Floor lamps and table lamps are also good for ambient lighting as opposed to overhead lights. You can even plug these ambient lights into an outlet timer so they come on automatically around sundown so you're then prompted to turn off the other more intense lights.

Darkness

Conversely to the blue light avoidance, you want your bedroom to be completely dark with no light other than the light of the moon. If you live in a rural area with minimal light pollution, it’s a good idea to sleep with the windows uncovered so that you sleep with the light of the moon and wake naturally to the sunrise. However for most people, you’ll want to draw the curtains closed using “blackout” curtains in situations with heavier light pollution. Then once you have successfully blocked out the light from the outside, scan your room for any and all light emitting sources (alarm clocks, power adapters, leds from electronic devices, etc). If you must have these devices on during sleep, use a tape like black electrical tape to cover all these lights. Night lights are not recommended, but if you need to wake to use the bathroom, you can use soft/dim plugin night lights in the bathroom and as needed to get to the bathroom. Try not to turn on any bathroom lights, as this will further disrupt your body’s “sleep mode” making it harder to fall back asleep. An alternative to all this is to use a comfortable eye mask, which is especially useful to have on hand for when you are traveling and sleeping with a less than ideal set up.

Bedroom as a sleep sanctuary

You want to only use your bed and bedroom for sleeping at night. You should not use it to do work, reading or any other activity as this will confuse the body’s expectations around sleep. If you have a smaller living situation where you must have your room be multi-functional, then at least do your work using a separate desk in the room, never on the bed itself. When you wake, you should always make your bed so that it signals sleep time is over and the bedroom is no longer available for activities during the day.

Sleep and wake time

The best time to sleep for optimal sleep hormone release is between the hours of 9:00PM and 10:30PM, as the hours before midnight are the most potent hours for repair and rejuvenation. It’s also best to sleep and wake on a consistent schedule so that your body/mind gets used to the routine and better prepares itself for the sleep process. Ideally, the sunrise will naturally wake you up. But if you have a set up where the curtains are drawn because there is too much light pollution, then set an alarm to wake and make sure it is soft/gentle. If using your phone, set it to escalate the volume gradually. Alternatively, they sell bedside sunrise alarm clocks that will wake you with a naturally increasing light at sunrise time. 

Hydration  

It’s very important to hydrate with properly filtered water throughout the day; kg body weight / 32 = Liters water -or- lbs body weight / 2 = Ounces water. Cut off all liquids 3 hours before bedtime so that you minimize your chances of needing to wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. This basically means no liquids after dinner. For the morning, keep a tall glass of water by your bedside and drink this first thing when you wake up, because that is when you are generally the most dehydrated and it will signal your body to wake up and start its daytime processes like bowel motions. 

Temperature

It can be helpful to sleep in cooler temperatures (18.3-20C / 65-68F) to support restful sleep under the covers if you are struggling with sleep. Most thermostats allow you to set a schedule so it’s best to have it set to the ideal temperature an hour before bedtime, and have it warm back up a half hour before your desired wake time. However, if you are tolerant of the outside temperature, it’s always best to sleep with the fresh air outside rather than using artificial air conditioning. 

Air quality

• Air filters - it’s a good idea to get a high quality HEPA air filter and leave it running in your bedroom on a low/maintenance setting during the day, and higher at night. This way at least ⅓ of the air you breathe in your life will be quality controlled. Always remember to wash your pre-filters and change your main filters on a regular basis.

• Fresh air - it’s also a good idea to keep the windows open or at least cracked so that you have a fresh supply of oxygen. 

• Humidity - in certain seasons and climates, you could benefit from having a humidifier in your bedroom to keep the humidity at an ideal level (30-50%) and prevent dryness in your air passages. There are pro’s and con’s to the various types of humidifiers which we won’t go into here. Regardless of which type, the most important thing is to keep your humidifier maintained, clean, and free from mold by thoroughly cleaning it periodically and replacing any filters on schedule.

Clothing

It’s best to sleep with minimal clothing when you sleep. If you are to wear some clothing, it should be very light and made of a natural fiber. No pants or socks. 

Nutrition

Ideally we are stopping all eating/drinking activity after our last meal (3-4 hours before bed time). However, everybody is different. For example, with some people on low carb diets, if their blood sugar gets too low during the night time, the body will compensate by releasing cortisol to bring more sugar back into the blood, which will have a stimulating effect that disturbs sleep. For others, the opposite is the case where they are having glucose/insulin issues, and you are getting the classic glucose roller coaster crash resulting from a hyperglycemic spike. If you’re one who has their glucose/insulin levels under control, but are not having enough carbohydrates, consider eating a little more carbs during the dinner time (complex carbs only, not simple/refined). For very few people, a small bedtime snack that contains complex carbs is actually helpful for sleep, although it is not a good long term solution. You’ll have to do some experimenting here if this sounds like you, keeping in mind that this is only a temporary measure until you sort your nutrition. 

Overthinking during bedtime

One of the main struggles people have is their own mind when their head hits the pillow. Stressful thoughts full of judgment/regret of the day’s past and worry about the future ahead consume our focus and keep us in an agitated state. Through mindfulness practice, you are able to refocus your awareness away from toxic thought patterns and towards calming ones such as focus on the breath, gratitude, positive visioning, etc. The best way to build your awareness muscle is to start a regular meditation practice. A shorter term solution is to simply place your right hand on your heart and your left hand on your belly and focus your attention on your breath. Your belly should rise with the in-breath and fall as you exhale. It should be smooth and natural, not forced, and will automatically slow down the moment you place your awareness on your breath. As you get into the rhythm, think of more calming/pleasant thoughts. If there is a dream you have for your life, play it out in your mind’s eye with as much detail as possible, and have fun with it. The state of mind you carry into your sleep will directly affect the quality of your sleep, your dreams, and the reality you manifest in life. 

Exercise and movement

You want to make sure you are utilizing your body properly during the daytime, the way we were meant to. This doesn’t have to be the gym. Just being outdoors using your body or going for a 30 minute walk every day can be enough. Too much time indoors and seated without enough motion can lead to sleep imbalances. So move your body. Stretch. Sweat. Use your muscles. Regular movement activities like this will drastically improve the quality of your sleep. Just be careful with too much physical activity in the evening time as this can leave you feeling energized making it difficult to wind-down for sleep. 

White Noise

Although it is best to sleep in complete silence, or with the natural sounds of nature, we would advocate trying out white noise if you are having trouble sleeping. Humidifiers, air purifiers, or dohm noise machines are all decent solutions. Start on the lowest setting to see if it helps. This is especially helpful if you have inconsistent sounds that can wake/distract you (city sounds, trains, pets, sleeping partners, kids waking early, etc). Another alternative is to wear soft (not dense) foam ear plugs, which are especially handy to have when you are traveling and sleeping with a less than ideal set up.  

Caffeine

If you are going to consume coffee or tea, it is best done before noon. Anytime after that and you are risking affecting the quality of your sleep cycles (even if you’re able to fall asleep normally). The same goes for chocolate, especially when in high concentrations of cocoa/cacao. Everyone metabolizes caffeine differently, so some may be able to get away with consuming it later and some need to stop even earlier than noon. But generally, caffeine consumption should be reserved for the morning time only. 

Prescription drugs 

Oftentimes prescription drugs can interfere with our hormones and sleep cycles. Many even list insomnia as one of the side effects. If you’re having issues with sleep, consider speaking with your doctor about your prescriptions. 

• Sleep aids - We do not recommend the long-term use of sleep aids such as Ambien or any other sedative drugs. The goal should always be to resolve your sleep issues naturally, as long term use of these drugs can lead to serious downstream health consequences. Make it a goal to constantly improve your sleep and don’t give up until you get results. 

Alcohol/Marijuana

Some people use weed or alcohol (“night cap”) to help them sleep. Even though these may help you to fall asleep, studies show that alcohol or marijuana use before bedtime can negatively affect the quality of your sleep cycles and thus affect your overall restfulness. This is not a good long-term strategy even though marijuana is considered “natural", so consider changing this habit.   

Naps

Napping can be very helpful for those that require the extra sleep, but you have to be careful with daytime naps affecting your nighttime sleep. The risk is that if you nap during the day because you’re tired from a lack of nighttime sleep, you could reduce your drive to sleep the following night. This will lead to an unhealthy, vicious cycle. If you must nap, keep it short (ideally 20min, but no longer than 30min) using a gentle alarm to stay within that time frame. If you need a longer nap, then go for a 90 minute nap, which is one full NREM/REM cycle. These optimal napping intervals have been well studied to leave you feeling refreshed when you wake and not risk interfering with the upcoming night’s sleep.   

Sleep apnea

If you are known to be a snorer, you want to get a sleep study done to check if you have a sleep apnea issue. If you do, it is best to use a CPAP machine that will help you to breathe without obstruction or oxygen deprivation. If you do use a CPAP, it’s a good idea to get retested and eventually off the CPAP machine by correcting the underlying root cause. Do your research and get a high quality one that does not have issues with cheap internal foam materials breaking down over time (a popular model by Phillips notoriously had this issue). You’ll also want to clean the unit as directed regularly to avoid any mold build up. 

Thyroid/hormonal issues

Imbalances in your hormone levels will absolutely play a role in your sleep quality. If you are having sleep issues, get a full thyroid blood work done to rule this out. If it turns out you do have a thyroid imbalance, you’ll want to treat the root cause along with taking a thyroid medication as your long-term solution. 

EMF’s

In today’s modern world, our body’s are constantly inundated with electromagnetic frequencies that have an undeniable, well studied impact on our health. We need to give our bodies a rest from all the WIFI signals, cell signals, GPS, Bluetooth, IR, radio frequencies, etc that are coursing through our bodies and playing with our energetics on a subatomic level. Here are a few strategies to set up your bedroom to be a sanctuary from EMF exposure: 

• WIFI - the easiest way to take a break from WIFI EMF exposure at night is to turn your router off during your sleeping hours. There are many ways to do this, but the simplest way is to connect your WIFI router to an outlet timer that will switch itself off during the night hours, and back on again when you normally wake. 

• Cell signals - it’s best to keep all cell phones in the bedroom on airplane mode to ensure no signals are being transmitted close to your body while you sleep. You also want to turn off “location services” which remain on even in airplane mode. Better yet, turn your phone off all together. If you insist on having your cell phone on for emergencies (not recommended for numerous reasons), then keep your phone in an adjacent room and on the ringer so you can hear a call. You’ll then also want to set it up to only make a sound for calls and not any other text messages or notifications. This is configurable on most phones. 

• Other wireless devices - if you have any other wireless devices in or around your room, you’ll want to turn those off as well (Bluetooth devices, speakers, cameras, etc). A better long term solution is to “dumb down” your house and go back to more old school wired technologies. In the age of the “internet of everything”, most typical household appliances now come with built-in WIFI (garage door openers, refrigerators, dishwashers, laundry machines, etc). If you already have these expensive products, try to see if these features can be switched off or disabled if you’re not using them. 

• Smart meters - if your home has a “smart meter” for your electricity, consider calling your electric company to see if they can switch this out for a regular analog meter. There may be an extra fee for them to make the change and for someone to come monthly to check the usage. 

Other tips/tricks

• Try changing up the routine and sleeping with your head at the foot of your bed. 

• Download some calming audiobooks to help you fall asleep (our  favorite is anything by Alan Watts). Audible has a timer feature that will switch off after a set amount of time. If you download the books, it should work even on airplane mode. 

• Try the Reveri app and do the self-hypnosis protocols a few times per week. 

• If you wake in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back asleep, try an ‘NSDR’ protocol (search YouTube for easy to follow guides). ‘Yoga nidra’ is also a good one to try. 

• Do aromatherapy by getting an essential oils diffuser. Some great calming oils are lavender, rose, sandalwood, and vanilla. They also typically make sleep blend oils. You’ll want to turn the diffuser lighting off for bedtime. You can also put a drop or two of the lavender on the bottom of your feet. 

• Herbal formulas + CBD: there are many natural formulas that contain sleep promoting herbs that can be helpful and are more suitable than something like melatonin. Look for ones that contain herbs like valerian, passionflower, lemon balm, chamomile, hops strobile, or l-theanine. They even make full-spectrum CBD sleep formulas that have both the CBD and the herbs combined. Try to get tinctures or sprays that can be absorbed sublingually so that you don’t have to take water to swallow a pill too close to bedtime. 

• Taking glycine in the evenings has been shown to be beneficial as it is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that promotes calm and plays a critical role in initiating normal patterns of REM sleep. It is also an extremely important amino acid that the body makes but not in sufficient quantities with our modern lifestyle (plays a crucial role in the pathway to detox glyphosate). 

• If you have an infrared sauna, that is best used in the evenings to support sleep. 

• Epsom salt baths are also a good strategy for evening time relaxation and sleep preparation. The magnesium in Epsom salts are very relaxing to the mind and body. Keep the lighting low using candles and add a few drops of your favorite sleep promoting essential oil like lavender. To neutralize the chlorine in the tap water, you can add 1-2g of sodium ascorbate powder (vitamin C) in the bath water.