Sleep is essential because it is when your body repairs itself and recovers from daily stresses. Without enough sleep, you experience worse focus, mood, metabolism, and long-term health. And without good sleep, any effort you put into exercise or nutrition will be largely wasted, since your body can’t properly recover or adapt without rest.

What works for me is to avoid behaviors for which humans are almost certainly not evolutionarily adapted. Chief among these is exposure to artificial light. Humans are not adapted to artificial light—certainly not bright, constant electric light at all hours. We are also not adapted to psychoactive drugs like alcohol and caffeine. With that in mind, here are the things I do to ensure good sleep:

• I eat my last meal at least two hours before bed so my body can focus on rest, not digestion.
• I go to bed soon after sunset, usually within two hours or so. I don’t want to sleep when the sun’s up the next morning.
• As much as possible, I try to make my bed- and wake-up times as consistent as possible. Usually that means going to bed at 9 p.m.
• No sun means cooler temperatures, so at 8 p.m. the thermostat switches to 65º F.
• I try to avoid stimulants as much as possible. I drink alcohol from time to time, but usually regret even a small amount the next morning, so I limit it strictly. I don’t take caffeine after 10 a.m., switching to decaf coffee around then. And while it’s difficult, I try to avoid screens for an hour before bed.
• I aim to get between seven and eight hours of sleep. I set an alarm for 5:30 a.m., which given my bedtime means up to 8.5 hours in bed. I will get up whenever I wake, however. On average I get just shy of eight hours per night.
• I exercise daily, but in the morning and never near bedtime.
• I take magnesium and glycine supplements because there is some evidence that they support better sleep. While direct studies combining the two are limited, both have plausible mechanisms and good safety profiles, so I consider them low-risk additions to my routine.

Finally, I track my sleep with an Eight Sleep mattress cover. Without gathering this data, I wouldn’t know if I’m consistently meeting my aims or if I need to change something.

Last updated October 22, 2025