Andrew Huberman’s Science-Based mostly Sleep Protocol

Sleep would possibly simply be the final word life hack, and I’m not being dramatic right here.

Again in 2021, Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman posted a tweet that made hundreds of individuals rethink their relationship with sleep. He referred to as it “the most effective nootropic, stress aid, trauma launch, immune booster, hormone augmenter, and emotional stabilizer.” Coming from a man who research brains for a residing, that caught my consideration.

The irony? Most of us scroll by way of our telephones till our eyes burn, then surprise why we really feel like rubbish each morning.

Over the previous 4 years, Huberman has quietly assembled what is perhaps essentially the most sensible, science-backed sleep protocol on the market. No costly devices. No bizarre dietary supplements with unpronounceable names. Simply methods based mostly on how our our bodies truly work, from exactly timed daylight publicity to strategic carb timing at dinner.

His protocol has advanced since 2021, incorporating stunning instruments like mouth-taping and refined complement suggestions based mostly on rising analysis. This information breaks down all the pieces in Huberman’s present sleep toolkit for 2025.

Truthful warning: after studying how night gentle messes along with your mind chemistry, you would possibly turn into that one that dims all of the lights after sundown. Your mates would possibly tease you, however you’ll be the one sleeping like a child.

The Core Rules of Huberman’s Sleep Protocol

Gentle Publicity: The Grasp Regulator

When you solely take one factor from Huberman’s complete protocol, make it this: get daylight in your eyes inside an hour of waking up.

I do know, I do know. It sounds too easy to really work. However right here’s the factor – that morning gentle publicity does one thing profound to your mind. It triggers a cascade of hormonal occasions that basically begins a 24-hour countdown to when your physique will launch melatonin later that evening. Miss this window constantly, and also you’re mainly enjoying circadian rhythm roulette.

Huberman recommends at the least 10 minutes of outside gentle publicity, although you’ll want extra on cloudy days (typically as much as Half-hour). And no, sitting by a window doesn’t depend. Even on an overcast day, outside gentle is about 50 occasions brighter than your kitchen, which is what your retinal ganglion cells must ship the “it’s daytime!” sign to your mind.

What in the event you get up earlier than dawn? Activate brilliant lights indoors first, then head outdoors as soon as the solar comes up. Your mind wants that pure gentle spectrum to correctly calibrate.

However morning gentle is barely half the equation. Huberman found one thing fascinating about night gentle publicity that almost all sleep consultants miss. Viewing daylight within the late afternoon or round sundown gives a second anchor level in your circadian rhythm. Consider it as giving your mind a heads-up that nighttime is coming.

This doesn’t imply staring immediately on the solar (please don’t). Simply spend 5-10 minutes outdoors when the solar is low on the horizon. Huberman explains that this sundown viewing truly helps shield your sleep from the bogus gentle you’ll inevitably encounter later within the night. In a latest publish on X, Huberman mentions he makes use of this daylight remedy lamp on Amazon at any time when he can’t entry daylight as a result of wet days.

Now for the half which may make you rethink your nighttime Netflix behavior: keep away from brilliant lights between 10 PM and 4 AM like your sleep will depend on it. As a result of it does.

Throughout this window, your eyes turn into insanely delicate to gentle. Even a fast lavatory journey with the lights on can suppress melatonin and mess along with your dopamine for the following day. Huberman isn’t exaggerating when he says this could “get rid of melatonin” manufacturing.

The answer? Hold lights as dim as doable after 10 PM. Use low-positioned lamps with heat bulbs (suppose candlelight vibes, not working room). When you completely must examine your telephone at 3 AM, squint such as you’re wanting on the solar. Higher but, don’t examine it in any respect.

Constant Sleep Timing

Right here’s the place issues get fascinating. You know the way everybody says to maintain a daily sleep schedule? Turns on the market’s extra nuance to it than simply selecting a bedtime.

Huberman’s method focuses first on waking up on the identical time each single day. Sure, even on weekends. Your wake time is definitely extra essential than your bedtime for setting your circadian rhythm. Choose a time and stick with it inside an hour, max.

However right here’s the counterintuitive half: don’t pressure your self to go to mattress at an arbitrary time in the event you’re not sleepy. As a substitute, Huberman says to look at for that first wave of night sleepiness – you already know, while you begin nodding off on the sofa. That’s your physique’s pure sign. Miss it and push by way of, and also you would possibly catch what he calls a “second wind” that’ll have you ever wakeful at midnight.

There’s additionally this bizarre phenomenon that occurs about 60-90 minutes earlier than your pure bedtime. You would possibly abruptly really feel extra alert, possibly even productive. Huberman calls this the “forbidden zone” for sleep, and it’s completely regular. Your physique temperature truly rises barely throughout this time.

Don’t panic if this occurs. Don’t begin a brand new undertaking. Simply stick with your wind-down routine figuring out that the sleepiness will return. I’ve realized to make use of this time for gentle studying or light stretching relatively than combating it or giving in to the urge to reorganize my complete closet.

The hot button is recognizing these patterns in your personal physique and dealing with them, not towards them. When you perceive your pure rhythms, sleep turns into much less of a battle and extra of a collaboration along with your biology.

Environmental Optimization

Temperature Management

Your bed room temperature is perhaps sabotaging your sleep, and also you most likely don’t even notice it.

Huberman’s analysis reveals that your core physique temperature must drop by 1-3 levels Fahrenheit to provoke sleep. Combat towards this, and also you’ll toss and switch all evening. Work with it, and also you’ll drift off like a child.

The magic quantity? Hold your bed room between 65-68°F (18-20°C). I believed this was loopy chilly at first, however the distinction was instant. When you’re somebody who runs scorching at evening, lean towards 65. When you’re all the time freezing, 68 is perhaps your candy spot. I exploit a Chilipad on my mattress to take issues to the following degree after listening to Tim Ferriss point out it on his podcast.

Right here’s a trick that sounds backwards however works brilliantly: take a scorching bathtub or bathe about 90 minutes earlier than mattress. The science is fascinating – the new water brings blood to your pores and skin’s floor, then while you get out, your physique quickly cools down. This mimics the pure temperature drops that alerts sleepiness.

Can’t management your thermostat? Stick a foot or hand out from beneath the covers. Your extremities are like little radiators that assist dump extra warmth. Some individuals swear by cooling mattress pads, however truthfully, a easy fan can work simply as effectively.

Creating the Cave-Like Surroundings

Huberman’s recommendation right here is blunt: make your bed room as darkish as humanly doable.

I’m speaking as darkish as a cave. Blackout curtains aren’t only for shift staff anymore. Even small quantities of sunshine from streetlamps or that annoying LED in your telephone charger can disrupt melatonin manufacturing. I began masking each tiny gentle supply in my bed room, and sure, I felt ridiculous doing it. However the sleep high quality enchancment was value wanting like a vampire. Blackout curtains are literally extraordinarily reasonably priced on Amazon.

If blackout curtains aren’t within the finances, an honest sleep masks works too. Simply ensure that it’s comfy sufficient that you simply gained’t rip it off in the midst of the evening. I personally use the Alaska Bear Silk Sleep Masks after listening to Dr. Peter Attia saying that he used it on one in every of his podcast episodes.

As for noise, Huberman hasn’t made it an enormous focus in his protocol, however the precept is clear: sudden sounds wake you up. A white noise machine or perhaps a fundamental fan can masks these random automotive honks or neighbor noises that fragment your sleep. The hot button is constant background noise relatively than good silence.

Respiration Optimization

That is the place Huberman’s protocol will get a bit unconventional. Mouth taping throughout sleep appears like one thing out of a bizarre wellness development however hear me out.

Many people unconsciously breathe by way of our mouths at evening, which might result in loud night breathing, dry mouth, and even delicate sleep apnea. By gently taping your mouth closed with medical tape (emphasis on medical – this isn’t duct tape), you prepare your self to breathe by way of your nostril.

The advantages of mouth taping are limitless – higher oxygen saturation, much less loud night breathing, and deeper sleep. Begin by practising nasal respiratory in the course of the day, particularly throughout gentle train. Then strive the tape for brief durations earlier than committing to a full evening.

If the concept freaks you out, that’s honest. However in the event you get up with a desert-dry mouth or your accomplice complains about loud night breathing, it is perhaps definitely worth the awkwardness. Simply use porous surgical tape that you could simply take away if wanted – this isn’t about sealing your mouth shut such as you’re in a hostage scenario. I personally use this model on Amazon.

One essential word: when you’ve got critical sleep apnea or can’t breathe by way of your nostril as a result of congestion or structural points, skip this and see a health care provider as a substitute. Huberman emphasizes that addressing sleep apnea is essential for each sleep high quality and general well being.

The purpose with all these environmental tweaks is to take away each doable barrier between you and high quality sleep. Sure, you would possibly really feel a bit further optimizing each element, however while you begin waking up truly refreshed as a substitute of groggy, you’ll perceive why Huberman obsesses over these elements.

Behavioral Methods

The Wind-Down Routine

Bear in mind how your dad and mom used to provide you a shower and browse you a narrative earlier than mattress? Seems they had been onto one thing.

Huberman recommends a 30–60-minute wind-down interval that alerts to your mind that sleep is coming. This isn’t nearly rest – it’s about making a constant collection of cues that set off your physique’s sleep response.

My routine appears one thing like this: dim the lights, do some gentle stretching, possibly take heed to a Yoga Nidra session (Huberman swears by these). The hot button is conserving it constant and genuinely calming. Save the true crime podcasts for daytime.

What positively doesn’t belong in your wind-down? Work emails, intense train, or something that will get your coronary heart racing. I realized this the laborious manner after pondering I might squeeze in “only one extra” work process earlier than mattress. Spoiler: it by no means ends effectively.

Managing Sleep Difficulties

Right here’s one thing that stunned me: in the event you can’t go to sleep inside 20-Half-hour, Huberman says get off the bed.

This feels flawed while you’re exhausted, however mendacity there getting pissed off solely trains your mind to affiliate your mattress with wakefulness. As a substitute, go to a different room (maintain lights dim), and do one thing boring. Learn a dense philosophy guide. Fold laundry. Take heed to that podcast about tax regulation.

If you really feel sleepy once more, head again to mattress. It’d take just a few rounds, however this prevents that terrible bed-anxiety spiral.

Huberman additionally shares a psychological trick for racing ideas: take a “psychological stroll” by way of a well-known place. Visualize your self strolling by way of your neighborhood or a favourite climbing path intimately. It’s like counting sheep however truly efficient. Your mind can’t concurrently fear about tomorrow’s presentation and navigate an imaginary stroll.

Digital System Administration

Let’s be sincere about our telephones. Everyone knows they’re sleep killers, however Huberman’s clarification of why makes it not possible to disregard.

It’s not simply blue gentle (although that’s a part of it). The content material itself – whether or not it’s work stress or social media dopamine hits – retains your mind in high-alert mode. Even with evening mode on, scrolling TikTok at midnight is like attempting to sleep after consuming espresso. Huberman makes use of Roka Blue Gentle Glasses at evening, however they’re fairly costly, so I simply obtained this reasonably priced pair on Amazon, and so they work completely.

The worst offense? That middle-of-the-night telephone examine. You get up to pee, seize your telephone “simply to examine the time,” and abruptly it’s 45 minutes later and also you’re deep in a Wikipedia rabbit gap about medieval farming strategies. Your retinas are at peak sensitivity throughout nighttime hours, so even a short flash of display screen gentle can suppress melatonin for hours.

Vitamin and Substances

Strategic Consuming for Sleep

Right here’s the place Huberman’s recommendation would possibly shock you: eat carbs at dinner.

Whereas he retains breakfast and lunch decrease in carbs for daytime alertness, night carbohydrates assist increase serotonin and melatonin manufacturing. We’re speaking advanced carbs like candy potatoes, rice, or oats – not a pint of ice cream (sadly).

The timing issues too. End consuming 2-3 hours earlier than mattress to keep away from mendacity down with a full abdomen. However don’t go to mattress hungry both – starvation pangs at 2 AM are their very own particular torture.

Caffeine Technique

Huberman’s caffeine guidelines utterly modified my espresso recreation:

First, wait 90-120 minutes after waking earlier than your first cup. This lets your pure cortisol do its job and prevents that afternoon crash.

Second, lower your self off 8-10 hours earlier than bedtime. When you sleep at 11 PM, your final espresso needs to be at 1-3 PM. “However I can drink espresso at dinner and sleep high-quality!” you would possibly say. Possibly you’ll be able to go to sleep, however analysis reveals late caffeine nonetheless fragments your sleep high quality even in the event you don’t notice it.

What to Keep away from

Alcohol will not be your pal right here. That nightcap would possibly make you’re feeling drowsy, however Huberman explains it’s sedation, not actual sleep. You’ll miss out on essential REM cycles and possibly get up at 3 AM when the alcohol metabolizes.

As for melatonin dietary supplements? Huberman’s stance is obvious: throw them away. They could assist you go to sleep 3-9 minutes sooner however gained’t maintain you asleep. Plus, these 5-10mg doses are manner increased than what your physique naturally produces.

Train and Bodily Exercise

Morning train is sort of a double shot of espresso in your circadian rhythm – minus the jitters.

Huberman suggests even gentle motion shortly after waking, mixed with that morning daylight, sends a strong “it’s daytime” sign to your mind. This builds up adenosine (sleepiness molecules) all through the day so that you’re truly drained at bedtime.

However timing is all the pieces. End intense exercises at the least 2-3 hours earlier than mattress. Late-night CrossFit would possibly make you’re feeling achieved, however your elevated physique temperature and adrenaline will maintain you wired for hours.

A mild night stroll after dinner? Completely high-quality. Simply maintain it leisurely.

The Huberman Sleep Complement Stack

Right here’s the place issues get particular. Huberman has examined varied combos and landed on what he calls his sleep cocktail. Vital word: he all the time emphasizes attempting behavioral adjustments first after which regularly introducing dietary supplements one by one.

Core Dietary supplements (Nightly Choices)

Magnesium L-Threonate (300-400mg) Huberman typically mentions Magtein (magnesium L-threonate) by title, and steadily recommends Momentous dietary supplements, which he’s partnered with. This mineral calms the nervous system and helps you keep asleep. About 5% of individuals get abdomen upset, so begin low. “Magnesium is concerned in over 600 enzymatic reactions in your physique, so it’s concerned in lots of various things, however what we’re concerned with is studying extra about its position with reminiscence,” says Huberman. Huberman at the moment takes Momentous Magnesium L-Threonate.

Apigenin (50mg) This chamomile extract is one in every of Huberman’s favorites. Huberman sometimes makes use of Momentous model apigenin, although different high quality manufacturers can be found. It binds to the identical receptors as anti-anxiety meds however with out the dependency danger.

L-Theanine (100-400mg) Present in inexperienced tea, theanine promotes rest with out grogginess. Huberman mentions utilizing Momentous L-theanine in his stack. One warning: in the event you’re vulnerable to vivid desires or sleepwalking, skip this one. It will possibly make desires intensely reasonable for some individuals.

Occasional Additions

Glycine (2g) and GABA (100mg) Huberman makes use of these solely 3-4 nights per week to keep away from tolerance. Glycine barely lowers physique temperature, whereas GABA gives delicate sedation. He describes GABA as a mild “hammer over the pinnacle” for significantly tough nights. I exploit this GABA product by Double Wooden Dietary supplements.

Myo-Inositol (900mg) That is Huberman’s latest addition which he references on this podcast episode about OCD, and he makes use of it each third evening or so. It helps with sleep depth and reduces nighttime anxiousness. The dose is essential – he makes use of 900mg, not the upper doses used for different situations. He takes Momentous Inositol.

Superior Sleep Instruments

Psychological Strategies

Huberman recommends the Reveri app for self-hypnosis, created by Stanford’s Dr. David Spiegel. Three periods per week can rewire your sleep anxiousness over time.

For middle-of-night wakeups, NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Relaxation) is gold. Huberman has free NSDR recordings on YouTube. Even in the event you don’t fall again asleep, you’ll get restorative advantages much like sleep.

The Evolution of Huberman’s Protocol

What I respect about Huberman is how his protocol has advanced based mostly on proof:

2021: Established the core trinity of sunshine, temperature, and timing
2022: Added sundown viewing and mouth-taping
2023: Experimented with inositol, went viral on TikTok
2024: Simplified his complement routine
2025: Continues refining based mostly on new analysis

The muse hasn’t modified, however the particulars maintain enhancing.

Implementation Information

Getting Began

Don’t strive all the pieces without delay. Right here’s a smart development:

Week 1: Focus solely on morning daylight and constant wake time
Week 2: Add night wind-down and bed room temperature
Week 3: Dial in your caffeine timing and check out carbs at dinner
Week 4: Take into account dietary supplements in the event you nonetheless need assistance

Widespread Errors to Keep away from

The most important mistake? Perfectionism. Lacking morning daylight as soon as gained’t break you. Having espresso at 4 PM often is ok. The purpose is consistency, not perfection.

Additionally, keep in mind that dietary supplements are non-compulsory. Many individuals sleep nice with simply the behavioral instruments. I personally discovered that after I nailed the sunshine publicity and temperature, I hardly ever wanted the dietary supplements.

Conclusion

After following Huberman’s protocol for months, right here’s what struck me most: it’s not about following guidelines, it’s about understanding your biology.

When you grasp why morning gentle issues, why your bed room needs to be chilly, and why that night scroll session destroys your sleep, the behaviors turn into apparent. You’re not combating your physique anymore – you’re lastly working with it.

Begin with only one change. Possibly it’s morning daylight. Possibly it’s ditching the ten PM overhead lights. Choose one thing that feels doable and construct from there.

Your sleep will enhance. And when it does, all the pieces else in your life will get an improve too. That’s not simply Huberman speaking – that’s biology. And you’ll’t argue with biology.

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