Your peak of alertness happens about 90 minutes before your natural sleep time. While it will pass, it can give you a useful indicator of your optimal bedtime.

Before bedtime:

• Taper off thinking and anticipation.
• Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) is a powerful t...

Behavioural tools are the foundation of sleep and wakefulness. When you learn progressive relaxation techniques, you get better at falling asleep and feeling alert when you wake up.

Supplements and prescription medication can be great, but they don’t rewire your brain as be...

Wake up, go outside and get 5 - 20 minutes of bright light exposure. If you get up before sunlight, use bright artificial lights. 

The aim is to get as much bright light during the day and as little as possible between 10 PM and 4 AM. This will have enormous physical and mental health bene...

Cortisol is a key hormone for health. Every 24 hours there is a peak cortisol release. This wakes you up in the morning and gives you focus.

If you wake up early, you will get a peak early in the day. But when cortisol arrives later in the day, people get mood issues. Late-shifted cortisol ...

The Basal ganglia are important for controlling and integrating thought and action. Some of the circuitry in basal ganglia pathways are involved with the “go” action and “no-go” suppressing functions.

As children, we learn no-go behaviours (don’t interrupt, sit still). As adults, everything...

Ideally, you should sleep in a cold room and cover yourself with warm blankets. If you get too hot, you can jump heat by extending your feet or hands.

Take a cold shower or ice bath to heat up in the morning. You will experience a dopamine increase. When you expose yourself to cold water, y...

The two most common reasons for waking up at night:

• Too much or too little exercise throughout the day. Generally, 150 to 180 minutes per week of zone 2 cardio and resistance exercise 3 or 4 times a week is sufficient.
• Going to bed too ...

Naps should be shorter than 90 minutes.

Most of the rewiring and neuroplasticity occurs during deep sleep and also during a short nap. Short naps accelerate neuroplasticity and learning, especially if you nap after an intensive learning session.

If you have problems with the afternoon...