How to Sleep Better: Protocols That Actually Work from Sleep Science and Coaching Practice

Why better sleep, not more supplements or gadgets, is the lever that unlocks everything from training gains to long-term health.

For years, for both myself and for my clients, I placed exercise at the top of the health hierarchy, followed by sleep and then nutrition. But the more people I’ve coached, the more I’ve changed that order. Sleep now comes first. Because without it, everything else is compromised. Your workouts, your food choices, your emotional resilience, and your long-term health trajectory all depend on getting enough quality sleep.

Poor sleep doesn’t just make you tired. It increases the risk of heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and depression. It impairs attention and decision-making, erodes willpower, and makes us more emotionally reactive. Chronic short sleep makes the immune system less effective and may even raise mortality risk. It chips away at the foundation of both performance and longevity.

And yet, most people are given horrible quick fix advice on sleep. Melatonin, magnesium, sleep gummies, blue-light blockers, CBD, sleep trackers, and sleeping pills are prescribed; often by doctors, and just as often by people playing doctor online. These tools have their place, but they’re often over-relied on. Sleep aids like these can help temporarily, but long-term, they risk dependency, blunt sleep architecture, and mask the need for real behavioral change.

What actually works is a combination of circadian rhythm alignment, nervous system regulation, high-quality sleep hygiene, and cognitive-behavioral strategies. The good news is that these approaches are evidence-based, coachable, and often more effective than any supplement.

The Science of Sleep: Why It Matters More Than You Think

Sleep is not just the absence of wakefulness. It's a complex, active process that supports nearly every system in the body. During sleep, your brain consolidates memories, regulates emotions, and clears metabolic waste. Your muscles recover, your hormones balance, and your immune system repairs itself. Sleep is both recovery and preparation.

Two systems drive your need to sleep: circadian rhythm and sleep pressure. The circadian system is your internal clock, anchored by light exposure, that helps regulate the timing of sleep and wakefulness. Sleep pressure builds throughout the day as adenosine accumulates in the brain, creating the drive to sleep. Miss the window where these two systems align and you’ll feel wired when you want to wind down.

Chronic poor sleep disrupts these processes. It’s linked to increased inflammation, insulin resistance, and blood pressure. It dulls cognition and emotional control. One study found that two weeks of six-hour sleep nights created impairments equivalent to being legally drunk. Even more concerning, insufficient sleep is associated with greater risk of Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease. The cost of consistently poor sleep is cumulative and deeply embedded in long-term health outcomes.

The Sleep Hygiene Tactics That Actually Work: Where To Start

Sleep and Wake Time Consistency

If I could only pick one thing to improve someone’s sleep, it would be sleep and wake time consistency. Getting up at the same time every day, even on weekends, is the most powerful way to anchor your circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm is essentially a 24-hour internal clock that governs your sleep-wake cycle, hormone release, body temperature, and more. It's tightly synchronized to the light-dark cycle of your environment, and one of the strongest signals for keeping it in sync is a consistent wake time.

When that timing shifts significantly, say, sleeping in late on weekends, you create what's known as "social jet lag." This is the mismatch between your internal clock and your actual behavior, and it’s been linked to poorer sleep quality, increased fatigue, and metabolic issues. Monday mornings often feel brutal not because they’re inherently different, but because we’ve thrown off our internal rhythm by drifting out of sync over the weekend, effectively inducing jet lag on ourselves. Keeping your wake time consistent helps lock in your body’s natural rhythm and makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep each night.

Light

Once your wake time is fixed, the next biggest lever is light. The brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus, often referred to as the master clock, governs your circadian rhythm by signaling when it’s time to be awake and when it’s time to sleep. This brain region receives input from melanopsin-containing cells in the retina, which are especially responsive to light.

These melanopsin cells are most strongly activated by full-spectrum, low-angle light, the kind of light that occurs near the horizon during sunrise and sunset. That’s why light exposure at eye level, ideally within 30 minutes of waking, is so effective for circadian alignment. It sends a strong “daytime” signal to your master clock, helping anchor your internal rhythm.

One of the best ways to take advantage of this biological system is to go outside as close to sunrise as possible. Similarly, exposing yourself to horizon-level light near sunset can help reinforce the winding-down phase of your rhythm.

Conversely, bright evening light delays melatonin release and pushes your clock later. So start dimming lights an hour or two before bed. Avoid screens or use filters to reduce blue light exposure, helping your body wind down and prepare for rest.

Environment

This is the stuff we've all heard about, but that doesn't make it unimportant. Create an environment that signals your body it’s time to shift into sleep. Optimize your bedroom: cool (64–66°F), dark (blackout curtains or eye mask), and quiet (earplugs or white noise). Your room should be a cue for rest, not stimulation.

Nutrition

Meal timing and content also matter. Late, heavy meals are consistently shown to impair sleep quality. Try to finish eating 2–3 hours before bed. Diets high in fiber and low in sugar and saturated fat support deeper sleep. Some people benefit from tryptophan-rich meals or a modest amount of high-glycemic carbs a few hours before bedtime, which may enhance sleep onset, but don't overthink this, the timing is the bigger lever here.

Micronutrients can also tip the balance if you’re deficient. Magnesium (~500 mg), zinc, and vitamin D have all shown modest benefits in sleep quality. Use them strategically, not as the foundation.

Downregulation

Finally, wind-down routines are the bridge between your waking world and sleep. The goal is to shift your nervous system from sympathetic to parasympathetic. Breath work, like slow diaphragmatic breathing, can activate the vagus nerve and reduce heart rate. A warm bath 1–2 hours before bed drops core body temperature and speeds up sleep onset. Practices like NSDR or Yoga Nidra guide your body into a deeply relaxed state that primes you for sleep. These are the well-tested practices, but anything that relaxes you, takes you away from the stress of your day, and sets you up to ease into sleep can be right for you. If your wind-down routine is something you look forward to, you're much more likely to stick with it, and consistency is what makes these strategies effective.

The Mental Game: CBT-I Tools for the Racing Mind

For many people, sleep problems aren’t just about behavior, they’re about the thoughts and anxieties that swirl when the lights go out. This is where Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) comes in. When working with clients, I start with the fundamentals in the previous section; circadian rhythm alignment, environment, nutrition, and nervous system regulation. But if we uncover that there’s a big mental component still driving sleep issues, this is where we go next.

Stimulus Control

The bed should only be for sleep. Don’t lie in bed awake for more than 20 minutes. If your mind is racing and sleep isn’t coming, get up, go to a dim room, and do something quiet until you feel drowsy. This breaks the association between bed and frustration and helps retrain your brain to link bed with sleepiness, not stress.

Sleep Compression and the Performance Paradox

Let’s say you’re in bed 8 hours but only sleeping 5. We’d start by limiting time in bed to 5.5–6 hours, which creates stronger sleep pressure and leads to more consolidated rest. As your sleep efficiency improves, we’d gradually increase your time in bed. The key is consistency. It’s uncomfortable at first, but most clients see improvement within a week or two.

One surprisingly effective tactic to pair with this is paradoxical intention. Instead of pressuring yourself to fall asleep, you try staying awake on purpose. By giving yourself permission to stay awake, you remove the performance anxiety that so often sabotages sleep under time constraints. This mindset shift can be especially helpful during the early stages of sleep restriction when sleep still feels elusive.

Thought Work and Worry Management

Many people struggle with anxious thoughts or mental rumination that kicks in the moment they try to fall asleep. That’s where cognitive restructuring comes in. We challenge catastrophic beliefs like “If I don’t sleep 8 hours, I’ll be useless,” and reframe them to something more accurate and less fear-inducing, like “I’ve had rough nights before and managed fine.”

Worry journaling is a practical tool to complement this. Set aside 10 minutes during the day to write down what’s on your mind. Make a plan or simply offload. The point is to deal with your worries before your head hits the pillow so your brain isn’t trying to problem-solve at midnight.

When to Seek More Help

The protocols above work for the majority of clients I coach. When someone commits to these behavioral changes with 90–95% consistency, they usually see significant improvement without needing medication or further intervention. But there are times when professional help is warranted.

If your sleep has been disrupted for months despite trying these strategies, or if it’s tied to unaddressed anxiety, depression, chronic pain, or sleep apnea, it’s probably time to consult a specialist. A sleep physician, CBT-I therapist, or functional medicine provider can run appropriate tests and guide more advanced interventions. The key is not to wait until sleep problems affect every area of your life.

Coach’s Takeaways

Start with circadian rhythm alignment. Fix your wake time and get bright light in the morning. Then focus on sleep hygiene: create a cool, dark, quiet bedroom; time your meals to support digestion and circadian timing; limit caffeine and alcohol; and check in on your micronutrient status. Use wind-down techniques like NSDR, breathing, and warm baths to calm your nervous system. Finally, if your mind is the problem, bring in the tools of CBT-I. Manage your thoughts, not just your environment. This multi-layered approach is how I get people sleeping better, without pills and with long-lasting results.

References

1. Shah et al., 2025

2. Van Dongen et al., 2003

3. Cohen et al., 2009

4. Yaffe et al., 2014

5. Huang et al., 2021

6. Kronauer & Czeisler, 2019

7. Yan et al., 2024

8. St-Onge et al., 2016

9. Afaghi et al., 2007

10. Mah et al., 2021

11. Abboud, 2022

12. Hasuo et al., 2020

13. Haghayegh et al., 2019

14. Datta et al., 2023

15. Bootzin, 1972

16. Spielman et al., 1987

What Else I’m Reading

1. “Stem Cell–Derived, Fully Differentiated Islets for Type 1 Diabetes” — Reichman et al. (2025, New England Journal of Medicine)

This study tested a new therapy called zimislecel, which uses lab-grown insulin-producing cells made from donor stem cells to help people with type 1 diabetes make their own insulin again. Before treatment, none of the 14 participants could make any insulin on their own. After one year, most people who got the full dose were able to stop using insulin entirely, 10 out of 12 no longer needed daily shots, and their blood sugar levels stayed in a healthy range. There were some risks: the treatment required immune-suppressing drugs, and two participants died from unrelated health issues.

📌 Takeaway: A stem cell–based treatment helped most participants with type 1 diabetes make insulin again and ditch their daily injections. It’s early, but it shows real promise as a future breakthrough, pending more research.

2. “Amycretin, a novel, unimolecular GLP‑1 and amylin receptor agonist administered subcutaneously” — Dahl et al. (2025, The Lancet)

This early-stage study tested amycretin, a new weight loss drug that combines the effects of two natural hormones, GLP‑1 (used in drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro) and amylin, which helps control hunger and slow how quickly food leaves the stomach. In adults with overweight or obesity, those taking amycretin lost over 20% of their body weight in about 9 months, which is more than what’s typically seen with current medications. Most side effects were mild digestive issues like nausea and vomiting.

📌 Takeaway: Amycretin may be the next big thing in weight loss drugs, delivering impressive results by targeting hunger and digestion in a new way. It’s still early, but the weight loss so far is striking.

3. “Structured Exercise after Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer” — Courneya et al. (2025, New England Journal of Medicine)

Last week, I shared a broad meta-analysis linking post-diagnosis physical activity to improved survival across several cancer types (Ungvari et al., 2025, GeroScience). This new study offers a more targeted look, focusing specifically on colon cancer.

Researchers followed 889 individuals with stage II or III colon cancer after they completed chemotherapy. Half were enrolled in a structured, gradually tapering exercise program that lasted three years. Compared to the control group, those in the exercise group had a 28% lower risk of cancer recurrence or developing a new cancer at five years. By eight years, their overall survival was 37% higher.

📌 Takeaway: In colon cancer survivors, long-term structured exercise after treatment significantly improves both cancer-free survival and overall survival, highlighting its role as a core part of recovery, not just general health advice.

Before you go 💬

I started writing because I kept having conversations that didn’t quite fit into a session or an Instagram post. If you’re thinking through something, training, nutrition, mindset, whatever, or just want to share what’s been working for you, hit reply. I read everything, and I’m always open to talking through it. And if someone in your life could benefit from this approach, feel free to share it. The more people thinking clearly about performance and health, the better.