The Neuroscience Behind Fixing Your Sleep Schedule

Summary

This video script emphasizes the importance of aligning lifestyle habits with our natural sleep patterns for better sleep quality. It explains that focusing on sleep hygiene alone is insufficient; instead, one must address waking hours, emotional regulation, work-life balance, and diet. The speaker, a psychiatrist, shares insights on how to manage stress, the significance of morning cortisol levels, and the negative impact of technology on sleep. The key takeaway is that by living a life that naturally demands full-night sleep, one can achieve it without relying on medication or external aids.

Takeaways

• 😴 Focus on waking hours: The speaker emphasizes that to fix sleep schedules, one should focus on waking hours rather than just bedtime routines.
• 🧠 Sleep's purpose: Sleep is to complement waking activities, compensating for the day's mental exertion and preparing the body for rest.
• 🌞 Circadian rhythm: Missing the optimal sleep window can make it difficult to fall asleep, as our bodies have a natural rhythm influenced by day and night cycles.
• 📱 Technology and impulse control: The use of technology before bed can interfere with sleep due to the suppression of negative emotions and impulse control issues.
• 🚫 In-bed procrastination: Modern devices contribute to a new form of procrastination, delaying sleep even after getting into bed.
• 🏃‍♂️ Exercise and anabolism: Physical activity, especially weightlifting, can promote sleep by signaling the body to repair and build tissues.
• 🧠 Learning and memory consolidation: Engaging in new learning during the day can enhance sleep as the brain consolidates memories during rest.
• 🥗 Diet and sleep: Eating a balanced diet, particularly a carb-heavy meal with protein and fiber before bed, can help induce sleep.
• ⏰ Consistent wake-up time: Waking up at the same time every day, ideally between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., can improve sleep quality and productivity.
• 🌅 Observing dawn and dusk: Aligning with natural light cycles by observing dawn and dusk can reinforce the body's internal clock and improve sleep patterns.
• 🏋️‍♀️ Managing stress: Reducing stress through various means such as work, meditation, and exercise can alleviate sleep issues by addressing the root causes.

Q & A

What is the biggest mistake people make when trying to fix their sleep schedule according to the video?

The biggest mistake is focusing on going to bed at the right time and implementing sleep hygiene practices at night, rather than focusing on fixing waking hours.

Why do human beings sleep for about 8 hours a night?

Human beings sleep for about 8 hours to compensate or complement their waking activity, as the brain accumulates a chemical called adenosine during the day which signals fatigue and the need for rest.

What is the purpose of sleep from a biological perspective?

Sleep serves to compensate for the work and activities performed during waking hours, allowing the brain and body to rest, recover, and consolidate memories.

Why is it important to wake up at the right time to fix sleep schedules?

Waking up at the right time, particularly between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., aligns with the body's circadian rhythm and helps regulate cortisol levels, making it easier to be productive and eventually fall asleep at night.

What is the role of technology in disrupting sleep patterns?

Technology, especially the use of devices before bed, suppresses negative emotional circuitry and can lead to emotional flooding when devices are put away, making it difficult to fall asleep.

How does the brain handle procrastination and work during the day in relation to sleep?

The brain keeps track of tasks that need to be done and releases stress signals like cortisol if it perceives that not enough work has been done during the day, which can disrupt sleep.

What is the significance of the 'window' for going to sleep mentioned in the video?

The 'window' is a specific time frame where the fatigue signals in the brain are high, and the frontal lobes still have enough willpower to restrain impulses, making it the optimal time for sleep.

Why is it recommended to do some work during the day to improve sleep?

Doing work during the day helps the brain register that an allotment of tasks has been completed, reducing cortisol levels and stress signals that can interfere with sleep.

How does exercise contribute to better sleep?

Exercise, especially weightlifting, sends signals to the brain that stimulate growth factors and create a need for anabolism, which in turn triggers sleep signals for recovery and tissue building.

What is the recommended diet pattern for promoting healthy sleep?

Eating throughout the day with a carb-heavy meal before bed that also contains protein and fiber can help maintain insulin levels and induce sleepiness, promoting better sleep quality.

How does managing stress contribute to fixing sleep schedules?

Stress, particularly chronic stress, releases cortisol which can inhibit the brain's ability to fall asleep. Managing stress through various practices like meditation, exercise, and emotional regulation can help improve sleep.

Outlines

00:00

💤 Fixing Sleep Schedule: Prioritizing Waking Hours

The speaker emphasizes that the key to fixing sleep schedules is not focusing on bedtime routines but rather on the waking hours. They explain that sleep is meant to complement our waking activities, and modern disruptions to our waking hours have impaired our sleep signals. The speaker, a psychiatrist, shares their experience in helping patients improve sleep without medication by addressing daytime habits. They also introduce the concept of coaching to help individuals understand and improve their lives from an external perspective, leading to better sleep and overall mental health.

05:01

🕒 Understanding the Sleep Window and Adenosine Buildup

This paragraph delves into the concept of the optimal sleep window, which is the period when it's easiest to fall asleep based on circadian rhythms. The speaker discusses how throughout the day, the brain accumulates adenosine, signaling fatigue, and the importance of the frontal lobes' willpower in controlling impulses during this window. They explain that missing this window can lead to difficulty sleeping due to impulse control issues, often exacerbated by technology use before bed.

10:02

🛌 Addressing Sleep Procrastination and Emotional Flooding

The speaker introduces the problem of sleep procrastination, both in going to bed and while in bed, which has been exacerbated by the availability of technology. They explain that emotional flooding can occur when one puts away their devices, leading to a rush of suppressed emotions that can be overwhelming. The speaker suggests that addressing this by allowing oneself to be bored and process emotions during the day can help prevent emotional flooding at night, leading to better sleep.

15:04

🏋️‍♂️ The Impact of Work and Physical Activity on Sleep

Here, the speaker discusses the biological need for sleep as a response to the day's work and physical activity. They explain that the brain tracks the work done during the day and uses this to regulate sleep signals. The speaker suggests that completing work early in the day can help reduce stress hormones like cortisol, which can interfere with sleep. They also touch on the concept of anabolism, the body's tissue-building process during sleep, and how physical activity and learning can create a need for sleep.

20:07

🍽️ Diet and Its Influence on Sleep Quality

In this paragraph, the speaker addresses the role of diet in sleep, cautioning against patterns that can disrupt sleep, such as having a large meal late in the day or not eating enough throughout the day. They recommend eating regularly and having a carb-heavy meal before bed to stimulate insulin production, which can induce sleepiness. The speaker also advises on the importance of fiber and protein to sustain sleepiness throughout the night.

25:07

🤯 Managing Stress and Its Effects on Sleep

The speaker highlights the impact of stress on sleep, explaining how chronic stress can lead to sleeplessness due to the release of stress hormones like cortisol. They suggest that managing stress through work, meditation, exercise, and emotional processing can naturally reduce stress levels, making it easier to fall asleep. The speaker emphasizes that sleep is not the starting point for fixing a disrupted schedule but rather the endpoint after addressing other lifestyle factors.

30:08

⏰ The Importance of Waking Up Early and Observing Natural Rhythms

In the final paragraph, the speaker stresses the importance of waking up early during the peak cortisol levels in the morning to align with our natural circadian rhythm. They recommend avoiding caffeine in the late morning and observing both dawn and dusk to send signals to the brain about wakefulness and the time to sleep. The speaker concludes by reiterating that a full night's sleep is a result of a lifestyle that demands it, and by transforming one's life, sleep will naturally follow.

Keywords

💡Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene refers to the practices and habits that are conducive to sleeping well on a regular basis. In the video, it is mentioned that people often focus on sleep hygiene practices at night, such as meditation and avoiding blue light from cell phones, which can interfere with the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. However, the video suggests that focusing primarily on bedtime routines is a common mistake and emphasizes the importance of managing waking hours to improve sleep.

💡Circadian Rhythm

Circadian rhythm is an internal biological process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. The video explains that everyone has a natural circadian rhythm that dictates the easiest times to wake up and go to sleep. Disruption of this rhythm, such as by oversleeping or waking too early, can lead to feelings of grogginess and difficulty in falling asleep, indicating the importance of aligning sleep schedules with our natural circadian patterns.

💡Adenosine

Adenosine is a chemical that accumulates in the brain during the day and contributes to the sensation of fatigue. In the context of the video, it is discussed as a signal that increases the desire to sleep as the day progresses. The balance between adenosine and the frontal lobe's willpower is crucial for falling asleep, as once the window of optimal tiredness and impulse control is missed, it can become difficult to resist the urge to engage in activities that delay sleep.

💡Frontal Lobes

The frontal lobes are parts of the brain involved in controlling behavior and restraining impulses, often associated with willpower. The video describes how the frontal lobes, which become exhausted throughout the day, play a critical role in the ability to resist the urge to engage in behaviors that delay sleep, such as using electronic devices. A healthy balance between the fatigue signals and the frontal lobes' willpower is necessary for falling asleep at the right time.

💡Sleep Procrastination

Sleep procrastination is the act of delaying bedtime despite feeling tired, often due to engaging in activities such as using electronic devices. The video introduces the concept of two types of sleep procrastination: procrastination of going to bed and within-bed procrastination. These behaviors can lead to missing the optimal sleep window, causing further disruption to sleep patterns.

💡Emotional Flooding

Emotional flooding is the experience of being overwhelmed by a sudden surge of emotions, often occurring when one stops engaging with distractions and has time to reflect. The video describes how the constant engagement with technology throughout the day can suppress negative emotions, leading to a buildup that, when released at night, can interfere with the ability to fall asleep. Managing emotions during the day can help prevent emotional flooding at bedtime.

💡Anabolism

Anabolism is the set of metabolic processes that lead to the building of components in the body, such as muscle repair and growth. The video explains that the need for anabolism is one of the biological purposes of sleep, as the body uses this time to recover and build tissues. Activities like exercise that promote muscle repair send signals to the brain that increase the need for sleep, thus facilitating the sleep process.

💡Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone associated with the stress response and is released in response to stressors. In the context of the video, cortisol is described as a signal that can prevent sleep if the brain perceives that there is still work to be done. By completing tasks and reducing stress during the day, the release of cortisol can be managed, making it easier to fall asleep at night.

💡Diet and Sleep

The video discusses the impact of diet on sleep, emphasizing the importance of eating throughout the day and having a carb-heavy meal before bed to induce sleepiness. A diet lacking in proper nutrition or irregular meal times can disrupt sleep patterns. The script specifically mentions that a meal high in carbohydrates, combined with protein and fiber, can help maintain steady insulin levels, promoting sleep.

💡Stress Management

Stress management refers to the strategies and techniques used to deal with stress in order to maintain or improve mental and physical health. The video highlights chronic stress as a significant factor that can disrupt sleep patterns. By engaging in activities such as exercise, meditation, and establishing a healthy work-life balance, stress levels can be reduced, which in turn can improve sleep quality.

💡Technology Use

The video addresses the impact of technology on sleep, particularly the use of electronic devices before bed, which can interfere with the sleep process due to the suppression of negative emotions and the delay of bedtime through distractions. Regulating technology use, especially in the evening hours, is suggested as a key strategy for improving sleep hygiene.

Highlights

The biggest mistake in fixing sleep schedules is focusing on bedtime rather than waking hours.

Sleep serves to complement waking activities, compensating for the day's exertions.

Modern waking hours have disrupted biological sleep triggers, impairing sleep schedules.

Coaching can improve sleep by offering an external perspective to address life struggles.

There's a specific window for optimal sleep based on the balance of fatigue and impulse control.

Technology, particularly blue light from devices, can delay sleep by suppressing the impulse to rest.

Sleep procrastination occurs both before bed and while in bed, extending the time to fall asleep.

Emotional flooding at bedtime can be mitigated by processing emotions throughout the day.

Boredom can be beneficial, allowing the mind to process emotions that might otherwise disrupt sleep.

Working early in the day helps signal to the brain that it's time to sleep by completing daily tasks.

The brain tracks work completed and uses it as a signal to initiate sleep when tasks are sufficiently addressed.

Exercise, especially weightlifting, can enhance sleep by creating physiological signals for rest.

Learning new information during the day increases sleep signals as the brain prepares to consolidate memory.

Proper diet, especially a carb-heavy meal with protein and fiber before bed, can promote sleep.

Stress can inhibit sleep, and managing stress through daily activities can improve sleep quality.

Waking up early in alignment with the body's circadian rhythm sets the stage for productive work and restful sleep.

Observing natural light cues like dawn and dusk helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

Regulating technology use, especially avoiding devices before bed, is crucial for better sleep.

Transforming lifestyle habits rather than just focusing on sleep can lead to more natural and easy sleep.

Transcripts

today we're going to talk about how to

fix your sleep

[Music]

schedule so the biggest mistake that we

tend to make when we are trying to fix

our sleep schedule is we focus on going

to bed right we have all these things

like sleep hygiene like make sure you do

meditation for 30 minutes and go for a

walk and don't eat something super heavy

and avoid cell phones because they have

blue light and something about the

pineal gland and melatonin we focus on

all this stuff at night but that's the

biggest mistake if you want to fix your

sleep schedule what you need to do is

fix your waking hours so what is the

purpose of sleep right why do human

beings sleep if we look at some animals

like whales or Dolphins they'll sleep

for 5 to 20 minutes several times

throughout the day and they're active in

between so the human brain sleeps for

about 8 hours a night to compensate or

complement our waking activity and the

biggest problem in the world today is

that our waking hours have changed so

the biological signals that trigger

sleep have now become impaired so as we

understand why the brain needs to sleep

in the first place we can start to

Institute those things during the day

and then end up making going to sleep

actually incredibly easy and I say this

as a psychiatrist who's work with tons

of patients about 90% of my patients end

up sleeping very very easily after

working together for a few months and do

so without medication I'll have many

patients that come to my office and say

Doc I'm having trouble sleeping like can

you prescribe something and we can

prescribe stuff that's totally okay I'm

not against prescriptions for sleep but

the goal is that you can take those

temporarily but over time we want to

build a life where you're engaging your

body in all of the right ways so that

your sleep signals are at their maximum

when you try to go to bed when people

hear that we offer coaching at HG their

first question is like what on Earth

even is that so here's the basic problem

when you struggle with something in your

life you don't see the problem from the

outside you see it from the inside the

value of a coach is that they can look

at your life from the outside they can

understand what's going on and they can

help guide you to improve things like

motivation accomplish short-term goals

and even increase a sense of purpose in

life and over the long term we also see

improvements in feelings of depression

and anxiety and the best part is we've

had over 100,000 coaching sessions and

we incorporate that feedback to

continually improve our program so if

yall are interested in actually making a

change in your life check out the link

in the description below so let's start

with the first thing that really

confuses a lot of people you have a

window to go to sleep and if you miss

that window it becomes increasingly

difficult to go to sleep some people

will say if I wake up by this time then

I'm okay but if I sleep too long then

I'm groggy or if I wake up too early

then I'm groggy most of us have or all

of us have this thing called a circadian

rhythm which dictates when it is is

easiest to wake up and when it is

easiest to go to sleep and if we miss

that window it becomes increasingly

difficult so the first thing is as we

are awake throughout the day we

accumulate this chemical called

adenosine in our brain and this sort of

signals to us the degree of fatigue we

have and then this sort of makes us want

to go to sleep so throughout the day or

let this is just simplification but we

can say that the fatigue signals in the

brain slowly increase over time then

what happens is we have this other part

of our brain called The frontal lobes so

the frontal loes are the parts of our

brain that restrain impulses and control

our our our Behavior you can kind of

think about them as willpower and

remember that your frontal loes are

getting exhausted throughout the day as

well so there is a very specific window

where the fatigue signals in the brain

are high and your frontal loes have

enough willpower there's enough gas in

the tank to restrain your impulses so

this isn't that the frontal loes have

reached complete exhaustion but there's

this window where you feel tired and

your brain has enough willpower to where

it can restrain your impulses like binge

eating or hopping on your cell phone or

watching something on TV or getting up

and doing whatever right so you have to

be able to restrain impulses to go to

sleep and if we look at people who

really struggle with sleep what ends up

happening you get into bed and then

you're kind of really tired and then you

hop on your cell phone right cuz you

can't really restrain that and then an

hour goes by an hour and a half goes by

you feel really sleepy and then you kind

of jump to something else or you try to

put it away and then you pick it up

again 5 minutes later so if we really

look at what goes on with people who

struggle with sleep they have an impulse

control problem they cannot restrain

their impulses they cannot just sit in

bed and wait to fall asleep right you

have to pick something up and technology

has something to do with that absolutely

but the main issue is that we are

missing this window where our brains are

fatigued enough to go to bed and not so

fatigued that they can't restrain

impulses so for most people this window

is somewhere between 1 and 2 hours it's

this really sweet spot what time of the

day it happens we'll kind of get to a

little bit later but it probably happens

if you wake up around 8:00 it probably

happens somewhere between 9:00 p.m. and

10 p.m. that's your optimal sleep window

if you stay up past that window you will

not have the willpower Reserve to

restrain your impulses and continue

procrastinating going to bed now why is

this becoming an increasing problem so

re researchers have recently discovered

that there are two types of sleep

procrastination there is procrastination

of going to bed okay so this is like I'm

not ready to get into bed yet and what

they've actually discovered is that

there is a second kind of

procrastination which is while in bed

procrastination this is a completely new

thing so if we look at the science of it

what we find is that human beings I

guess since the dawn of time

procrastinated on going to bed and this

procrastination was somewhere between 30

and 75 minutes and since the Advent of

things like cell phones and easy access

to devices what we've discovered is that

there is a second level of

procrastination so you procrastinate

getting into bed by about 30 to 75

minutes that's fair enough but then once

you are in bed there is within bed

procrastination which is another 30 to

75 minutes and the key thing about

adding this second layer of

procrastination is it puts us outside of

that fatigue and impulse control window

that really nice sweet spot which then

means that we can't really control what

we're doing and we stay up way too long

so the first thing to do if you want to

fix your sleep schedule is really try to

Target that window and recognize that if

you pick up your cell phone you

shouldn't take your cell phone to bed

that's a very practical tip which we'll

get to at the end but if you miss that

window it's not just I'm going to stay

on the phone for an additional 15

minutes or 30 minutes it's not 15 or 30

minutes it's actually going to cost you

way more it's kind of like missing your

flight right like you don't want to

delay if you delay a little bit too long

and you miss your flight you miss the

window and then you're in a lot of

trouble this is the first principle that

I teach my patients that really really

helps them develop a solid sleep

schedule over time the second thing that

we're going to talk about is emotional

flooding so if we look at the overall

effect of technology there is one

uniform thing that basically all

technological devices do this can be

social media this can be browsing Reddit

this can be watching things on YouTube

watching things on Tik Tok shorts

whatever it doesn't matter they all do

one thing they share one thing in common

which is that they suppress our negative

emotional circuitry right so if you're

feeling bad it doesn't matter what you

can do you can binge watch a show you

can play a video game you can watch some

porn you can browse some social media

look at some Twitter trolls like

whatever all of these things have one

shared effect which is that they

suppress your negative emotional C

circuitry now a lot of times people

think okay if I'm suppressing my

negative social emotional circuitry does

that mean that the emotions go away no

this is suppression right it is not

elimination of emotions it is

suppression of emotions so there's a

very common thing that I'm beginning to

see now and I experienced this when I

was struggling with video game addiction

where you suppress these negative

emotional circuits throughout the day

and so the moment that you put your

devices away there's this experience of

emotional flooding the moment that you

put your device away right because

you're like supposed to not watch your

device in bed stay away from your device

so you put it away in what happens a

flood of thoughts tend to come forward

you start to have anxieties you start to

have regrets you start to be depressed

about tomorrow you beat yourself up

right so even if we look at the

emotional experience of trying to go to

bed you're frustrated with yourself why

do I keep on doing this this is such a

waste of time what is that that's

emotional energy and so basically what's

going on is throughout the day what

human beings used to do is process their

emotions if if you look at the

situations in which our brains evolved

they tended to involve a lot of rot

mechanical tasks we're doing stuff like

churning butter or like plowing a field

with an oxen and when you're sitting on

a cart and you're like kind of whipping

the ox and you're not whipping it too

hard it's kind of just trundling along

the road like what's your mind doing

your mind is just processing all these

emotions like human beings used to be so

bored and so when the mind has idle time

when that mind is not occupied by

something what it does is it starts

cleaning out the trash right it the mind

is on empty it's not focusing on

anything now what's going on in our

society is that we have so much sensory

stimulus our mind is so engaged in

laughing at this or looking at a cat

video or getting pissed off by political

beliefs that we don't like whatever the

situation is we don't have time to

process our minor emotional things

throughout the day and so then when we

go to bed our mind finally has empty

time and what does it have to do process

all of these emotions that have built up

so this is the experience of emotional

flooding so then what happens is people

get so overwhelmed or activated by this

emotional flooding that they have to

distract themselves from it right you

feel overwhelmed and what's your

solution pick up a device because that

quiets all the emotions down so then we

get stuck in this pingpong between

overwhelming emotions and distracting

oursel from our emotions because the

overwhelming emotions aren't going to

let us sleep right and you really need

to go to sleep and the more you stress

yourself out the harder it is to sleep

so you ping pong between these two

things until you reach the point of

absolute exhaustion so now it's super

late and the fatigue signals in your

brain are so powerful that you finally

pass out but this is not how you fix

your sleep schedule right this is what

destroys your sleep schedule so what do

we do about emotional flooding give

yourself time during the day to be bored

and let your mind take out the trash so

I recommend an hourlong walk don't

listen to anything no music no podcasts

anything like that in your mind all

these things will start to come up you

can absolutely do things like meditation

and particularly like parasympathetic

meditations are very good we explain

this stuff in Dr K's guide to meditation

and and things like that we've explained

that all over the place you can

absolutely meditate but all you really

have to do is give your mind space okay

as you give your mind space you will

process some of those emotions

automatically you can also do things

like journaling meditation Etc you can

do focused emotional practices or you

can just give yourself some time and the

more that you manage these emotions the

less flooding will happen and the more

calm your mind will be when you go to

bed if your mind is calm then you can

pick a time and the mind will naturally

sleep the third thing that we're going

to talk about is how you spend your

waking hours in particular what we want

to do is try to work ideally early in

the morning so the more work we get done

during the day the easier it will be to

sleep so let's understand why this is so

the first thing is what is the

biological need for sleep sleep is to

compensate for work right so as if you

look at like mammals why do mammals

sleep because mammals are generally

speaking engaged in some degree of work

throughout several hours of the day and

so we have such an evolved brain that we

keep track of this so I want youall to

really pay attention to this I know it's

going to be kind of a stretch but it's

really important to understand so our

brain keeps track of all of the work

that we have to do this is how our brain

reminds you right so let's say you spend

a couple hours like watching Netflix or

whatever and then when it's over your

brain sends you a signal hey we have a

test to study for or we need oh I forgot

I need to stop by the grocery store so

if you think about this very simple

concept of how does the brain remember

to remind you that you need to do things

well very simple in order for that to be

done it must keep track of all of the

things that you have to do and since

it's keeping track of all of the things

that you have to do this creates a very

big problem for sleep so we're going to

explain this a little bit further so

let's take the example of

procrastinating for an exam so you've

got two weeks to study for an exam and

you kind of procrastinate up until the

point of about like 3 days but the

question is why three days why not 5

days why not two days why not a day and

a half how is it that your brain decides

to really induce that last minute Panic

so that you start studying 3 days before

an exam right and it's if you pay

attention it's quite precise it's like

we can procrastinate today tomorrow the

next day one week a week and a half and

then once three days rolls around once

some amount of time rolls around

suddenly our brain is like no more

procrastination we're done last minute

Panic let's go so think about that for a

second how is how does the brain know

how to do that and if you start procr if

you start studying like a a Madman 3

days before a test you'll get like a B

minus or a c you'll pass the exam right

so what that means is our brain actually

keeps track of all of the tasks that we

need to do and when we start to move

forward in our tasks our brain keeps

track of that as well and if we have

procrastinated all day long and we have

not done enough work our brain does not

let us sleep because our brain basically

allots a certain amount of work that we

have to get done every day you have all

of these different tasks that need to be

done and so your brain knows okay like

we need to do at least this amount to

not fall further behind it keeps track

of all of the stuff so what we really

want to do to be able to sleep at night

is if we procrastinated if we haven't

done enough work our brain will say we

have not done our allotted work for the

day this is actually not sufficient and

then it will actually keep us awake

stress signals which we'll get to in

more detail will start to activate so

these are hormones like cortisol and

literally what cortisol does is it goes

to the part of your brain that lets you

you fall asleep and it says hey we're

not done with our work for the day and

you know this right because if your

sleep schedule is messed up when you try

to go to bed your brain will remind you

of all of the things that you should

have done this is the literal experience

of 90% of my patients and so how do we

fix this it is very simple we have to

remove that cortisol signal we have to

remove the cortisol signal by doing some

kind of work the more work you do the

more it tells your brain your brain is

keeping track of it and it's not about

whether it's enough or it's good enough

or anything like that you just need to

do some kind of work and we'll talk

about why that is as well but basically

the more work that you do the better off

you will be at going to sleep because

now your brain doesn't release that

cortisol it says okay I got a lot done

today I feel good about this and so it's

okay there may be a part of your brain

that says it's not enough but that part

of your brain is independent from the

part of your brain that keeps track that

you've done something and once again

what is the biological purpose for sleep

it is to help us rest and recover from

work so if you do some amount of work

during the day it will help you sleep at

night now some people may say but Dr K

even if I do some work like let's say I

take out the trash and I do this or that

that doesn't really solve my problems

and this is the beautiful thing the

architecture that helps you sleep does

not relate to actually solving your

problems it can involve even doing

things that are complete completely

meaningless as long as they involve some

kind of work now this may sound super

confusing but I'll give you all an

example you can even do meaning

meaningless work you don't have to

progress towards your goals it's crazy

you just need to do some kind of work so

let's understand how this works so if

you look at patients who have cancer one

thing that happens is their family

members will bring them lots of food now

this is in a sense kind of silly because

first of all they're getting IV

nutrition they're on chemotherapy the

intestinal lining is sloughing off they

can't even eat anything they feel

nauseous all the time and family brings

food family brings food family brings

food this also happens after someone

passes away right so I'm kind of making

light of this but this is kind of silly

so sorry about that I I don't mean to be

mean but if you look at a funeral the

one thing that there is no shortage of

at a funeral is lots of food everyone's

bringing food everyone's bringing food

everyone's bringing food look the person

is dead right they're not going to need

to eat anything and the family's not

feeling very hungry it's beautiful that

you want to bring some food and it's

great I'm not saying it's a bad thing

but let's understand the psychology of

it why does someone bring food to a

funeral it's because they feel like they

want to do something so if we look at

the human brain what we find is that

taking meaningless action is sufficient

at reducing our cortisol level so this

is a concept that we go into in a lot

more detail when we talk about

overcoming Anxiety by engaging in more

active challenges so there studies that

show that if you are feeling overwhelmed

in life in order to feel less

overwhelmed you can actually take on

more work so if you take on three

additional tasks now you have 13 total

things to do and a lot of people may

think if I have 13 things then I will

feel more overwhelmed because 13 is more

than 10 but the science shows us that

feeling overwhelmed is not about the

total number of tasks that you you do it

is about the number of tasks that you

choose compared to the number of tasks

that you have to deal with so the ratio

of things that you want to work on

versus things that you have to work on

is literally what leads to feeling

overwhelmed the more that we take on the

less overwhelmed we feel and we see this

principle once again in sleep because as

you are feeling stressed out if you work

on anything our brain is keeping track

of this and sort of says okay we've done

some stuff today so now we can go to

sleep so another goal in sleep is

anabolism so anabolism is building your

tissues so if we look at kids kids grow

during sleep if we look at things like

muscle repair muscle repair happens

during sleep our body builds tissue when

we sleep so on the converse side the

other way we can look at it is that if

we need to build tissues then we will

sleep more so children who are going

through growth spurts need to sleep more

when you start working out in exercising

you need to sleep more so let's think

about what's going on there so as you

exercise and as you create small tears

in your muscle fibers literally these

muscle fibers will send signals

inflammatory signals to your your brain

growth factors will start to activate

within your brain these are things like

um uh you know insulin derived growth

factor insulin light growth factor so

all of these kinds of growth factors

will start to send signals to your brain

that will then make you feel sleepy so

one of the best things that you can do

to fall asleep is actually exercise now

this is not to get your Beach bought or

anything like that this is about

physiologically creating the signals

that will travel to your brain and help

you sleep so we absolutely want to

exercise and ideally weightlifting

because weightlifting sends signals to

your bones and to your muscles you'll

get some muscle tear so you really want

to feel that burn in a healthy way we

don't want to create you know ATT tendon

tear or anything like that and all of

these things will send sleep signals to

your brain make it easy for you to sleep

at night the second thing that we're

going to talk about is learning new

stuff so the other thing that our brain

does when we sleep is consolidates

memory so we we take our short-term

memory which lives in the hippocampus

and it kind of gets

Consolidated into other parts of the

hippocampus in into long-term memory so

the more that you are learning the more

sleep signals your brain will be

receiving so as you store a bunch of

stuff in your short-term memory our

brain says holy crap we have to encode

all of this stuff from our Ram into our

hard drive and that requires sleep so

what you will find is people who are

engaged in cognitively intensive tasks

where they are learning like learning

new things learning new languages it

will be easier for them to sleep because

the brain is sending signals sending

signals to your reticular activating

system hey we need sleep hey we need

sleep hey we need sleep so this is

different from just spending cognitive

energy so if I'm playing the same

[ __ ] video game over and over and

over again I'm not learning anything I'm

not rising in rank right I'm not

watching replays I'm not like focused on

learning something then I'm not going to

be able to sleep it is specifically

learning that triggers things like brain

derived neurotrophic factor which will

also help us sleep so we want to send

all of these kind of signals to our

brain to help us sleep next thing that

we're going to talk about is diet so a

big problem that people have when it

comes to sleep is what they actually eat

so this is where what we really want to

do is be careful about what we eat so

here's one pattern that's a huge problem

that interferes with sleep I wake up I

have a cup of coffee coffee is an

appetite suppressant so I don't eat a

whole lot and then 300 p.m. rolls around

I have one big meal and then dinner time

rolls around and I don't feel very

hungry so I don't eat very much and then

even though I had one big meal and it

was kind of unhealthy now my body and

brain are kind of confused because I may

actually be at a caloric deficit or a

nutrient deficit for the day which means

that my brain and my body are not

satisfied I can't actually go to sleep

because I have a caloric deficit or

nutrient deficit both of these things

will keep me awake and lead to nighttime

snacking because some measurement

capability in our brain our brain is

keeping track of the number of meals

we've had the number of calories we've

had the number of nutrients we've had

and if we're deficient in some way it

won't let us sleep and it'll keep us

awake until we eat something again

instead what we really want to do is

make sure you eat throughout the day as

much as possible so we want to have two

to three meals a day and this is the

last thing is that before you go to bed

our dinner should actually be quite

heavy and can have a fair load of

carbohydrates so what we really want is

a carb heavy meal but that also has

protein and fiber and there's a couple

reasons for this why do we want a carb

heavy meal so we want a carb heavy meal

because this stimulates stimulates

insulin and Insulin makes us sleepy we

want to induce a food coma at night now

if we eat a highly processed meal before

bed we will get a big insulin Spike

followed by a blood sugar crash and so

even if you eat a ton of calories with

no fiber so you can eat like a 2,000

calorie meal and you will still actually

Fe feel hungry within a few hours if

there is insufficient protein and

insufficient fiber the reason that we

want to add fiber and protein to our

heavy carb meal is it slows down the

release of carbohydrate into our system

because our body has to digest all this

other stuff it dilutes out the

carbohydrate as we dilute out the

carbohydrate we slowly absorb

carbohydrate which slowly keeps our

insulin levels High which keeps us

sleepy for a sustained period of time

which allows us to actually fall asleep

so if you want to have a big bowl of

pasta with a salad in some kind of

grilled chicken or fish or something

like that that is a ideal meal before

you go to sleep you can also do

something like have a burrito we don't

want to go too carb heavy on the burrito

make sure there's plenty of protein in

there plenty of vegetables you can eat

all kinds of good stuff plenty of salsa

and you're totally golden lettuce tomato

whatever you want in there is totally

good so we actually want to eat a heavy

meal before we go to bed that will help

us induce sleep the last thing that we

want to consider is that stress in and

of itself will keep us awake now this is

a huge problem today because our society

is so full of stress so used to be that

stresses were acute things right so I'm

like hunting in the jungle and I see a

tiger so I'm stressed out once a week

when I run into a tiger now we have all

of these chronic stressors so grades at

the end of the semester mortgage at the

end of the month I have to I'm worried

about dating and I'm worried about my ex

should I break up should I not break up

I don't really know what to do my family

is stressing out so we have all of these

chronic stressors and as we saw we saw

that cortisol actually travels to the

reticular activating system which is

where our sleep signals come from and

actually inhibits us from falling asleep

so as we see a rise in chronic stress we

are seeing chronic sleeplessness okay

because the the brain is not able to

fall asleep because our brain thinks

we're in danger so it's not going to let

us fall asleep or get restful sleep so

this is where we need to manage our

stress and I know that in and of itself

is a huge task but this is kind of what

my point is about sleep is if you want

to fix your sleep schedule everyone

thinks that F fixing your sleep schedule

is where you start right everyone thinks

oh my God like I need to fix my sleep

schedule because I'm going to bed at a

crazy time I'm waking up at a crazy time

nothing is consistent so I can't fix my

relationships I can't study I can't work

I can't do anything I can't exercise

because my sleep schedule is screwed up

everyone thinks things start with the

sleep schedule but things don't start

with the sleep schedule sleep schedule

is the final thing so this is what's

really crazy and this is what I've seen

with most of my patients everyone tries

to tackle sleep first but you can't

tackle sleep first sleep is the last

thing that you actually tackle because

what we need to do is fix all of these

signals we need to fix all of the

circumstances all of the biological and

neurochemical signals that induc sleep

once we do all of those things then

sleep will come very easily and this is

exactly why it's so hard to fix because

we're trying to do the last thing first

you can't you don't start at the Finish

Line right you have to run the whole

race before you get to the finish line

so this is something that's very

important to understand we must manage

our stress so we've talked about some of

the things that we've already kind of

given you all the answers to do that

right so if you start doing a little bit

more work during the day if you start

meditating if you start walking and and

and managing your emotions if you start

journaling if you start exercising if

you start eating healthy in the right

way your stress will naturally come down

we've covered stress relief in so many

other places across the channel so

definitely check that stuff out but as

long as you stressed out it will be

difficult to sleep so let's end with one

final thing so one last tip that I would

give yall is waking up when you're tired

is easier neuroscientifically than going

to bed when you're not so the biggest

mistake that a lot of people make is

that sleep is not about going to bed on

time it is about waking up on time or

even waking up very early so the the

last tip that I'm going to give yall is

that you should wake up sometime between

4:00 a.m. and 7: a.m. 7:00 a.m. is the

late end of when you should wake up now

why is this the first is that we have

something called a circadian rhythm

which is our body's biological clock and

we actually have a very high level of

cortisol early in the morning so

medically when we're trying to test

whether someone has a cortisol

deficiency or a cortisol tumor or

something like that we will actually

have to do this this lab test we have to

do it at 700 a.m.

why is that it's because we know that

there is a biological peak of cortisol

early in the morning so why do we want

to wake up around that time so the first

thing is if we wake up around that time

our ability to work will be easier

because we naturally have a high level

of cortisol which means we will be

activated our body will be in a

stressful state it doesn't feel

stressful because it's first thing in

the morning that's the beautiful thing

but it it allows us to focus and and

really complete tasks so what we really

want to do is wake up around 5:30 in the

morning okay you're going to be groggy

that's okay don't drink coffee right

away but you can have coffee or tea or

whatever do whatever you need to to wake

up early and then we want to get to work

right away the first 4 hours of the day

wake up at 5:00 a.m. and work until 9:00

if you do this so many things will get

better your brain will be like okay

we've gotten all of the work that we

need to do in the day like you'll be

crazy it's crazy how productive you will

be in the morning now some people will

say but I'm not a morning person I'm a

night owl so in my experience a lot of

night owls aren't actually night owls

they are very early morning people right

so they their Windows of work that start

around midnight or whatever like that's

actually okay you can wake up at 2: a.m.

no big deal a lot of monasteries and

asham will have people wake up around

midnight so if you look at matens which

I think is a Catholic Ceremony they

actually wake up at midnight they go to

bed at like 6:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. and they

actually wake up at midnight that's

actually totally fine you want to wake

up super early and get some stuff done

you're going to have this cortisol Peak

which will help you do the work if you

want to caffeinate go ahead and

caffeinate have a really solid breakfast

around 9: and then here's where the

really important thing comes in when

you're feeling tired you don't go to

sleep right so then you have to stay up

until whatever your natural bedtime is

6:00 p.m. 7: p.m. 8:00 p.m. I don't care

you can fall asleep at any time between

6:00 and 10: p.m. don't stay up past

your inhibition window right so if we

get that that frontal lobe fatigue then

you're going to be in trouble try to

avoid caffeine afternoon ideally avoid

caffeine after 10: a.m. so what we want

to do it's going to be a real struggle

but if you can sort of readapt to this

schedule which is sort of biologically

there's millions of years of evolution

that are supporting you and doing this

you'll be really good so you want to

wake up early and then the other thing

to consider is that we want to observe

Dawn and observe dusk okay so when we

observe Dawn it sends all these signals

to our brain that hey it's like time to

wake up and then when we observe dusk

it's like our brain is closing the book

right so kind of like opening the book

and closing the book as we observe dusk

so you want to be outside or at least

have access to a window during Dawn and

dusk this will send a lot of positive

beneficial signals to your brain and

your body that it's time for bed

millions of years of evolution will be

supporting you and if we look at the

problem in sleep schedules the problem

in sleep schedules is that in our

society today we have gotten rid of all

of the things that induce sleep right we

stay in this room these four walls we're

not in tune with the sun we sleep at any

random time we wake at at any random

time we eat at any random time we

suppress our emotions we don't do our

work we procrastinate all the time we

have such good tools for procrastination

we miss this fatigue window where it's

actually capable where you're actually

capable of going to sleep we add an

extra 75 minutes of procrastination time

so everything we're doing is not aligned

with actually sleeping all of the

functions of sleep are not things that

we're doing we don't exercise we don't

use our body and so our brain and our

body utilize sleep to to fix all of

these things and if we don't do all of

those things no wonder it is difficult

to sleep so fixing your sleep schedule

is about understanding why do we sleep

what is the function of sleep and then

leaning into that function the more that

you do the things that sleep is designed

to compensate for the stronger the

biological signals that will will allow

you to sleep now the last point is

technology right so if y all haven't

figured it out you must regulate your

technology use but this becomes way

easier when you do everything else so

absolutely avoid your cell phone before

you go to bed recognize that if you have

any access to a technological device for

1 hour in your sleep window it will be

longer than an hour you'll miss that

window and your s so so wake up early

you know eat solidly do some work

exercise then you're saying but Dr K I

have to transform my life absolutely if

you transform your life sleep will come

easily and this is what I've seen in 90%

of my patients right is that as we start

fix ing their life now sleep becomes

natural it becomes easy I used to

struggle so much going to sleep in my

20s it's so easy for me to sleep now I

hit the pillow and done and this is what

I've seen in most of my patients and you

can do it too you just must have the

right kind of life for the right kind of

sleep and if you want to sleep a full

night then you need have to have a life

that demands that you sleep a full night

so give this a shot and I can't

guarantee that it'll work but I've seen

it very consistently and you'll be

amazed at how well it works B

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