Dim the lights at night
Low, warm, low-placed light for the last few hours of the day
Cutting overhead and bright light in the evening in favor of dim lamps at eye level or lower, and accepting a dark house as normal. Intensity matters more than color temperature, which is why dimming beats tinted glasses. The effect people report is that sleepiness arrives on its own rather than being negotiated.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- Bryan JohnsonDoes it
Founder · Blueprint longevity protocol
Dims lighting and cuts screens in the hours before his fixed bedtime, a wind-down with no exceptions.
Source: Blueprint protocol site: sleep protocol“Regulate evening light. Red light prepares you for sleep. Blue light will keep you up. Screens off before bed helps minimize the blue light. If you can outfit your home with some red light that’s great.”
Blueprint protocol site: Sleep protocol (opens in a new tab) - Dave AspreyDoes it
Biohacker · Bulletproof Coffee
Advises a wind-down that starts two hours before bed with screens off or dimmed. In his own setup, a low-blue nightlight in the bathroom means a trip in the night does not wake him fully, and the charger LED on his laptop has tape over it.
Source: Bulletproof Radio Short Report #188: The Art and Science of Sleeping - Andrew HubermanRecommends
Neuroscientist · Huberman Lab
Argues for dim, warm, low-placed lighting in the evening, and against bright overhead light between 10pm and 4am.
Source: Huberman Lab: Toolkit for Sleep - Chris WilliamsonRecommends
Host · Modern Wisdom
Screens go off ninety minutes before bed, with e-readers exempted: he says they do not hit sleep the way phones and televisions do.
Source: chriswillx.com: 3 Minute Monday, Sleep, Sex & Plastic - Daniel AmenRecommends
Psychiatrist · Change Your Brain, Change Your Life
Blue light in the morning is fine and probably helpful, he says. After dark it is a different matter, since the gadgets pouring it into your brain turn off melatonin production, so he wants them out of the way. A noisy room, a light room and a warm room get named as sleep wreckers too.
Source: Thirty Minute Mentors: Dr. Daniel Amen - Matthew WalkerRecommends
Sleep scientist · author of Why We Sleep
Dimming half the lights in the house in the hour before bed, plus staying off screens, is his instruction, since evening light holds back melatonin release.
Source: The Matt Walker Podcast: melatonin
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under sleep.
- HabitFREE, no cost
Cutting out alcohol
Drinking nothing, or close to it: the most common upgrade in these stacks
Backed by 12 of 44 stacks: 5 do it, 2 recommend it, 5 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Phone out of the bedroom
Charge it in another room and buy an actual alarm clock
Backed by 6 of 44 stacks: 4 do it, 2 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Afternoon caffeine cutoff
A cutoff in early afternoon; caffeine's half-life runs longer than most expect
Backed by 4 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 2 recommend it, 1 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Warm bath or shower before bed
Warm water an hour or two before sleep drops core temperature after
Backed by 3 of 44 stacks: 2 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Hot water with lemon
A mug of hot water with a slice of lemon, to start the day or wind it down
Backed by 2 of 44 stacks: 2 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
No eating close to bedtime
Finishing the last meal a few hours before sleep so digestion is done by lights out
Backed by 2 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.