Sleep
I want to sleep better
Falling asleep faster, staying asleep, and waking up without needing an alarm. Almost every stack starts here, because everything else gets harder without it.
47 entries · ranked by consensus across 34 stacks
Costs nothing but effort
Protocols and habits, ranked by how many tracked stacks include them. These are listed first on purpose: they are free, and they are where the agreement is strongest.
- Consistent sleep and wake timesProtocolFREE, no cost
Same bedtime and wake time every day, weekends included
- +12
- SaunaProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Regular heat exposure, often 4 sessions a week at 20 minutes
- +8
- Cutting out alcoholHabitFREE, no cost
Drinking nothing, or close to it: the most common upgrade in these stacks
- +6
- Morning sunlight exposureProtocolFREE, no cost
Bright outdoor light soon after waking, 5-30 minutes and no sunglasses
- +4
- Eight hours of sleepProtocolFREE, no cost
Protecting a full night in bed as a training input, not a leftover
- +3
- Cool, dark bedroomProtocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Around 65-68F, properly dark, reserved for sleep
- +2
- Phone out of the bedroomHabitFREE, no cost
Charge it in another room and buy an actual alarm clock
- +1
- Dim the lights at nightHabitFREE, no cost
Low, warm, low-placed light for the last few hours of the day
- Afternoon caffeine cutoffHabitFREE, no cost
A cutoff in early afternoon; caffeine's half-life runs longer than most expect
- BreathworkProtocolFREE, no cost
Structured breathing sessions to shift the nervous system up or down
- Delayed morning caffeineProtocolFREE, no cost
A 90-120 minute gap between waking and the first coffee
- Warm bath or shower before bedHabitFREE, no cost
Warm water an hour or two before sleep drops core temperature after
- CBT-I (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia)Protocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
A structured sleep program; Matthew Walker and Andrew Huberman both point people to it
- Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR)ProtocolFREE, no cost
10-20 minute guided body-scan rest, sometimes called yoga nidra
- Screens off an hour before bedHabitFREE, no cost
Phone, laptop and TV closed for the last hour, replaced by a book or nothing at all
- Evening resetHabitFREE, no cost
Clear today's mess and stage tomorrow before you go to bed
- Grounding (earthing)ProtocolFREE, no cost
Bare skin on grass, sand or soil, or a conductive mat wired to earth
- Hot water with lemonHabitFREE, no cost
A mug of hot water with a slice of lemon, to start the day or wind it down
- HRV biofeedback trainingProtocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Paced breathing against a live heart rate variability readout, a few minutes a day
- Nasal breathingHabitFREE, no cost
Breathe through the nose by default, including during easy exercise
- No eating close to bedtimeHabitFREE, no cost
Finishing the last meal a few hours before sleep so digestion is done by lights out
- No phone calls after 10 p.m.HabitFREE, no cost
A hard stop on calls and conversations late in the evening so the brain can wind down
- Sleep score trackingHabit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Checking a nightly sleep score from a wearable or app, and comparing notes with friends
- Washing the dishesHabitFREE, no cost
Doing the dishes by hand after dinner as a fixed, screen-free end to the day
- Whole-body cryotherapyProtocol$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Two to three minutes standing in a chamber cooled by liquid nitrogen vapor
Then, things you can buy
Supplements, gear, books and apps filed under sleep, ranked the same way: by how many tracked stacks include them.
- Magnesium (threonate or glycinate)Supplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Taken 30-60 minutes before bed to help with sleep onset
- +4
- Why We SleepBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Matthew Walker on what sleep does for memory, immunity and mood
- +3
- Oura RingGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Ring-worn sleep and readiness tracker
- Blue-light blocking glassesGear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Amber lenses worn in the evening: popular, and genuinely contested
- MelatoninSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Widely sold as a sleeping aid; mostly a timing signal, not a sedative
- WHOOPGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Screenless wrist strap tracking strain, recovery and sleep
- AshwagandhaSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Adaptogen used short-term to lower cortisol during stressful stretches
- Eight SleepGear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Mattress cover that actively heats and cools each side of the bed
- GlycineSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Amino acid taken before bed, often 2-3g, to help sleep onset
- Acupressure matGear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
A mat covered in plastic spikes, used for 15 to 40 minutes before bed
- ApigeninSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Chamomile-derived compound taken before bed, usually 50mg
- BreathBook$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
James Nestor on nasal breathing, and what modern jaws lost
- CalmApp$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Meditation and sleep app with guided sessions, sleep stories and soundscapes
- CentrApp$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Chris Hemsworth's training, nutrition and meditation app, built with his own team
- Far-infrared recovery sleepwearGear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Pajamas woven with a bioceramic print that reflects body heat back as far-infrared
- HallowApp$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Catholic prayer and meditation app with guided sessions, Lent challenges and sleep prayers
- HeadspaceApp$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Guided meditation app built around ten-minute sessions, voiced by Andy Puddicombe
- L-theanineSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Amino acid from tea used for calm focus, or with caffeine
- Light therapy lampGear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Bright artificial light for dark mornings when sunlight is not available
- Myo-inositolSupplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Taken before bed, often for getting back to sleep after waking
- OthershipApp$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Guided breathwork app with sessions sorted by the state you want to reach
- ReveriApp$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Self-hypnosis sessions for sleep, stress and pain
Nothing on this site is medical advice. It is a record of what public figures have said they do, which is not the same as evidence that it works, and definitely not the same as advice for you. Talk to a clinician before changing anything about your sleep, diet, training or medication. How this works.