I think the productivity and health gurus overcomplicate sleep too much. I think (like all things), the Pareto Principle and the bell curve of wisdom is very applicable here. We gotta do the 80/20 of this, in the modern day, that looks something like this:

  1. Don’t have an electronic smart device (phone/laptop) in bed. AT ALL. This is a hard and fast rule. Nothing supersedes this. Watch whatever you wanna watch before bed. Make sleep your sanctuary and be excited for it, and make it relaxing.

  2. Aspire to have good sleep, romanticize having good sleep and waking up fresh in the morning, the brain does a lot of things when you do this, I don’t know how this works, but if you once wake up well rested and happy, the next day you will want to too. So, it becomes sort of a self fulfilling prophecy. A good positive feedback loop.

  3. Use night light / reading mode on all devices 1-2 hours before bed. Even better, try to avoid screens 1-2 hours before bed altogether.

  4. Generally try to have food 2-3 hours before bed and then nothing after that point until the next morning. Don’t make the body digest stuff while you are asleep. A bloated stomach will RUIN your sleep.

  5. Try to sleep within the same 60-90 minute window everyday. Try to optimize your sleeping time instead of forcing yourself to wake up at a certain time.

  6. Try to see sunlight and walk outside in the first 60-90 minutes after waking up. This optimizes your body’s internal clock to start waking up around that window automatically.

And the best advice, just sleep more.