Don’t do this before bed if you want to lose weight

Hi,

In today’s issue:

• Don’t Do This Before Bed if You Want to Lose Weight

• The Best Red Light Products to Improve Sleep

• Dr. Andrew Huberman’s Sleep Toolkit

Don’t Do This Before Bed if You Want to Lose Weight

You know sleep is necessary for overall health…

It’s the best nootropic. It’s better for your energy than caffeine. It’s the best way to reduce stress, increase your immune system, and stabilize your hormones.

But the opposite is also true:

Less sleep decreases energy. It decreases immune function. It lowers your energy.

It’s also responsible for an increase in weight gain. (Don’t worry, we’ll tie all this into Red Light Therapy in a moment.)

According to Comprehensive Sleep Care, “Studies show that sleep-deprived individuals have a bigger appetite and tend to eat more, likely due to its effect on hormones that signal hunger and fullness.

“Furthermore, research has found that lack of sleep can increase your affinity for foods that are high in calories, carbohydrates, and fat. Those who get adequate quality sleep tend to eat fewer calories than those who don’t get enough sleep.”

The biggest danger to your sleep?

An increase in cortisol before you go to sleep. Cortisol messes with your circadian rhythm. It’ll disrupt your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

What increases cortisol?

Blue lights. In particular bright overhead lights light fluorescent lights. According to Andrew Huberman, a professor of neuroscience at Stanford University, viewing bright lights of all colors increase cortisol and disrupt your circadian rhythm.

So, if you’re trying to lose weight:

• Make sure you’re getting enough sleep

• Avoid viewing bright lights between 10 pm and 4 am

• Use the sleep toolkit from Huberman to help improve your sleep

The Best Red Light Products to Improve Sleep

One way to avoid viewing blue light is to use candlelight.

But, if you don’t want to light a candle or read by candlelight every night… you might try a Red Light reading lamp or replacing a few key lights with Blue-Blocking Red Light LED bulbs.

Dr. Andrew Huberman’s Sleep Toolkit

Dr. Huberman is a neuroscientist and professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University. He’s studied sleep extensively. He put together this toolkit for sleep. We summarize his points below:

1) View sunlight by going outside within 30-60 minutes of waking. Do that again in the late afternoon, prior to sunset.

2) Wake up at the same time each day and go to sleep when you first start to feel sleepy.

3) Avoid caffeine within 8-10 hours of bedtime.

4) If you have sleep disturbances, insomnia, or anxiety about sleep, try the research-supported protocols on the Reveri app (for iPhone).

5) Avoid viewing bright lights—especially bright overhead lights between 10 pm and 4 am.

6) Limit daytime naps to less than 90 min, or don’t nap at all.

7) If you wake up in the middle of the night (which, by the way, is normal to do once or so each night) but you can’t fall back asleep, consider doing an NSDR protocol when you wake up.

8) You might consider taking (30-60 min before bed):

• 145mg Magnesium Threonate or 200mg Magnesium Bisglycinate

• 50mg Apigenin

• 100-400mg Theanine

• (3-4 nights per week I also take 2g of Glycine and 100mg GABA.)

10) Keep the room you sleep in cool and dark and layer on blankets that you can remove.

11) Drinking alcohol messes up your sleep. As do most sleep medications.

That’s all for today,

The RLTCo Crew