Dr. Andrew Huberman | 5 Sleep Hacks

Andrew Huberman is one of the most popular neuroscientists in the world right now. And in this video, I'm going to share five of his sleep hacks, he calls them tools, and why you should know them to benefit you in everyday life. My name is Sarah Jeffries. I'm a registered nurse with a master's of science in nursing and experience in ER education and sleep therapy. So number five, what we do in the waking state determines when we fall asleep. What we do in the waking state determines when we fall asleep, how quickly we fall asleep, whether or not we stay asleep, and how we feel when we wake up the next day. How quickly we'll fall asleep and how we'll feel the next day when we wake up. Basically saying that every action we take part in has an impact on our sleep, which then impacts how we feel during the day. So being thoughtful of what you do during the day will help you get to sleep and have a better quality sleep. Number four, circadian means about a day or about 24 hours. Circadian means about a day or about 24 hours. And inside all of us is a clock that exists in your brain and my brain and the brain of every animal that we're aware of that determines when we want to be sleepy and when we want to be awake. And inside of us all is a clock that exists in your brain. So being aware of this will help you make better, healthier sleep habits. And the brain of every animal, it determines when you want to be sleepy and want to be awake. Number three, melatonin. This will help you fall asleep, but it won't help you stay asleep. Melatonin makes us sleepy and lets us fall asleep. Many people who take melatonin find that they wake up three to five hours later, unable to fall back to sleep. Part of the reason for that is that the melatonin you've purchased, some areas of the world, you can't even buy it over the counter. And it's a hormone, which is unusual that you can buy it. But in the US, however, you can buy it. But you should know that the amount of melatonin might vary from what's on the bottle. So just be aware of that. So one of his tips is that melatonin is quite an unregulated hormone. And the difference of the melatonin in the pill is different from the bottle. Number two is the endogenous rhythm of cortisol and melatonin. That's happening in us all the time. And actually, without any external input, if we were in complete darkness, living in a cave with no artificial light whatsoever, these rhythms of cortisol and melatonin would actually continue. I thought this was a fascinating hack that he shared on one of his podcasts. Everybody thinks that your circadian rhythm and your hormones are governed by the sunshine. But it's actually not. There's been a lot of studies that shows that if you were in complete darkness, your hormones would still produce the same amount of melatonin and cortisol. It's just the fact that us humans mess it up with external factors, such as our phones and the TV, all kinds of stuff. Before I tell you the last tip and the best tip, I just want to know, what's your best sleep hack? Please let me know in the comments below. And don't forget to subscribe for more videos. Number one is getting sunlight in your eyes as close to waking hours as possible. Even if it's cloudy outside, if you get your face outside, you're still going to get light on your face. Just to be clear, don't stare at the sunlight. Don't burn your retinas. But getting blue and yellow light in the retina early in the day has so many peer-reviewed, scientifically proven health benefits for the body. If you want to know when you should use melatonin, click here where I tell you all about it.