We all know that sleep is integral for our overall wellbeing and health. But how far should we go to achieve the perfect night’s sleep? Biohacker and man behind the documentary, ‘Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever,’ Bryan Johnson has shared his ‘extreme’ sleep hacks, garnering attention on social media.
While investing in the best mattress for you is the first step to achieve a good night’s rest, there are other ways to get better sleep, like optimizing your daytime and nighttime routine. This is exactly what Johnson highlights in his revelations about how he gets good sleep. But how effective are his sleep hacks? And are they backed up by evidence?
To dive deeper into Johnson’s sleep hacks, we reached out to experts Dr Leah Kaylor, clinical psychologist specializing in sleep and trauma, and Dr Michael Chichak, Medical Director at MEDvidi, to get their insights on how effective Johnson’s sleep hacks are for the average person and their own recommendations to improve your sleep.
Who is Bryan Johnson?
Bryan Johnson is a name you’ve likely heard since he’s trending on social media primarily due to the extreme mission he has undertaken: to live forever. The Utah-native is a tech-entrepreneur who revealed in a 2023 interview with Bloomberg that he spends around $2 million a year in experiments and lifestyle practices catered to stay young and defeat death.
He became well-known through the Netflix documentary ‘Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever’ which shows his journey implementing the latest studies and scientific experiments to explore the possibility of lengthening his lifespan.
Sleep, he says, is an important aspect in making this happen. He has on many occasions spoken about how crucial sleep is for feeling young and simply being your best self. His sleep habits include having dinner at 11 am to prepare the body to wind down and treating his bedtime as a non-negotiable ‘work appointment’.
Experts analyze Bryan Johnson’s top X sleep hacks
Bryan Johnson is known for talking about his sleep habits on X, podcasts and even in his blogs penned for his nutrition brand Blueprint. Here, we explore just how effective his sleep advice is with the help of the experts.
1. “Consume your final meal of the day at least 2 hours before bed.”
Johnson has his dinner at 11 am as he claims that an eight hour period helps the body to fully digest resulting in a low resting heart rate when bedtime comes around. He advises that people should start by having their last meal of the day at least two hours before bed and work their way up to eight hours.
According to Dr Kaylor, this holds truth. Digestion is an energy-intensive process that activates the sympathetic nervous system, keeping the heart rate elevated. Resting heart rate (RHR) is a strong predictor of sleep quality because it reflects the autonomic nervous system activity, which plays a crucial role in regulating sleep.
During restorative sleep, the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) (the “rest and digest” system) dominates, slowing heart rate and promoting deeper sleep cycles. A high resting heart rate at night suggests sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation (the “fight or flight” response), which can lead to fragmented sleep and poor sleep quality.
“If you eat too close to bedtime, your body is still working to process food, which can delay the shift into deep sleep. An 8-hour window between meals and sleep ensures digestion is complete, allowing the parasympathetic system to take over for optimal sleep,” she explains.
2. “Aim to get 1-2 hours of deep sleep every night.”
Deep sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep (SWS) or Stage 3 NREM sleep, is often termed the most restorative phase, so it’s no surprise Johnson is focusing on this to improve his health. This is because of its crucial role in memory consolidation, cognitive function, tissue repair, and improving our immunity. It occurs mostly during the first half of the sleep cycle and can be affected by stress levels and sleep patterns.
During this stage, the glymphatic system—the brain’s waste-clearing mechanism—becomes more active, removing toxins and reducing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. So, as Johnson says, getting enough deep sleep is essential for brain health and age.
However, we cannot control how much sleep we get in each phase and how much you get depends on your age, health and other factors. Although, we can increase the likelihood of getting more deep sleep by paying attention to our sleep hygiene. “We can create optimal conditions for getting better deep sleep by maintaining a consistent bedtime, avoiding stimulants, and keeping a cool, dark sleep environment,” adds Dr Kaylor.
3. “Have a 30-60 minute winddown routine before bed.”
A wind-down routine helps the body and mind to relax in time for bed. This helps to lower stress levels, letting the para-sympathetic nervous system to take over.
“Ideally, we need to begin winding down and preparing the body to rest at least two hours before bed . A wind down routine should be customized to the individual. A very easy technique is to take a hot bath or shower before bed as this is a well-researched and effective method for improving sleep onset and quality,” says Dr Kaylor.
You can also rely on other ways like meditation, taking up a calming activity like reading or journaling, indulging in relaxation techniques like sleep visualization or enjoying a bedtime drink like turmeric milk or fruit teas which have similar benefits as hot shower.
4. “Your bedtime is your most important appointment of the day.”
Our circadian rhythm (the body’s sleep and wake cycle) is the prime mechanism which controls our sleep. The only way to regulate it is to practice consistency and sticking to your sleep routine.
While it’s true that sleep is the one thing we tend to sacrifice when life gets tough, seeing it as an “important appointment” will ensure you prioritize every single day.
“A scheduled meeting requires prepared action. Similarly, a set bedtime strengthens the habit of sleeping and waking up at the same time every day which ultimately helps you strengthen your circadian rhythm,” says Dr Chichak.
5. “Try to avoid caffeine and other stimulants at least 12 hours before bed.”
It is undeniable that coffee in the morning helps us to be more energized and awake enough to carry on with the day. However, if you’re someone who tends to reach out for several cups of caffeine (in different forms), it’s possibly time to hit the breaks and heed Johnson’s advice because according to experts this is true.
This is because sleep is heavily affected by caffeine as it blocks adenosine receptors (a neurotransmitter which makes us feel sleepy). This not only reduces our urge to sleep but also decreases the chances of entering into deep sleep.
“With a half-life of 5 to 8 hours (this means that half of the caffeine you consume stays within the body for up to 8 hours), it is easy to see how having coffee later in the day can affect bedtime. For quality sleep, it is best to implement a policy of not having any caffeinated drinks for 8 to 12 hours before sleep,” says Dr Chichak.
6. “Avoid alcohol altogether.”
“Doesn’t alcohol make us drowsy though?” is a common misconception. Alcohol is often regarded as the world’s most commonly used sleep aid due to its widespread availability, its immediate sedative effects, and the cultural normalization of its use to unwind.
It may seem like a useful tool for initiating sleep at first. “It acts as a depressant on the central nervous system, reducing activity in the brain and inducing drowsiness. This sleepy state of relaxation leads many to believe it helps them fall asleep faster,” explains Dr Kaylor.
While alcohol’s sedative properties may initially promote sleep, the quality of that sleep is significantly compromised. People who use alcohol as a sleep aid often wake up feeling tired, groggy, or unrested due to sleep disruptions, including reduced REM sleep, frequent awakenings, and shallow rest.
7. “Turn off screens. Lower house lights. Avoid blues. Use amber and red lights.”
There are various studies which underline that screentime has significant impact on your sleep quality. It affects your sleep in two ways: the bright light suppresses melatonin production (the sleepy hormone) confusing your circadian rhythms, and scrolling through social media or watching your favorite series close to your bedtime stimulates your brain too much, delaying sleep onset (time taken to fall asleep.)
Experts therefore recommend keeping your electronics away during your winddown time and picking up another activity instead. The same logic applies to Johnson’s habit of dimming house lights in the evening.
“Red or amber lights have long wavelengths and do not hinder melatonin production which helps create a sleep conducive environment. Integrating low-level amber lighting into your pre-sleep activities as well as substituting screens with red light lamps can help greatly during the body’s transition into sleep,” says Dr Chichak.
Can sleep hacks and biohacking really improve our rest?
So, it’s clear that a lot of Johnson’s sleep advice is fairly solid, backed up by proven evidence. But can more extreme biohacking really improve our rest? Johnson’s ‘sleep hacks’ are mostly quite achievable habits that many people follow already without realizing.
In fact, Johnson’s sleep habits are rooted in the basic sleep hygiene practices which are indeed the golden rule to follow when it comes to sleep health. If there’s anything Johnson’s arduous journey to discover the secret to longevity is proving is that there are no short cuts to better health or sleep.
However, other biohackers are promoting unhealthy and obsessive methods to improve their sleep and productivity. For example, polyphasic sleep is gaining popularity, with hackers and influencers boasting about the Uberman sleep schedule (taking 6 20 minute naps over 24 hours instead of one longer sleep.) This can be dangerous to your physical and mental health, proving that the best way to sleep better is to make small adjustments to your lifestyle.
