| I’ve never been a routine guy. I don’t like living life according to a schedule, even if I’m the one who sets it. But I also don’t just fly by the seat of my pants every evening, ignoring precedent and doing whatever the hell I feel like. My evenings end up looking pretty similar day in, day out, with some basic guidelines I adhere to. Here's some of what I do. Dim the lights after dark: Turn the lights down low when darkness falls. If you keep the lights bright, you’re “telling” your brain that it’s still daytime, which inhibits melatonin and makes sleep harder. The blue wavelengths of light are most inhibitory of melatonin secretion and affect sleep the most. You can use incandescent light bulbs which have a more favorable wavelength profile. You can use special low blue-light bulbs or lamps. You can switch to candles. Limit alcohol about three hours before sleep: I try to get my alcohol in either right before or shortly after sunset. I don’t stress about a glass or two of red wine if it’s a late dinner or a special occasion, but keeping alcohol further away from bedtime really does help sleep quality and quantity. Read fiction in bed: I read in bed to fall asleep. Always fiction, never non-fiction—either I can't retain anything or I get too engrossed and end up grabbing my phone to take notes and miss out on sleep. Fiction's more congruent with dreaming. Topical magnesium oil: There’s always been a debate in the scientific community about whether topical magnesium is absorbed. From my reading of the literature and my own experiences, it absolutely is absorbed. Magnesium oil, which is magnesium chloride flakes dissolved in pure water until it takes on a slippery, “oily” feel, is my favorite way to apply topical magnesium. I don’t do this every night, but I’ll usually do it on days where I’ve been really active. I focus on applying it to the muscles worked that day plus the back of the neck. This is a reliable method to induce powerful dreams and great sleep. | 