Sleep 2.0 – Understanding and Upregulating the Rejuvenating Aspects of Good Sleep

#1

The longevity movement is seeking rejuvenation interventions to reverse the damage of aging. Perhaps part of this solution has been under our noses the whole time?

Good sleep allows the body to heal incredibly well, and yet considerations of improving sleep seem to end at consuming a bit less caffeine, going to bed early, avoiding blue lights, a cool temperature and a weighted blanket.

We need to figure out the mechanisms that make sleep rejuvenating and beneficially upregulate them. We need to engineer “Sleep 2.0", augmented with the right drugs, supplements, technologies and practices that enhance the beneficial rejuvenating effects of sleep.

We already go to sleep every night, so if we can make this more optimal there is no excuse not to.

If anyone has seen the series Dragon Ball Z they might have seen this “medical machine” which heals injured fighters while they sleep:
image

I could imagine some advanced sleep amplification device like this.

I’m curious what ideas people have here. I’ve got a list of things below in no particular order that I thought might be of some value.

Possible things to stack:

  • HGH
  • Blood pressure management including medications
  • High dose instant release melatonin combined with extended-release melatonin
    • Redosing instant release melatonin if you wake up to go to bathroom.
  • Improve natural production of melatonin
    • Is a tryptophan metabolite, ensure adequate tryptophan intake and experiment with supplementation at night.
    • Tryptophan metabolism is depedent on how much IDO and TDO enzymes convert tryptophan to kynurenine
      • Therefore inhibiting IDO and TDO to some degree can increase the amount of tryptophan remains as tryptophan to be turned into tryptophan metabolites instead of kunurenine metabolites
    • There are likely other factors involved such as blue light and others, but the underlying substrate is tryptophan and this needs to be focused on.
  • Fixing nighttime urination which interrupts sleep
  • Circadian modulation drugs: Anyone Tried Various Modulators of Circadian Systems?
  • Wearable technologies
  • PEMF
  • Sleep in HBOT
    • Intermittent HBOT while sleeping instead of continuous?
  • Oxygen supplementation while sleeping
  • Alzheimers/Dementia medication before bed to increase brain healing?
  • Timing of exercise
  • Timing of caffeine
  • Meditation before bed
  • Hormone optimization
  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation
  • Supplements:
    • Mangesium
    • Glycine
    • L-theanine
    • Valerian root
    • Passionflower
    • Chamomile
    • CBD
    • Tryptophan
    • Apigenin
    • GABA
      etc
  • Low blue light lighting at night
  • Quit alcohol and smoking
  • Eat larger meals earlier in the day
  • Warm bath or shower at night
  • Avoid daytime naps
  • Turn off Wifi and wireless sources before going to sleep
  • Turn off as many electronics as possible before sleep
  • Make a to do list of the next day to help stop rumination of things you need to do the next day
  • Get as many things done in the evening as you can so you don’t think about them that evening or worry about doing them the next day
  • Elevate bed at head OR feet (only choose one)
    • Elevating at head can improve breathing and stop congestion
    • Elevating at feet can improve circulation but be bad for people who have sleep apnea or congestion
  • Test for sleep apnea
  • Change bed sheets often.
    • Clean bedsheets just feel nicer to sleep in and make you want to get in bed.
    • Removes dust and dustmites.
  • Wash bedding in 70 degrees Celsius or warmer water to kill dustmites.
  • Vacuum and mop bedroom floor at least once a week to remove dust and allergens.
  • Find way to reduce lateral prefrontal cortex concentration of glutamate that is correlated with being tired A neuro-metabolic account of why daylong cognitive work alters the control of economic decisions - PubMed
  • Caffeine/adenosine – How to optimize?
    • Is there a Narcan/opioid equivalent to caffeine?
    • How to optimize adenosine?
  • DEC2 gene mutation
  • Orexin modulation
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#2

I just achieved an average of 97% score in my sleep by whoop and I had this exact thought. Should i stop optimizing and focus on other levers? How much longevity can we extract from sleep?

I know the ceiling is not 100% as Bryan Johnson said in an interview he has more than 4h of restorative sleep per night and that is crazy difficult for me.

My contribution would be: the biggest things in my stack have been melatonin and Ltheanine.

If anyone knows how to not wake up in the middle of the night, it will help me a lot :slight_smile:

#3

I’d say it’s much the same as any other aspect of diet and lifestyle. With the currently approved and available drugs/tools/methods there is a point of diminishing returns.

I’m looking for a 200%+ score if that makes sense. I’m looking for more rejuvenation in the body than normal sleep can provide.

This is simply a theory of something new we could achieve with the right inputs. To clarify I’m not doing all of these things. That list is just everything I could think of and find that may positively impact sleep after searching this forum thoroughly.

Good sleep clearly rejuvenates some aging damage, considering bad sleep will make you feel and look worse and have worse biomarkers. I’m asking if we can go beyond “good” sleep, and figure out the mechanisms behind good sleep and make it better so that we wake up biologically younger than when we went to sleep the night before.

#4

As I searched through the forum seeing what information people had on sleep as I created this post I noticed a user with the name @Guywholikessleep, I’m wondering if he is still around and if he has any thoughts on this?

#5

Looks like we will hear more about this sleep mimetic drug in October this year:

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image781×968 95.9 KB

https://x.com/MariaErmolaev13/status/1912228325356949912

#6

LoL, if I took all of those interventions I’d wake up in the morning with a stomach ulcer.

Sleep is certainly worth some effort and discipline. Up until my late forties I was a poor sleeper, 3 to 5 hours a night. Then I hit a wall, got advice and changed everything. I’ve been using an Oura ring since 2018 and it encourages my discipline and helps me to calibrate what works and what doesn’t.

Here are a few thoughts:

  1. Stick to a schedule Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. If you wake up for extended time at night, go to bed later until you sleep all in one segment. It’s counter intuitive but works.

  2. Create a calming bedtime routine Wind down 30–60 minutes before bed with relaxing activities like reading, stretching, or listening to calm music.

  3. Limit screen time before bed Avoid phones, computers, and TVs at least an hour before sleep—blue light interferes with melatonin production.

  4. Watch your caffeine and alcohol intake Avoid caffeine after mid-afternoon (it has as much as a 9 hour half life for some people) and limit alcohol in the evening.

  5. Make your sleep space comfortable Keep your room cool, dark, and quiet. Invest in a comfortable mattress and pillows.

  6. Avoid heavy meals before bed Try not to eat large meals or spicy foods within 2–3 hours of going to sleep. I hydrate with two thirds to three quarters of my daily intake before 1pm. This means I no longer get up in the night.

  7. Get sunlight during the day Natural light exposure, especially in the morning, helps regulate your circadian rhythm.

  8. Be active during the day Regular physical activity promotes better sleep—but not too close to bedtime.

  9. Manage stress Meditation and deep breathing exercises can help calm your mind.

  10. Use your bed only for sleep Avoid working, eating, or watching TV in bed—this helps your brain associate bed with sleep.

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#7

This post isn’t a list of what I’m doing lol. It’s a list of what I could find that might be of benefit so we could try and piece together something powerful.

#8

A couple of obvious additions…

Sleep in a dark and quiet room.
Blackout curtains | Eye shades.
Sound proofing | ear plugs | noise cancellation machine

Read Why We Sleep, by Mathew Walker (discussed elsewhere on the forum).

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