If the benefits of sleep could be put into a pill, it would outsell Ozempic overnight.
Yet despite being free – and one of the best things you can do for your health – nearly half of us fail to get enough sleep, falling short of the recommended minimum of seven hours per night.
I understand the struggle as much as anyone. For two decades, I worked the office grind as a mortality researcher in insurance, staying late to file reports and waking up early and bleary-eyed, only to reach straight for the coffee.
Even when I switched to being a longevity expert and biohacker – whose tips are now followed by Kylie Jenner and David Beckham – I was still pushing sleep to the side, traveling at odd hours and answering emails late into the night.
But six years ago, I finally decided to prioritize my shut-eye, planning work and travel around bedtimes. The results were dramatic.
Today, I have more energy than ever before, and my mind is clearer than ever. I am 55 years old, but biologically, I have the body of a 20-year-old.
I’m also spending more time in the most vital stages of sleep: rapid-eye movement (REM), which is essential for consolidating memories, and deep sleep, which is when the body repairs itself and ‘locks in’ any fitness gains.
Research suggests this is also slashing my risk of chronic disease. Studies suggest poor sleep is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and cancer among others.
Gary Brecka is 55 with a biological age of early 20s. He shares his cheap and simple tips for reversing the clock
Celebrities including Kylie Jenner and David Beckham follow Brecka’s life-extending tips
After trying several methods to boost my sleep, I found that just four easy and free tweaks to my routine helped to lock in the most shut-eye.
My work on sleep and health has already made me an increasingly prominent voice in the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, and I even have the ear of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. In December, I sat down with FDA commissioner Marty Makary to discuss the nation’s disease crisis.
I’m the founder of The Ultimate Human Wellness Clinic, where I give patients advice on how to boost their longevity and live better.
Last month, I wrote in the Daily Mail about my top tips on how to boost your life expectancy.
Now, here are my four top tips for boosting sleep. I challenge everyone to try them for just a week, and then see how they feel.
Don’t take a book into the bedroom
Many of us climb into bed with a book, thinking it will help us get to sleep. But I tell my patients that is one of the biggest sleep mistakes that they can make.
Reading, scrolling or working in the bedroom stops your brain from switching off – and may prevent it from associating the bedroom with actually going to bed.
That’s why I tell my patients to minimize any distractions in the room, and instead reserve it for just two things: sleep and intimacy.
I am not saying don’t read before bed, but you should do it in another room so that when you go to bed, you are ready to drift off.
My advice is based on cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, which teaches people’s brains to associate certain environments with certain behaviors. For the bedroom, that means teaching the brain to only associate it with sleep.
Brecka is shown above in his bedroom. He has minimized the presence of objects and distractions in the room to help him get a good night’s sleep
Other experts agree with my advice. At the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, experts tell people to only use the bedroom for sleep, sex or recovery from illness.
It can help to remove distracting items from your bedroom. I know that’s not always possible, but it is best to have no books, television or desk in there.
In my bedroom, my wife and I only have a bed, two bedside tables, two chairs and a massage table.
Set an alarm to go to bed
We are always told to set an alarm to wake up, but I tell my patients to do something revolutionary and set an alarm for going to bed.
I tell them to have it go off about 15 minutes before bedtime, to remind them to start getting ready for sleep.
People’s routines tend to slip a lot in the evening. We wander around the house, doomscroll or respond to emails that could wait until the morning. All that eats into valuable sleep time.
By setting an alarm to go to bed, I hope to prevent this and ensure people get the most of their bedtime. For me, I go to bed at about 10pm every night and have the alarm set for 9.45pm.
Brecka said everyone from Joe Rogan (pictured) to David Beckham and Ronaldo takes his tips
A growing body of research shows that a consistent bedtime helps someone to fall asleep and have better quality sleep.
This is because it helps sync the body’s clock, or circadian rhythm, helping someone feel ready to go to bed and ready to wake up at the same times daily.
It also has numerous health benefits. A paper from Finland released last month tracked 3,200 adults and found that maintaining a consistent bedtime slashed their risk of heart disease.
Another study that tracked 53,000 adults in Britain, also released last month, found that sleeping for just 11 minutes extra per night reduced their risk of a heart attack by ten percent.
You can bring your phone into the bedroom, but keep it on airplane mode
Many longevity gurus tell people not to bring mobile phones into the bedroom, but I tell my patients they are allowed.
However, the devices must be on airplane mode and should be placed outside of arm’s reach of the bed.
I would only recommend using them to listen to an app that helps someone fall asleep. In these cases, the sounds should be played through the device’s speakers, rather than headphones.
This is to help someone reap the benefits of any apps aimed at helping with relaxation at night, while also ensuring the mobile phone does not become a distraction.
Brecka said people could bring their mobile phone into the bedroom, but that, if they do this, the device should be on airplane mode
Many users report that meditation apps, such as Calm, improve sleep and help them unwind in the evenings.
Many major sleep organizations, however, tell people not to look at screens for at least an hour before bed and to ban mobile phones from the bedroom.
This is to avoid being exposed to stimulating content, like videos, in the bedroom or receiving a new notification. Both can prompt a rush of adrenaline, making it harder to fall asleep.
Experts have also warned that the devices can emit blue light, which some studies suggest may reduce the release of the body’s sleep chemical, melatonin.
Turn down the temperature and block out the light
People are urged to turn their bedroom into a quiet, cool and dark place to help them fall asleep.
I tell my patients to minimize noise in the bedroom and lower the temperature to 69F (20.5C) for a good night’s sleep.
Light is also an issue. A 2016 study involving nearly 20,000 people found that those who had light exposure while sleeping got about ten minutes less sleep per night than those who did not.
But it’s not enough just to close your eyelids, as they naturally let in some light.
I recommend closely-fitted blinds for the windows and using electrical tape to cover any other light sources in their room.
According to the Sleep Foundation, artificial light of any kind can suppress the release of melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep.
For me, that means putting tape over my light switch, which has an internal light, and the light on my fire alarm.
