How to Completely Empty Your Head Before Bed

"What's your sleep latency? The term refers to how long it takes you to fall asleep. An average adult needs between 10 and 20 minutes, while people with a condition called "pathological sleepiness" crash out in under five minutes. Even eight minutes or less is cause for concern, a sign that you're getting hit hard by the afternoon slump and never really recovering."

""I have a whole-body red-light therapy machine in my clinic, and that really helps me," he says. "It encourages the melatonin production, which stimulates sleep. I try to get my red-light therapy in once or twice a week, and it helps give me that boost. I sleep well that night and feel more refreshed the next day, which puts me in a good state for the rest of the week.""

"We spoke to a variety of professionals who can't afford a bad night's sleep - founders, medical professionals, adventurers, pilots and veterans - to learn how they clear their mental runways for restful, stress-free sleep. They offered us the eight strategies below. Start implementing just a few of these, and your sleep latency will be in that sweet spot in no time."

Sleep latency measures how long it takes to fall asleep; healthy adults typically need 10–20 minutes. Falling asleep in under five minutes indicates pathological sleepiness, and eight minutes or less signals inadequate recovery and pronounced daytime sleepiness. Excessive time awake in bed often results from rumination about upcoming tasks, which prolongs sleep latency. Good sleep supports alertness, creativity, and overall health, but achieving eight hours requires preparation and pre-sleep mental unwinding. Practical approaches to shorten sleep latency include promoting melatonin (for example, with red-light therapy), structuring sleep in cycles, and adopting routines that clear the mind before bed.

Read at InsideHook