After touring the world and playing the perpetual game of catch up sleep and juggling time zones from India to Brazil, I’ve compiled my best tips for sleep. Every “body” is different, but combine these tips and you’ll be an expert sleeper by tonight. These can be applied to jetlag as well.

1. Sunlight – expose your body to natural morning light. Get at least 20 minutes.

2. Exercise – get at least 45min of vigorous exercise in, either in the morning or late afternoon/evening, but not super late. I try to do this immediately when I get in overseas, rather than nap. Get on the new schedule ASAP.

3. Build your sleep kit – get the heavy duty adjustable Nap eye mask from Brookstone. Buy the Bose QuietComfort 20i earbuds, and pop one out on your pillow ear, then blast white noise and environmental sounds from Relax Melodies by Ipnosoft (iPhone/Android app). I use this combination almost every day while traveling, both on tour busses, airplanes, and hotels.

4. Eat Melatonin. The key part is taking high-dose Melatonin. I use 10mg pills (the maximum strength) before bed. Only take it when you really need it, like before bed after flying back from overseas.. and start with a lower dose to see how you feel. Too much Melatonin will cause digestion issues and crazy dreams. Your mileage may vary. Other alternatives include almond butter and magnesium supplements.

5. Cool down. Set your thermostat to 68 degrees or below.. remove a layer of sheets. Take a shower before bed and make it ice cold at the end.

6. Add noise. Turn on bathroom fans and switch thermostat fans to always on. Use white noise apps like Relax Melodies by Ipnosoft to fall asleep.

7. Eliminate light. Block all light sources and make sure you have a heavy duty eye mask like the Nap eye mask from Brookstone that keeps out all light. Dim all your lights a few hours before bed. Try out the handy app Flux, if you’re a late night worker, to help avoid blue light that can stimulate your mind and keep you up.

8. Refresh your palette – Try winding down with some fictional TV, but keep your TV area separate from the bedroom. Save the bedroom for sleeping and other “stuff.” Refresh your audio and visual palette to avoid creative feedback loops throughout the night. If I don’t do this, I’ll hear a loop of music all night long and dream about Pro Tools edits.

9. Add oxygen – Crack open the windows to allow fresh air to circulate. Unfortunately at many hotels this isn’t an option, or it can create more noise (see NYC).

10. Complete the cycle – use SleepCycle to get more restful sleep by waking up in a complete sleep cycle. I use this every night. It starts with a white noise mode to lull you to sleep, and then tracks your movement – only waking you in a 30 minute interval at the lightest phase cycle of your sleep. You can also use this for power naps to avoid waking up groggy. Set your phone to airplane mode, and you’re good to go.

Done.. combine these tips and thank me later!

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Email me: mpquicktips+blog@gmail.com

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