Introduction

Sleep expert Mike Stone, MD joins us for a conversation about how to sleep well (and strategies to do it poorly!)  We cover: how sleep cleans your brain, alcohol, caffeine, a pragmatic approach to wearables, light exposure, the villainy of devices before bed, cannabinoids, heat, room temp, and night shifts. 

Guest Bio: Dr. Mike Stone has been in medical practice for almost 20 years, and currently serves as the Chief Education Officer at Wild Health. Dr. Stone has held academic appointments at Harvard Medical School and UCSF, and has received multiple national awards for education, innovation, and leadership in medicine. He has spent the bulk of his career focusing on educating students, trainees, and colleagues. Mike is obsessed with optimal health and peak performance, with a deep interest in the effects of lifestyle interventions to improve longevity and cognitive function. He is currently focused on knowledge translation for healthcare practitioners, striving to empower practitioners with practical techniques to competently construct strategies and tactics for their patients' health optimization.

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For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast website

We discuss:

• What is sleep and why it is important [04:00];
• The benefits of exposure to morning sun early in the day and limiting light exposure later in the day [08:00];
• A primer on sleep stages [09:30];
• How to use wearable sleep trackers smartly [13:45];
• Alcohol and sleep [16:40];
• Light, blue light and screen time before bed [24:00];
• The physiology of caffeine [26:15];
• Cannabinoids as a sleep aid [29:30];
• Heat – what is the ideal room temperature for optimal sleep? [34:00];
• Other sleep hygiene ideas [38:20];
• Natural predilection:  the early bird vs. the night owl [40:10];l. 
• Damage control for night shift-associated sleep disturbance [43:45];
• Melatonin questions [58:00];