8 Biohacks for Sleep Deprivation

Underslept? It happens to even the best Biohackers sometimes -- fortunately, there are some effective hacks for operating at almost 100% while sleep-deprived.

The obvious solution to get better sleep: do meditation and go to bed earlier, avoid screens before bed, wear blue-blocking glasses, take magnesium or melatonin before bed - stuff you've no doubt heard of before. But sometimes even the best sleep hacker finds themselves sleep-deprived. I'm no stranger to it myself as I've been a salsa-dancing pickup artist, a digital nomad, an obsessive entrepreneur, and now - a brand new dad!

The month of fatherhood that I've now got under my belt has really validated my mission as the internet's "Smart Drug Dealer" - Nootropics have proven themselves indispensable in keeping me productive, alert, vigilant, and - importantly - unreactive emotionally. Historically, I have a bit of an anger issue, and so far, I haven't yelled at my baby or my wife in the midst of the overwhelm. I pity new parents embarking on this same wild adventure without Nootropics flowing in their veins daily!

A lot of Biohackers reach for the powerful anti-narcolepsy drug Modafinil when sleep-deprived. But Modafinil is problematic - it stays in your system for 12-24 hours and may prevent you from getting the sleep you really need the next night (bad things happen when sleep deprivation compounds). Fortunately, there are some superior solutions in the lifehacking arsenal...

L-Tyrosine

I list this Nootropic first because it's my go-to on sleep deprivation days. As I mentioned in my meta-analysis of it, it's an intervention worth keeping in your Biohacker armamentarium for both moderate and severe sleep deprivation.

a smaller dosage of as little as 800 milligrams will give you an extra few hours of alert mindset. And according to a Naval Aerospace human study) to counteract even extreme sleep deprivation take 150 milligrams per kilogram of your body weight - I'm 63 kilos (138 pounds) so that would be north of 9 grams. A later American study noted improved performance on several tests and another military paper named it as a countermeasure to performance decrement in military sustained operations.

L-Tyrosine

Category: Nootropic Ingredients

I notice myself being a bit more energized, optimistic, and motivated after stacking about 800 milligrams of NALT with a few grams of Creatine in the mid-morning, which enhanced the Nootropic effects and kept me alert on a few days when I was a little underslept. Tyrosine is one supplement that you can take a lot of - you might want to try a few grams on days when you are really dragging.

Here's a purity-verified source of the extra-potent N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine (NALT) form.

Rhodiola Rosea

I've described this most meritorious of Adaptogens as "Herbal Modafinil" as it combats sleep deprivation, in both my experience and a clinical trial of night-shift hospital workers. 

Rhodiola

Category: Nootropic Ingredients

Just make sure you're getting organic stuff (not the cheap stuff in the white plastic bottles at the vitamin shop or Amazon!), here's a solid source.

Energizing frequencies

Here's where we get a little wu-wu, when I'm underslept (or just need an extra pick-me-up), I'll strap this PEMF device to my chest and blast myself with the Energy Wake IC for 15-30 minutes, and it consistently perks me up. Using it during meditation resulted in subtle energizing body sensations and a very positive, clear headspace. Good news: You can use it while multitasking, just strap it on while working or doing things around the house.

IC Hummer

 

4.0

Category: Mind Hardware

I mentioned Tyrosine earlier, which you can take as an infoceutical - a non-pharmacological, side-effect-free version of the supplement that takes advantage of the phenomenon of water memory, which is imprinted on water via quantum collocation and electromagnetism using this device...

IC Pad by Infopathy

 

4.3

Category: Mind Hardware

Infoceuticals typically have 1/3 or half the effect of the actual medicine being imprinted. Even late in the afternoons of sleep deprivation days, I operate at pretty close to 100% when I stack the PEMF frequency and infoceutical essence of Tyrosine downloaded into the water I drink.

If you're skeptical of Infopathy, that's understandable; it's a game-changing application of a little-known scientific phenomenon. But I'd urge you to evaluate the scientific evidence (presented in my biohacker review) that downloadable medicine is no longer science fiction...

Coffee later in the day

A coffee (or two, or three!) is the sleep deprivation hack that the masses lurch for. But the later in the morning you have the much-needed cup of Joe, the more alert you'll remain later into the afternoon (which is when a lack of sleep really hits) - so maybe start the day with something like a cup of black tea instead and have that coffee in the mid-afternoon. Also, overcaffeinating will affect the sleep you need tonight, so resist that afternoon coffee.

Good news, on days that you need more bang-for-your-buck from coffee, 800 milligrams of Quercetin will elongate the effect of caffeine.

Cold shower

It shouldn't be news to you that an ice-cold shower - releasing Adrenaline - will give you a pick-me-up if you need it before an important call or creative session.

Let's make this one weirder: naked, in the shower, pre-cold-shower, I will often do a short tantric self-cultivation session, visualizing my sexual energy rising to my brain while taking 30 slow breaths. This brings me a rush of brainpower that lasts 20-30 minutes; I once achieved a high brain training score of 4.3 in Dual N-Back after a cold shower and stroke session.

Get sunlight

Getting outside and getting some rays on your skin for 10-20 minutes reminds your body that it's the daytime and you're supposed to be awake. In fact, it's one of my favorite ways to start the day...

Take a nap

If you can slink off to the bedroom (or "nap-room" if you work at one of those trendy places that have them - OR a daycare!) in the mid-afternoon, DO IT. You probably know that the ideal way to nap is to get in a 90-minute REM cycle, but good luck timing that just right. You might also say, "I never actually get to sleep when I try to nap in the day!" Good news: even 30-60 eyes shut, sleep mask on, no-quite-sleeping time will invigorate you, especially if you can stimulate a delta or theta brain state (I use Brain.FM in my SleepPhones for this!)

One goal

Finally, a mindset shift for days when you're not firing on all cylinders: get less ambitious about what needs to get done. Name just one thing that needs to get done today; once that's done, call it a good day. A simple but underrated mindset hack that I've long practiced is naming just one goal for each day during a breathwork session, listening to Othership's Morning Intention track.

Most people muddle through sleep deprivation days - pounding coffee, staring blankly at their screens, underperforming at work, and getting in fights with their families (or car accidents, yikes!) - but those inevitable days can be surprisingly productive ones, especially if you stack on all the hacks here throughout the day...

Upon wake-up - Cold shower + Self-Cultivation?
9:00 - Sun exposure + Rhodiola tea
9:30 - Energizing PEMF for 15-30 minutes + Drink L-Tyrosine IC
11:00 AM - Coffee
1:00 PM - L-Tyrosine
4:00 PM - Nap
5:00 PM - Energizing PEMF for 15-30 minutes + Drink L-Tyrosine IC
7:00 PM - Call it a good day and begin winding down for some catch-up sleep

If you're sleep deprived often - like more than once a few times a month, (and you're not a parent of a newborn!) - you need to take your sleep hacking more seriously and take account of why you aren't sleeping well (could have to do with deeper issues that you should explore with your doctor or therapist). But if it happens occasionally, that's just the cost of living a lively life, and it's hackable.