Recently, my friend told me that he’d started “sleepmaxxing.” Keep in mind that this friend is both extremely productive and extremely healthy: Everyday he wakes at 6 a.m., spends 90 minutes at Equinox, and returns to his very chic apartment to eat whatever protein-packed dish he’s meal-prepped that week.
In other words, I’d like to be more like him. When he talks about whatever wellness kick he’s on, I listen (even if I don’t quite possess the self-discipline to track my macros or carry a giant jug of water with me).
Like you’ve probably guessed, sleepmaxxing is a term of somewhat nebulous meaning that originated on social media. It involves applying a bunch of different methods in order to get the perfect night’s rest. Approaches can vary from the more practical tack my friend observes (i.e. rigidly following the conventional wisdom of going to bed at the same time each night, using an eye mask, etc.) to the outright maniacal.
Influencers have started proselytizing about their complex nighttime routines, which can include everything from pineal gland meditation to mouth taping (more on that later). But does it really work? Michael Breus, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and sleep medicine expert, is skeptical.
Overcomplicating something that’s innate doesn’t make sense, he tells us. Plus, the anxiety it may provoke — called sleep anxiety, or the feeling of stress or fear about going to sleep — can itself be harmful. As one Vogue writer put it: “If there’s one vital sleep hack I have discovered during all my years of being obsessed with sleep, it’s this: It’s best to just chill out about the whole thing.”
Dr. Breus agrees: “At the end of the day, it’s best to just keep things simple.”
Realistic sleep advice
The best piece of advice Dr. Breus can offer is to ensure that your bedroom resembles a cave, in that it’s dark, quiet, and relatively cold. However, if you — like me — live in an apartment on a busy street in Brooklyn or any other major city, that’s quite a tall order.
In that case, Dr. Breus recommends investing in both a set of ear plugs and a high-quality eye mask. Another slightly unconventional technique he himself uses to stay cool is to sleep beside a couple frozen water bottles. Dr. Breus tells us that he’ll freeze plastic water bottles, put them in tube socks, and place them in the pockets of his pajamas.
“It’s a low-rent, MacGyver-style way to lower your core body temperature,” which is essential for the production of melatonin, he says.
The other thing that has the potential to improve your shut-eye “by as much as 25 percent to 30 percent,” is to go to sleep at the same time, seven days a week, Dr. Breus says.
And what about other viral hacks endorsed by “sleeptok”? Dr. Breus suggests approaching them with caution. In particular, mouth taping — the rather unsettling practice of literally taping your mouth shut in order to force you to breathe through your nose — is something he doesn’t advise unless you’ve been screened for sleep apnea. And before you chug any melatonin or magnesium mocktails, you should check with your doctor.
“It’s wonderful that people are thinking about their health, and recognizing that sleep has a big part in it,” Dr. Breus says. “But they may be overthinking it.”
