How To Master Your Sleep
Updated
Hello traders and investors,
This week, I'll talk about physiology, but I'd like to relate how I went from being an overly worried, under-slept, overfed, under-muscular person to the MAN I am today.
Let's start with how I conquered my sleep to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night, including hours of REM and DEEP sleep.
Trading after a bad night's sleep is extremely difficult, if not dangerous.
Because we can't think clearly when we have brain fog.
And trading necessitates that we be hyperaware.
I've had trouble sleeping virtually my whole life....
Even if I went to bed early, I usually experienced insomnia, woke up at 2/3 a.m., and couldn't fall back asleep.
It made my life unpleasant by causing chronic mental fog and an inability to be motivated.
I'm happy to report that I've mastered my sleep issues and discovered routines and tools to help me stay and fall asleep.
The majority of what follows was taught to me by Andrew Huberman, a well-known physiologist with about 2 million subscribers on YouTube (at the time of writing).
Protocol: Right after waking up
I go to my patio and soak up 10/15 minutes of sunlight.
I'm fortunate to reside in a sunny location.
On cloudy days, you'll have to increase your time outside first thing in the morning to 30 minutes.
This approach is for awaking your circadian cycle and signalling to your body that the day has begun.
It's critical to start as early as possible in the morning.
I conduct a 10 minute HIIT workout on my terrace.
You don't necessary need to do this; going for a walk outside is also a great morning routine.
I've read several times that this early workout is highly useful for letting our brain know that it's time to start waking up the "machine."
Protocol: During the day
- I don't drink coffee after noon.
Some folks do and sleep well.
I'm one of those guys who is hypersensitive to caffeine and can't fall asleep anytime I consume coffee in the afternoon.
- I don't consume junk food nor just eat whole foods.
I eat a well-balanced diet consisting of 60% carbs, 30% protein, and 10% fat because I work out for 1 hour every day.
I also always eat below or at my calories maintenance - studies show metabolism are the healthiest when we don’t overeat - I don’t want no hormones, health issues - I want to live healthy, rich and for a very long time.
This contributes to the development of my body, charisma, testosterone, and courage.
Courage is essential while dealing with difficult circumstances, especially when our trades are underwater.
- I don't consume alcohol or smoke.
I don't feel smoking is harmful to sleep; I simply don't do it for health reasons.
However, alcohol is known to have a bad impact on our brain and sleep.
Protocol: 2 hours before going to bed
I go to bed around 9:30 p.m. every night.
Going to bed at the same time every day trains our brains to allow us to fall asleep around that time.
The caveat is that anytime I go out at night and go to bed beyond that time, I tend to have poorer sleep quality.
- Beginning with the most important: I am closing ALL of my intraday trades
I don't want my intraday trades to turn into swing trades or, worse, long-term investments.
I don't want to wake up stressed every night to check my trades PnL.
I want to go to bed stress-free.
- Blue light glasses
I still work late at night, so I wear blue light-blocking glasses.
Our brain associates blue colors with "hey, it's still day time."
That is why protecting our eyes from bright lights (even those in our homes) is essential for a healthy night's sleep.
Looking at your TV or computer at night without them guarantees that you won't sleep well, that you'll wake up in the middle of the night and won't be able to fall back asleep.
- Self-massages
I use a foam roller to roll my back and neck on, as well as a massage tool.
Eric Berg: shop.drberg.com/en/massage-tool
I have no affiliation; that product improved my life by allowing me to remove nodes in my back and neck without visiting a chiropractor
- Stretching
Shaolin Monks are famed for being highly flexible; they say flexibility is a sign of an extremely healthy physique, and I couldn't agree more.
Stretching my hamstrings and back on a daily basis greatly fixed my lower back/neck pain.
Protocol: Back/Neck Pain
75% of the persons I spoke with were suffering from back/neck pain.
Some people sleep on their stomach, which is bad for their neck, and they know they should sleep on their side, but they can't fall asleep that way.
Some are extremely stressed and cringe.
Cringing frequently causes neck pain.
I needed a dental tray to prevent my cringing from causing nodes in my neck.
Really a life-saving, or should I say sleep-saving, device.
Protocol: What to Do If You Wake Up in the Middle of the Night
- Self-massage using the foam roller and the Eric Berg’s massage tool.
- Never check your phone or social media
According to Andrew Huberman, checking your phone at night depletes your dopamine for the next 48 hours.
Dopamine is the hormone giving us motivation How could you manage difficult trades without being motivated?
Well….it’s harder….
Tool
I use an OURA ring to track my REM and DEEP sleep.
It's Bluetooth-enabled and linked to my phone.
Every morning, the OURA app gave me a score; the greater the score, the better my sleep was.
It also distinguishes between REM, DEEP, and STANDARD sleep.
Supplements
Supplements I consider myself to be in a deep level of calm. I follow the dosing guidelines on each product label.
- Magnesium L-Theanone
- Zinc
- Argenin
- Tart Cherry
- I used to take Ashwaganda, but I discovered it reduced my overall happiness/excitement during the day, so I stopped taking it.
How long should you do these protocols before seeing some effects
Talking from experience, it’s a matter of days.
Yeah really, it’s amazing how quick our body and brain adapts to weather great or terrible inputs.
Feeding your body with mostly great inputs leads to a great mind, mood and is the first step at getting shot at being profitable with your trading.
The second step is mastering your anxiety and stress.
Article coming up on that topic on Monday :)
Have a good weekend everyone
Dave
This week, I'll talk about physiology, but I'd like to relate how I went from being an overly worried, under-slept, overfed, under-muscular person to the MAN I am today.
Let's start with how I conquered my sleep to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night, including hours of REM and DEEP sleep.
Trading after a bad night's sleep is extremely difficult, if not dangerous.
Because we can't think clearly when we have brain fog.
And trading necessitates that we be hyperaware.
I've had trouble sleeping virtually my whole life....
Even if I went to bed early, I usually experienced insomnia, woke up at 2/3 a.m., and couldn't fall back asleep.
It made my life unpleasant by causing chronic mental fog and an inability to be motivated.
I'm happy to report that I've mastered my sleep issues and discovered routines and tools to help me stay and fall asleep.
The majority of what follows was taught to me by Andrew Huberman, a well-known physiologist with about 2 million subscribers on YouTube (at the time of writing).
Protocol: Right after waking up
I go to my patio and soak up 10/15 minutes of sunlight.
I'm fortunate to reside in a sunny location.
On cloudy days, you'll have to increase your time outside first thing in the morning to 30 minutes.
This approach is for awaking your circadian cycle and signalling to your body that the day has begun.
It's critical to start as early as possible in the morning.
I conduct a 10 minute HIIT workout on my terrace.
You don't necessary need to do this; going for a walk outside is also a great morning routine.
I've read several times that this early workout is highly useful for letting our brain know that it's time to start waking up the "machine."
Protocol: During the day
- I don't drink coffee after noon.
Some folks do and sleep well.
I'm one of those guys who is hypersensitive to caffeine and can't fall asleep anytime I consume coffee in the afternoon.
- I don't consume junk food nor just eat whole foods.
I eat a well-balanced diet consisting of 60% carbs, 30% protein, and 10% fat because I work out for 1 hour every day.
I also always eat below or at my calories maintenance - studies show metabolism are the healthiest when we don’t overeat - I don’t want no hormones, health issues - I want to live healthy, rich and for a very long time.
This contributes to the development of my body, charisma, testosterone, and courage.
Courage is essential while dealing with difficult circumstances, especially when our trades are underwater.
- I don't consume alcohol or smoke.
I don't feel smoking is harmful to sleep; I simply don't do it for health reasons.
However, alcohol is known to have a bad impact on our brain and sleep.
Protocol: 2 hours before going to bed
I go to bed around 9:30 p.m. every night.
Going to bed at the same time every day trains our brains to allow us to fall asleep around that time.
The caveat is that anytime I go out at night and go to bed beyond that time, I tend to have poorer sleep quality.
- Beginning with the most important: I am closing ALL of my intraday trades
I don't want my intraday trades to turn into swing trades or, worse, long-term investments.
I don't want to wake up stressed every night to check my trades PnL.
I want to go to bed stress-free.
- Blue light glasses
I still work late at night, so I wear blue light-blocking glasses.
Our brain associates blue colors with "hey, it's still day time."
That is why protecting our eyes from bright lights (even those in our homes) is essential for a healthy night's sleep.
Looking at your TV or computer at night without them guarantees that you won't sleep well, that you'll wake up in the middle of the night and won't be able to fall back asleep.
- Self-massages
I use a foam roller to roll my back and neck on, as well as a massage tool.
Eric Berg: shop.drberg.com/en/massage-tool
I have no affiliation; that product improved my life by allowing me to remove nodes in my back and neck without visiting a chiropractor
- Stretching
Shaolin Monks are famed for being highly flexible; they say flexibility is a sign of an extremely healthy physique, and I couldn't agree more.
Stretching my hamstrings and back on a daily basis greatly fixed my lower back/neck pain.
Protocol: Back/Neck Pain
75% of the persons I spoke with were suffering from back/neck pain.
Some people sleep on their stomach, which is bad for their neck, and they know they should sleep on their side, but they can't fall asleep that way.
Some are extremely stressed and cringe.
Cringing frequently causes neck pain.
I needed a dental tray to prevent my cringing from causing nodes in my neck.
Really a life-saving, or should I say sleep-saving, device.
Protocol: What to Do If You Wake Up in the Middle of the Night
- Self-massage using the foam roller and the Eric Berg’s massage tool.
- Never check your phone or social media
According to Andrew Huberman, checking your phone at night depletes your dopamine for the next 48 hours.
Dopamine is the hormone giving us motivation How could you manage difficult trades without being motivated?
Well….it’s harder….
Tool
I use an OURA ring to track my REM and DEEP sleep.
It's Bluetooth-enabled and linked to my phone.
Every morning, the OURA app gave me a score; the greater the score, the better my sleep was.
It also distinguishes between REM, DEEP, and STANDARD sleep.
Supplements
Supplements I consider myself to be in a deep level of calm. I follow the dosing guidelines on each product label.
- Magnesium L-Theanone
- Zinc
- Argenin
- Tart Cherry
- I used to take Ashwaganda, but I discovered it reduced my overall happiness/excitement during the day, so I stopped taking it.
How long should you do these protocols before seeing some effects
Talking from experience, it’s a matter of days.
Yeah really, it’s amazing how quick our body and brain adapts to weather great or terrible inputs.
Feeding your body with mostly great inputs leads to a great mind, mood and is the first step at getting shot at being profitable with your trading.
The second step is mastering your anxiety and stress.
Article coming up on that topic on Monday :)
Have a good weekend everyone
Dave
Note
Another tool I forgot to mention: mouth tapeForces our body to breathe through the nose
Many studies show it promotes a better sleep
⭐️ Listed as TradingView Trusted Pine Programmer
📧 Coding/Consulting Inquiries: dave@best-trading-indicator
Telegram: Daveatt
⏩ Course: best-trading-indicator.com
Twitter: twitter.com/bti_trading
📧 Coding/Consulting Inquiries: dave@best-trading-indicator
Telegram: Daveatt
⏩ Course: best-trading-indicator.com
Twitter: twitter.com/bti_trading
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