Nick HutchisonFounder and CEO, BookThinkers

What are some of the ways that you optimize YOUR sleep?😴

16 Aug 2023 · 1 min

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1:01

In this conversational segment, Nick Hutchinson and a co‑speaker discuss practical ways to improve sleep quality for the average person. Both use Oura Rings for sleep tracking, and Hutchinson also employs a ChiliPad to regulate temperature. They emphasize the biological need for roughly eight hours of sleep, noting that fewer than 1 % of people can function well on less. To achieve this, they recommend setting a consistent bedtime—aiming to be asleep by around 9:30 p.m.—and eliminating screen exposure before sleep. Instead, they suggest listening to an Audible book for 20‑30 minutes as a calming pre‑sleep activity. The discussion also references the book Why We Sleep as a foundational resource for understanding sleep science.

Chapters

So sleep is an important one. We both wear an Oura Ring. I use a chili pad as well. I read that you use a chili pad. So what are some of the things that you recommend for the average person to start paying more attention to?
So let's, let's set a target first and foremost. The body does need 8 hours sleep genetically. There is a very small fraction, less than 1% of people who can get away with less. And so the reality is we need 8 hours of sleep. And how do you get it? Well, there are a number of tricks. First of all, there's a great— one of the people we interview in the book wrote an There's an incredible book called Why We Sleep. And so what do you need? First of all, going— you can control typically when you go to sleep versus when you wake up. So for me, I'm trying to be in bed and asleep by 9:30. What does that mean? I'm not watching TV before that. I'm not on my computer before that. What I do actually is I listen to an Audible book for, you know, 20 to 30 minutes before I go to sleep. And it's like being read a book.