Sleep routine

Bryan’s sleep routine starts well before his 8:30 p.m. bedtime: an early final meal, dim lights and an hour without screens. It also includes breathing, temperature control and sleep tracking.

Reported practice

Date of record:: 17 Aug 2026

About this protocol

He finishes food around noon and fluids at 4 p.m. The entries below bring his evening habits and overnight devices together, with details from dated public accounts.

Interventions

Routines

01
Final meal at noon
Daily · ~noon
He says eating earlier made the biggest difference to his sleep.
Details & sources
1. In his own measurements, earlier meals went with a lower heart rate before bed and better sleep.
  Source 3 · 3 Apr 2026
His noon cutoff is more restrictive than the schedule he suggests for others. These personal observations do not establish an ideal mealtime.
Sources1 2 3
Stop fluids before bed
Daily · 4 p.m.
Details & sources
Sources2
Red and amber evening lights
nightly · evening
He dims the lights as he winds down for bed.
Details & sources
Sources1
04
60-minute screen-free wind-down
60 min · nightly · before bed
He puts screens away for an hour before bed.
Details & sources
1. Before
  He spends that hour with family, walking or reading a paper book. He finishes personal care before winding down.
  Source 1 · 1 Jun 2026
Sources1
05
4:6 breathing
10 min · nightly · before bed
He uses slow breathing to wind down and aims to raise his HRV.
Details & sources
1. During
  He breathes through his nose for ten minutes: four seconds in, six seconds out.
  Source 1 · 1 Jun 2026
He described ten minutes in June 2026 and five minutes in November 2025. The earlier account is kept with his bedtime notes.
Sources1
06
Heart rate before sleep
before sleep
He checks his heart rate before bed to see how his habits affect his sleep.
Details & sources
1. He reports his best sleep alongside readings of 39–44 bpm, and poorer sleep at higher readings. This is a pre-bed reading, distinct from overnight resting heart rate and HRV. It does not show that lowering heart rate causes better sleep.
  Source 3 · 3 Apr 2026
His readings are personal observations, not a target for other people.
Sources3
07
Fixed early bedtime
nightly · 8:30 p.m.
Details & sources
1. Before
  In his November 2025 bedtime account, Johnson described switching off screens, sitting quietly to process the day, and noting concerns to revisit the next morning. He planned to read with only red lighting on in a quiet house.
  Source 5 · 7 Nov 2025
2. Before
  He described five minutes of breathing, with a four-second inhale and six-second exhale, followed by settling on his side with a pillow between his legs, another to hug and the head of the bed slightly raised. His post described the coming night; its sleep metrics were predictions, not recorded results.
  Source 5 · 7 Nov 2025
He says he is in bed at 8:30 p.m. and falls asleep within three minutes.
Sources1 4 5
Cool bedroom temperature
65–70°F (18–21°C)
Details & sources
His protocol lists 65–70°F. A January 2026 article gives a narrower range of 65–68°F.
Sources2 6
09
Avoid regular caffeine
He prefers steadier mood and avoiding dependence.
Details & sources
1. In August 2026 he described mood swings and reliance on caffeine as his reasons for avoiding regular use. The context belongs to sleep and daily wellbeing, rather than another standalone caffeine protocol.
  Source 9 · 31 Aug 2026
2. After an unexpectedly caffeinated coffee, he reported feeling more awake and less restorative sleep, while his resting heart rate and HRV did not worsen. A single incident cannot establish causation, and different measures can disagree.
  Source 10 · 31 Aug 2026
He says he does not drink caffeine regularly. That is not a claim that his diet contains absolutely no caffeine.
Sources9 10

Supplement

Melatonin
300 mcg · nightly · at night
Details & sources
Sources1

Devices

11
Eight Sleep
during sleep
He adjusts his bed temperature through the night.
Details & sources
1. Equipment & setup
  His bed is set to 71°F for deep sleep and 73°F for REM, with automatic adjustments based on the device’s sleep-stage estimates. These are bed temperatures, separate from his room settings.
  Source 7 · 17 Aug 2026
The model is not stated. Blueprint may earn commission from partner purchases; this account is not an independent product test.
Sources7
12
WHOOP
He confirmed wearing WHOOP in February 2025.
Details & sources
1. Equipment & setup
  The sleep data in his post came from Eight Sleep. He separately said he wore WHOOP; the other brands in his reply were alternatives, not devices he said he owned.
  Source 8 · 25 Feb 2025
The model and his use after that date are not confirmed.
Sources8
Bruxism device
during sleep
He wears a mouth guard to prevent teeth grinding.
Details & sources
His article links to SomnoMed without naming a model. It does not establish that his device treats sleep apnea.
Sources1

Sources

Original accounts behind this protocol. Numbers match the references in each intervention.

01Bryan Johnson's Evening Routine Final meal at noon · Red and amber evening lights · 60-minute screen-free wind-down · 4:6 breathing · Melatonin · Fixed early bedtime · Bruxism device
02Bryan Johnson's Protocol Final meal at noon · Stop fluids before bed · Cool bedroom temperature
03Bryan Johnson's heart rate before sleep Final meal at noon · Heart rate before sleep
04My Morning Routine (2026) Fixed early bedtime
05Bryan Johnson’s bedtime account Fixed early bedtime
06protocol.bryanjohnson.com · Website General website; a specific source page is not linked.Cool bedroom temperature
07Bryan Johnson's sleep temperature setup Eight Sleep
08Bryan Johnson on Eight Sleep and WHOOP WHOOP
09Bryan Johnson: why he avoids regular caffeine Avoid regular caffeine
10Bryan Johnson: sleep metrics after unexpected caffeine Avoid regular caffeine

Reported practices span January–August 2026; WHOOP use was confirmed in February 2025. Earlier November 2025 bedtime context is preserved and labelled. Source dates do not establish unchanged use today.

Interventions

Before

During

Before

Before

Equipment & setup

Equipment & setup

Sources