How to get more deep sleep: the few things that move it
October 6, 2026 · 19 min read
Huberman's answers on slow-wave sleep and Walker's account of what deep sleep does point to the same short list: remove alcohol, late caffeine and late meals, time exercise well and keep the timing of sleep steady. Deep sleep carries growth hormone release and physical repair, so it is worth protecting directly.
The rules, numbers and steps worth keeping in front of you.
- Deep sleep sits mostly in the first half of the night; a very late bedtime cuts it.
- Huberman: most growth hormone release happens in deep sleep early in the night.
- Huberman: avoid alcohol within eight hours of bed, or entirely.
- Huberman: stop caffeine at least 8, ideally 12 hours before bed. Walker: 8 to 10 hours.
- Walker: an evening espresso can cost up to 30 percent of deep sleep even if you sleep through.
- Huberman: avoid cannabis, including CBD, in the same window.
- Huberman: no food in the last two hours, unless hunger would keep you awake.
- Huberman: 60 minutes of fairly hard cardio, at least six hours before bed, improved slow-wave sleep in one study.
- Walker: keep bed and wake times within about 30 minutes; set a bedtime alarm.
- Walker: cool the bedroom and take a warm bath or shower before bed.
- Walker: sedation is not sleep; alcohol fragments the first four hours.
- Tracker sleep stages are estimates, not a diagnosis.
- Walker: after one bad night, do nothing different.
- Talk to a doctor before supplements, and about long wakings or snoring.
This is the short form. The full insight has every expert's reasoning, their own words and the sources.