The science of when, with the doses spelled out.
Protocol cards, primary-source citations, and dose-accurate reviews, for morning light, sleep architecture, chronotype, and every other lever that resets a circadian clock.
Browse by category
Five hubs covering the chronobiology levers that reset a circadian clock, light, sleep, chronotype, tools, edge cases.
Light & Zeitgebers
Morning sunlight, lux dose, blue light, red light, dawn simulators, with the research.
Sleep Architecture
Stages, cycles, sleep debt, napping protocols, why you wake at 3am.
Chronotype & Personalization
Not everyone has the same circadian phase. Protocols that assume 7am wake time fail for late chronotypes.
Interventions & Tools
Light therapy lamps, sleep masks, sunrise alarms, blue-blockers, trackers, all dose-tested.
Edge Cases
Jet lag, shift work, parenthood, perimenopause, ADHD, where generic advice fails.
Featured stacks
The most-read protocols this month, each with its own Stack Score and reviewer.
Sleep Paralysis: Why It Happens and How to Reduce It
Sleep paralysis is a brief inability to move or speak while falling asleep or waking, caused by REM muscle atonia intruding into wakefulness. How common it is, why the hallucinations feel so real, the triggers that raise the odds, and the sleep habits that reduce it.
Military Sleep Method: The Steps, and What the Evidence Shows
The military sleep method is a relaxation routine sold online as a way to fall asleep in two minutes. What the technique actually is, the arousal-lowering mechanism behind it, why the dramatic speed claim has no controlled evidence, and how it stacks against the levers that do work.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation for Sleep: How It Works, Evidence
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a tense-and-release technique with decades of use as part of insomnia treatment. How the Jacobson method works, the evidence as a component of CBT-I, how to run a session before bed, and where it helps most.
Sleep Inertia: Why You Wake Up Groggy and How to Beat It
Sleep inertia is the transient grogginess and impaired performance in the minutes after waking, worst when you surface from deep sleep. What the research shows about how long it lasts, why deep-sleep awakenings make it worse, and the countermeasures with the best evidence: caffeine, bright light, and nap timing.
Valerian Root for Sleep: Does It Work, Dose, Evidence
Valerian is the most popular herbal sleep aid, but the trial evidence is mixed and the study quality is uneven. What valerian is thought to do at the GABA system, the dose the trials used, why results are inconsistent, and how it compares with melatonin and magnesium.
Tart Cherry Juice for Sleep: Dose, Melatonin Content, Evidence
Tart cherry juice is one of the few food-based sleep aids with human trial data, mostly because Montmorency cherries contain melatonin and support tryptophan. The dose the studies used, the modest effect size, why it works better for some people than others, and where the evidence stops.
Every protocol on the site. Sorted by last reviewed. Stack Score is a 0–100 confidence number, methodology link in the footer.
What changed in the index this week. Every protocol move is logged because secrecy is for advertorials.
- [2026-04-26 09:14]INDEXEDmorning-sunlight-protocol v2.1 (Zeitzer dose-response added)
- [2026-04-25 17:42]REVIEWEDbest-light-therapy-lamps-2026, clinical reviewer signoff
- [2026-04-24 11:08]REFRESHEDwhy-you-wake-at-3am, Bonnet 2003 sleep-fragmentation refresh
- [2026-04-23 08:31]DRAFTEDjet-lag-protocol-east-vs-west, eastbound section drafted
- [2026-04-22 14:55]QUEUEDperimenopause-sleep-shift, added to queue, brief due 2026-05-03
- [2026-04-21 19:03]FLAGGEDmelatonin-3mg-vs-0.3mg, re-flagged, Brzezinski meta-analysis re-read
- [2026-04-21 09:12]INDEXEDwhat-a-zeitgeber-is, primer published
Updated when posts move stages. The pipeline page is the long form.
Public methodology, versioned like software. Read what we score on, what we won't, and what the tiers actually mean.
Cited at the trial. Doses measured at usable distances. Never paid by lamp brands or supplement vendors.
Educational content. Not a sleep clinic. Suspected sleep disorders go to a board-certified sleep physician.