I've fixed my awful sleep. Here's how.

I've had a breakthrough. Years of bad sleep, 4 to 6 hours a night, and 7 hours was a miracle. Recently I'm hitting 8, 8.5, 9 hours a night.

I quit alcohol a few years ago, which helped reduce my anxiety, which helped my sleep. I walk a lot, exercise and eat clean. When I eat junk like lots of sugar, I wake up early and feel awful. I also drink a lot of caffeine, and I've recently limited it to two or three cups a day.

My routine, a staple for the last few years that got me to an average of 6 to 7 hours: foam noise cancelling earplugs, a silk wraparound eye mask, and an e-reader on dark mode in a blacked out room. I read on my side, which is my sleeping position, with the earplugs in and the mask on my forehead ready to go. When my eyes get heavy I drop the e-reader on the bed and pull the mask down. I'm out within 10 seconds.

Recent additions: a banana just before bed, a 12 hour rain sounds playlist all night, barely audible through the earplugs but I'm convinced it's making a huge positive impact, and magnesium before bed. Since adding these three I'm hitting 8 to 9 hours a night. When I wake up to pee I go straight back to sleep, which has never happened before.

I also smoke weed, and I sleep much better without it. I can fall asleep in about 3 seconds when I'm stoned, but I feel groggy the next morning. Sober sleep really is king.

Tonight I'm going to try to hit 9 plus hours. I haven't had sleep like this since I was in school. For reference, I'm 37, male.