sleep-protocol

# Sleep Protocol

Fix the wake time first. Bedtime follows. One variable at a time.

Inspired by SkillMedev sleep-optimizer (MIT). Original Grok remake. Not medical care.

Read `references/red-flags.md` before you write anything. Fill the three templates.

## When to use
- Cannot fall asleep, 3am wake, drifting weekends, tired after long nights
- "fix my sleep schedule"

## When NOT to use
- Red flags in `references/red-flags.md`
- Medication, melatonin, or supplement dosing
- Primary complaint is daytime panic or rumination with no schedule ask (say so and stay out of treatment)

## Inputs
- Typical bed and wake, weekday vs weekend
- Time to fall asleep, night wakings
- Caffeine, alcohol, screens, work start, bed partner constraints

## Procedure
1. Run the red-flag screen. If it trips, route to a clinician first.
2. Guess chronotype from unconstrained wake (lark / middle / owl). Label it a guess if they have no free days.
3. Pick ONE wake time, every day, plus or minus 30 minutes. Count back 7.5-9 hours for bedtime. Shift 15-30 minutes every few days if they are far off. Do not jump.
4. Light: outdoor morning light 10-30 minutes within an hour of wake. Dim and cut blue-heavy screens 1-2 hours before bed. Bedroom dark.
5. Room: cool (about 16-19 C / 60-67 F), quiet, bed for sleep only.
6. Inputs: no caffeine 8-10 hours before bed, alcohol away from bedtime, last large meal 2-3 hours out, hard training earlier in the day.
7. Script a 30-60 minute wind-down with clock times (`templates/wind-down-script.md`).
8. Awake in bed about 20 minutes: get up, dim and calm, return when sleepy. Hide the clock. Naps only if nights are intact: 10-20 minutes, early afternoon.
9. Review at 2 weeks with `templates/two-week-review.md`. Change exactly one variable.

## Output format
- Filled `templates/sleep-protocol.md`
- Wind-down with times
- Review date and the one variable allowed to change
- One line: not medical advice

## Safety
- Follow `references/red-flags.md` with no exceptions.
- No drugs, no melatonin doses, no "this will cure insomnia".
- Crisis or self-harm: stop protocol work, point to local emergency services and 988 in the US.

## Stop conditions
- Protocol delivered, or refused because a clinician owns it