128: Riley Jarvis on How to Sleep Better

I’ll be honest. I’m terrible at sleep. I stay up too late, wake up groggy, and rely way too heavily on coffee to function. So when Riley Jarvis told me he helps entrepreneurs transform their sleep to boost productivity and energy, I knew I needed this conversation.

Riley is the CEO of The Sleep Consultant, and his story is remarkable. He went from bedridden with Crohn’s disease to complete remission by fixing his sleep. Now he helps high performers unlock what he calls Sleep Nirvana: falling asleep within 15 minutes, sleeping seven to nine hours uninterrupted, and waking up with abundant energy without needing stimulants.

If you’re a woman solopreneur over 40 rebuilding after something difficult, this episode is packed with practical tools you can use tonight.

Meet Riley Jarvis

Riley Jarvis is the founder and CEO of The Sleep Consultant, an organization that helps CEOs, entrepreneurs, and high performers transform their sleep to significantly boost productivity and energy levels. After recovering from Crohn’s disease through sleep optimization, Riley discovered that sleep was the missing link in his health journey. He now helps clients unlock their biology using lab testing, customized protocols, and science-based sleep strategies.

Connect with Riley Jarvis:

• Website: TheSleepConsultant.com
• LinkedIn: Riley Jarvis
• Free Sleep Assessment: Get Your Custom Sleep Checklist

What This Episode Is About

Riley shares his journey from finance professional to sleep consultant, revealing how he recovered from Crohn’s disease by optimizing his sleep. He breaks down the science of deep sleep versus REM sleep, explains why most people wake up tired despite sleeping eight hours, and provides actionable strategies you can implement tonight to fall asleep faster and wake up energized. This conversation is perfect for women entrepreneurs managing health challenges while building their businesses.

🎧 Listen Now:

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Key Takeaways

Wait 90 minutes before drinking coffee.

When you first wake up, your cortisol levels are at their highest peak. Drinking coffee immediately doesn’t allow cortisol to rise any higher. Instead, wait 90 minutes so your coffee intake coincides with when cortisol naturally dips, extending your energy throughout the day without the crash.

Drink water first thing in the morning.

You lose one liter of water from your breath alone while you sleep. Dehydration makes you tired, and coffee (a diuretic) makes it worse. Riley recommends drinking one liter of water with pink Himalayan sea salt when you wake up. If a full liter feels overwhelming, start with one glass and work your way up.

Understand the difference between deep sleep and REM sleep.

Deep sleep restores your body and releases human growth hormone for recovery and injury healing. REM sleep restores your mind and processes emotions. You need four to five complete 90-minute sleep cycles each night to feel truly rested. Waking up in the middle of the night interrupts these cycles, which is why you feel groggy even after eight hours.

Combat overthinking at night with Brain.fm or meditation.

Overthinking is the number one reason people can’t fall asleep. Riley recommends the Brain.fm app, which uses binaural beats to push your brain into relaxation mode. He also suggests guided meditation (his favorite is a 20-minute YouTube video called Be Honest Guys) and breathing exercises: breathe in through your nose for four seconds, hold for six seconds, breathe out through your mouth for six seconds.

Try these sleep supplements if you need temporary relief.

Riley recommends melatonin (one to three milligrams), L-theanine (naturally occurring in green tea), and magnesium glycinate or magnesium threonate (which crosses the blood-brain barrier and helps with PTSD and anxiety). Adaptogens like rhodiola and ashwagandha can help with body stress. Always check with your doctor before starting any supplement.

Make one small change at a time.

Riley emphasizes that the biggest hurdle to better sleep is feeling overwhelmed. Don’t try to implement everything at once. Pick one thing, journal about it for a week, and see how you feel. Become a scientist with your own body. This incremental approach works for sleep, business strategy, and life changes.

Prefer to watch? Catch the full conversation on YouTube.

Episode Highlights

3:15 — Riley’s journey from finance to founding The Sleep Consultant after recovering from Crohn’s disease

14:20 — Why you should wait 90 minutes before drinking coffee (the cortisol curve explained)

18:35 — The one-liter water rule: Why you wake up dehydrated and how it affects energy

22:10 — Sleep Nirvana defined: Fall asleep in 15 minutes, sleep uninterrupted, wake energized

25:40 — Deep sleep vs REM sleep: How your body and mind recover differently

29:15 — Practical solutions for overthinking at night: Brain.fm app, breathing techniques, meditation

33:50 — Sleep supplements that work: Melatonin, L-theanine, magnesium recommendations

40:15 — How Riley turned his health crisis into a business using his finance background

43:30 — Blue ocean strategy: Choosing untapped business niches where you can dominate

Resources Mentioned

• Four Sigmatic: Mushroom-based coffee alternative with less caffeine
• Brain.fm: App using binaural beats to induce relaxation and sleep
• The Honest Guys Meditation: 20-minute guided meditations on YouTube
• Bulletproof Coffee: Combining fat (butter, ghee, MCT oil) with coffee to slow-release caffeine
• Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz: Book about the power of the subconscious mind
• Free Sleep Assessment: Get your custom sleep checklist from Riley

Your Turn

What’s your biggest sleep struggle right now? Is it falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up exhausted? Drop a comment below or share your thoughts on Instagram or LinkedIn. I’d love to hear what resonates with you.

Support the Show

If this episode brought you value, here’s how you can help:

• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
• Share this episode with someone who needs better sleep
• Want to be a guest? Send me a message on PodMatch
• Support the podcast financially to help upgrade equipment after 300+ episodes: kandasrodarte.com/support

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Stay Groovy!

PS – I use and recommend REM by The Super Patch Co., a drug-free option to fall asleep faster and wake up feeling better rested.