Top indie hackers are going public with their sleep routines

This trend actually makes a lot of sense. As indie hackers, we’ve always shared metrics like MRR and traffic — why not also share what keeps us functional enough to build those projects? Sleep is such a key part of performance, and it’s cool to see founders being open about their habits instead of pretending they’re hustling 24/7.

That said, I do wonder if going public with personal health data might cross into “too transparent” territory for some. Still, if it encourages better sleep and healthier habits across the community, that’s a win.

sleep = 50% of the success of everything in my life principle:)

Sleep (among other aspects of your life) is so individual from person to person. I hope that the more impressionable among us take this kind of insight for what it is - insight - rather than as part of a lock-step regiment someone must follow to be successful.

Bottom line... advice is great, soak it in, but do what works for you.

It's moments like this that I feel totally out of place.

Try sleep routines when you have kids, it's just not happening.

Really interesting! I’ve found that externalizing routines—whether in health, productivity, or even trading—makes a huge difference.

I’m currently building a system that turns trading rules into automated execution (to remove hesitation and emotion).

Your note on sleep tracking as behavioral scaffolding really resonates with that.

An important thing here is to make small changes slowly I think. Trying to change too much too quickly can mess you up more than help. Especially making big jumps in changing your sleep/wake times. Do it in small 10 minutes steps over days/weeks, ease into it. Slowly lower temp (going from 24 to 19 might feel like jumping into a freezer.

Blackout blinds or sleep mask - 100% do it.

But I agree, doing what you can to get a great sleep helps alot.

Really interesting to see sleep becoming part of the “build in public” culture. It makes sense though—good sleep directly impacts focus, decision-making, and creativity, which are pretty much core to being a founder. I’ve tried a few of these hacks myself (cooler room and blackout curtains made the biggest difference for me), but I’m still on the fence about things like mouth taping. Curious to see if more people share real data over time and whether this “health in public” movement actually takes off beyond just sleep.

For me it wasn’t gadgets or hacks, it was just not eating late and actually respecting my own bedtime. Sounds boring, but it worked better than any tracker.

wow those are some solid tips, being thirsty can be a problem

Sleep, along with many other aspects of life, is highly personal. My hope is that those who are more impressionable treat this information as perspective, not as a strict rulebook for success.

It's moments like this that I feel totally out of place.

Try sleep routines when you have kids; it's just not happening.

Indie hackers like Pieter Levels and Marc Lou are now sharing personal sleep routines—embracing radical transparency by revealing wearable data and dashboards to enhance community well-being and self-awareness.

Really interesting seeing sleep become part of the “build in public” mindset. That’s the one metric most of us neglect, even though it directly impacts literally everything we build.

I’ve been working on my own sleep for the last year after some serious burnout. What’s helped most is routine: cooler bedroom, blackout curtains, magnesium at night, no doomscrolling before bed, and being consistent about when I shut it down.

I haven’t tried mouth taping yet—feels a little extreme—but I get the logic. Nasal breathing does seem to calm the nervous system way more than mouth breathing.

Also curious if anyone’s found a solid way to track sleep without wearing something. I’ve used Oura and WHOOP, but sometimes I just want a break from wearing a tracker 24/7. Anyone gone low-tech and still gotten useful data?

I think optimizing my sleep schedule and making it a regular part of my life would really help me. In my opinion, it's the key to everything.
That’s why I completely understand why successful individuals emphasize discipline and maintaining a consistent routine.

Pretty wild seeing sleep routines becoming the next thing founders are sharing. But honestly, it makes sense good sleep = better focus. Might give a few of these tips a try myself.

excellent

Love seeing this shift. Sleep is the ultimate productivity hack, yet it’s so underrated in hustle culture. Props to Pieter and Marc for normalizing rest as a strategic advantage — not a weakness. Curious to see more indie hackers optimize not just code, but recovery too.

I've tried all the sleep hacks, but mouth taping is what finally moved the needle on my deep sleep,

Leading indie creators are now sharing their daily sleep routines, revealing how structured rest can boost creativity and productivity

Wish I could stick to a sleeping routine. I'm either up at 1PM writing copy or sending cold DMs to Saas founders. Guess we gotta sacrifice sleep sometimes.

Really enjoying this new wave of founder transparency and honestly, loving Marc and Pieter’s sleep routines. There’s something inspiring (and a little wholesome) about optimizing not just your business, but your rest too. Mouth taping might be next on my list 😄

As an older person (52) who runs a small business, I get this. I really get this. Sleep deprived days are just no fun anymore. I like these ideas and might try a few. Over the years, I've figured out what works for me most of the time. Biggest thing for me has been to stay active (cycling), eat better, and shut off the screen at an early time. Also, ive stopped eating after 7pm. Which really made a huge difference.

I want to have a routine like this someday, but for now I have college, an internship in financial markets, and I’m building an AI startup—the last thing I have time for is sleep, lol

Really enjoying this thread. I’ve been playing with short reset rituals lately - especially on days when sleep just doesn’t cut it. It’s strange how just 10 minutes away from the screen, jotting a few things down, closing tabs, breathing a bit… can actually feel like a mini recharge.

Curious if anyone here does mid-day resets or breaks like that? Or do most of you just power through and rely on good sleep to bounce back?

Good sleep is also as important as money. I will follow these steps for sure, haha...