From keeping a consistent sleep schedule to making our bedrooms as dark as possible, there are many tried-and-true strategies for getting better slumber. But what if there was a personalized method of figuring out which sleep strategy might give you the best results?
Enter human design. This practice uses a range of ancient philosophies to provide insight into our energetic makeup as individuals. It divides humans into five different “energy types,” which can provide a blueprint for self-reflection, decision-making, productivity, and exerting energy. The spiritual technique can even provide personalized suggestions for getting high-quality sleep.
Here’s a breakdown of what human design is and how understanding your energy type may help your wind down at night.
What is human design?
Human design is a new- age philosophy designed to help you learn more about your personality and how to engage with the world. It was developed by Alan Krakower, who wrote “The Human Design System” under the pen name Ra Uru Hu in 1992.
“Human design is a spiritual system that brings in components of astrology, the I Ching, the chakra system, and Kabbalah,” explains Mikaela MacLean, human design expert and yoga nidra guide. “It fuses those four main components with quantum mechanics and astronomy to tell people about how to live their lives with more ease and flow, including in their sleep.”
Human design is similar to other self-reflection tools, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or enneagram, in that it categorizes all humans into one of several different profiles (or, in this case, energy types). However, rather than using a personality test, human design looks at the date, time, and location of your birth to determine your energy type and generate a unique chart of your genetic makeup.
You can get your human design chart at dozens of different places online, including myBodyGraph, My Human Design, and the International Human Design School. This blueprint can be used to help you learn more about yourself, how to improve your well-being (including sleep), and ways to have meaningful interactions with others.
Human design hasn’t been verified in peer-reviewed scientific studies. But like astrology, tarot, and other new age tools, it can be used for introspection and understanding who you are in relation to others. Plus, human design offers a lot of flexibility for people to apply the parts that ring true for them and disregard the rest.
“Ra Uru Hu created it to be a method of more deeply knowing yourself, but he always called it an experiment. His thought process was for this to help you find and get back to your authenticity, but there are no rules,” notes Janelle Rivera, human design expert, empowerment coach, and founder of Leila Sol.
She continues, “When you’re looking into your energy type and what your aura expresses as, it isn’t going to be black-and-white for everybody — it’s a way for you to know yourself better. You can look at what is recommended by human design, but consider how it feels to you, and whether there’s something different you can do. It’s really cool and playful.”
A look at each energy type
The five human-design energy types include:
- Generator
- Manifesting Generator
- Manifestor
- Projector
- Reflector
The profile description for each one includes insight into when you’re most productive, how you use your energy and interact with others (known as your “strategy”), a sign that you’re living according to your true nature (called “signature’), and a “not-self theme,” which is how you’ll feel if your lifestyle isn’t aligned with your energy type.
“Human design often confirms what you already know about yourself. That validation gives you a chance to breathe a bit and let yourself take rest when you need it, whether that’s literally sleeping or recharging by journaling, painting, or walking in nature,” says Rivera.
How human design can help with sleep
Given how much human design is focused on energy, it’s no surprise that the philosophy has something to say about sleep, too.
More broadly, human design can help you get to know yourself better, including when you feel most energized, which activities make you feel most alive, how to foster fulfilling relationships, and strategies for decision-making that feel aligned with your long-term goals and well-being.
“Human design can validate so much about where you’ve been and what you want to do, and that gives you so much peace,” Rivera explains. “There’s a level of confidence that comes from knowing yourself and what feels right to you. When you have deep trust in yourself, your nervous system will be more calm.”
Research shows that worrying and rumination are associated with several sleep problems, including poor sleep quality, delays in falling asleep at bedtime, and shorter total sleep time. If human design can help you achieve a greater sense of inner peace, it might just help you sleep more soundly, too.
Additionally, according to human design, sleeping alone gives you time to get quality rest, restore your own energy, and wake up feeling most like your authentic self every day. Plus, anyone who’s been interrupted by a partner moving around in bed, snoring, or setting their alarm clock earlier than yours knows that sharing a bed can make it difficult to get your best sleep.
“The founder of human design said that ideally, everyone should sleep alone,” says MacLean. “This helps you sleep in your own energy and not get ‘conditioned’ by a partner’s energy all night long.”
On a more personal level, human design can offer specific insight not only on ways to get better sleep, but on how you should wind down based on your energy type. Here’s a closer look at each human design energy type and key strategies they can use to improve their sleep.
Generator
Strategy: To respond
Signature: Satisfaction
Not-self theme: Frustration
Generators tend to live their lives in go-go-go mode. They have lots of energy to burn up during the day in order to sleep well at night. They’re hustlers who tend to feel their best when they’re pursuing one or two things they’re passionate about, says Rivera.
“They also tend to feel that the weight of the world is always on them, and end up doing things with their energy that doesn’t light them up when they’re in service to others, so they’re susceptible to burnout,” she adds.
Given their consistently high levels of energy, generators need to focus on completely winding down at bedtime if they’re going to sleep well. Rivera recommends that people with this energy type practice yin yoga or breathwork at bedtime to “clear out excess energy.”
Science backs up her suggestions, too. Research shows that deep breathing exercises can reduce stress and be a helpful addition to treatment for insomnia. Likewise, studies have demonstrated that practicing yoga can help manage sleep problems.
Daytime Tip: It can also be helpful to find ways to use your energy up throughout the day, such as by exercising, which has been shown to decrease complaints of insomnia and improve sleep, per Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“The difference in how they spend their day will make a difference at night,” says MacLean. “Even just moving your body a bit more often in a gentle way and doing some stretching before bed can help.”
Manifesting Generator
Strategy: To respond, then inform
Signature: Satisfaction
Not-self theme: Frustration/anger
Manifesting generators are masters of multi-tasking and have frequent bursts of energy to help them accomplish a variety of things throughout the day. Each day might look a little different for a manifesting generator, so it could be a challenge to stick to consistent exercise routines and sleep schedules, which could impact their ability to recharge at night.
“Manifesting generators might get really excited about a project at work and then only sleep four hours at night, but when they’re done, they really need to recharge,” says Rivera.
Keeping a consistent bedtime and wake -time is not only an important part of sleep health, but it also impacts your overall health and performance, according to research reviewed in 2023.
Daytime Tip: Manifesting generators should find ways to release any pent-up energy well before hitting the hay, says Rivera. “They might need an energetic dumping technique, like somatic dance or journaling everything that’s going on in their lives so they can leave it on the page and let it go,” she says. “If they’ve been really busy and using their brain a lot, they might need to veg out and listen to music to decompress.”
Manifestor
Strategy: To inform
Signature: Peace
Not-self theme: Anger
Manifestors are natural initiators who love to start new things, get others on board, and then move on to something else. They tend to feel energy in spurts, especially if they’re into a new project, says Rivera. They have a longer cycle of periods of high and low energy than other human design types.
“They won’t have a fully charged battery every day, but if they get excited about a new idea, they can go, go, go for several weeks or even three months, depending on their cycle,” Rivera notes. “Then, all of a sudden, they’re done. They need to go away and recharge.”
“The ability to get away and dream is really important for manifestors, so if you can lucid dream, that would be really useful,” says Rivera. “Meditation or visualization practices can also be great for manifestors to explore what’s possible, rest, and start a new energy cycle.”
Writing or journaling at night can also offer sleep benefits for manifestors, says MacLean. “It can help you get out a final burst of energy that can happen before bed and give you a space to capture your ideas, so you can sleep better,” she adds.
Daytime Tip: Rivera says it’s important for manifestors to honor their energy waves and have the flexibility to adjust their day-to-day schedule to match how they’re feeling. Since manifestors are susceptible to the energy of others, they’ll need to find ways to clear out the excess and find space to focus on what they want.
Projector
Strategy: To wait for the invitation
Signature: Success
Not-self theme: Bitterness
Projectors are “non-energy beings,” which means they don’t create much of their own energy. Instead, they get an energetic boost from other people. They tend to work fewer hours than other energy types and require lots of downtime to recharge. They feel successful when others recognize their unique gifts and invite them to participate in things.
“They’re the empaths of this world — they pick up on the vibe,” says Rivera.
Given how easy it is for projectors to be influenced by the energy of those around them, they’ll need lots of solo time to relax and get into their personal zone before bed. Rivera recommends that projectors create a long, lingering bedtime routine that starts three hours before getting under the covers and helps them get out of their heads and into their physical bodies.
“They can wind down by taking a really warm shower, having time to read or journal, practice any form of stretching, or even going on a light walk where they can clear out other people’s energy and be present,” she suggests.
Before bed, MacLean recommends avoiding sources of high stimulation, like TV and phones. They emit blue light that is known to disrupt sleep and make it difficult for you to release the energy you derived from others throughout the day.
Reflector
Strategy: To wait for a lunar cycle
Signature: Surprise
Not-self theme: Disappointment
Of all the energy types, reflectors are most strongly affected by their environment. They tend to take things slowly — human design suggests that they wait about 28 days (or the length of the lunar cycle) before jumping into anything major. They have fluid energy levels that change daily.
Alone time is essential for reflectors, especially ahead of bedtime. If you have a busy household, try to stay up an hour after everyone goes to bed to recharge, or wake up a little earlier to get some “me time” before the day starts, human design experts recommend.
“They feel everything around them — they’re mirrors for the energy of others,” says Rivera. “So when it’s time for rest, they absolutely must clear out that energy.”
She recommends getting into a body of water, such as taking a long bath. “Especially if you can add magnesium salts to clear out toxins and let you deeply rest,” adds Rivera.
If you’re going to listen to music at bedtime, play tracks that are as peaceful and zen as possible. Rivera recommends avoiding songs with words, which can feed your energy.
Since their environment plays a big role in reflectors’ lives, they should double down on efforts to create a soothing, slumber-inducing bedroom.
“Get rid of devices with blue light and instead pick dim lighting or candles,” says Rivera.
A quiet, dark space that feels peaceful can give reflectors the best opportunity to get the sleep they need.
The bottom line on human design and sleep
Finding ways to align your bedtime routine, sleep schedule, and energy management with your human design type could help you recharge efficiently and feel your best. With that said, the rules aren’t strict — human design invites you to focus on the strategies that work best for you and ditch the rest, even if it doesn’t make perfect sense for your energy type.
“That’s the beauty of human design — you get to try it out,” Rivera says.
