You close your blackout curtains, flip your phone to airplane mode, and crawl into bed with all the best intentions to get 7.5 hours of sleep—and then your monkey mind starts peeling bananas. Work deadlines stream through your mind, the next episode of your current favorite series beckons, and for no good reason, you’re dying to see what your friends are posting on Instagram. Thirty minutes pass, and more of the same. You’re now worried you’ll have raccoon eyes at the office meeting in the morning, but that thought just makes things worse. You finally fall asleep at 2:00 am and manage just four hours of sleep. Sound familiar? Many people overcome this by drinking half a bottle of red wine, puffing on a CBD vape pen, or popping an Ambien—but these are all Band-Aids. The underlying problem has not been solved. You’ve got a sleep problem, and it needs to be fixed.  

Sleep expert Dr. Guy Leschziner dedicates his work to the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders, and he’s my guest on this week’s show. 

Listen & Learn: 

• Why 50% of your sleep tendencies are likely inherited 
• How to intelligently use sleep apps and other consumer tracking devices 
• Why REM sleep is not fully understood and can even be problematic 
• How sleep problems and mental health are very much a chicken and egg problem
• How to know when to get professional medical help 

Links & Resources

• Guy’s site
• Guys’ Book on Amazon 

About Our GuestGuy is the clinical lead for the Sleep Disorders Centre at Guy's Hospital, which is one of Europe's largest sleep units. He is also Reader in Neurology at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London. His new book The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience and the Secret World of Sleep is available now.

Nutritional Tip of the Week:

Apples vs Oranges

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