Your Brain On... Insomnia

Your Brain On... Insomnia3 jun1 u 38 min

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It's 3 AM and your brain won't shut off. About 1 in 10 adults meets the clinical definition of chronic insomnia, and most never get treated. Instead, they scroll through an endless aisle of magnesium gummies, melatonin, and $300 trackers that don't address the real problem.

We brought in a neurologist and a psychologist who never spoke to each other and landed on almost the exact same conclusions.

In this episode, you'll learn:

How the brain's glymphatic cleaning system works during sleep and why chronic insomnia is a brain health problem Why melatonin is a darkness signal, not a sleeping pill, and how nocturnal animals prove the point A sleep neurologist's honest 1-to-10 ratings of every sleep aid you've heard of: magnesium (2/10), CBT-I (10/10), alcohol (-10/10), and 12 more What orthosomnia is and why your sleep tracker might be making your insomnia worse Why perimenopause and menopause create what one expert calls "a perfect storm" for sleep disruption, and why doctors keep missing sleep apnea in women How CBT-I works: sleep restriction, stimulus control, and why your therapist will tell you to spend less time in bed, not more The data showing CBT-I may outperform hormone therapy for menopausal insomnia ACT therapy for insomnia: a different approach for people who get more anxious from CBT-I Blue light, naps, the 8-hour rule, catching up on weekends: what holds up and what doesn't Five steps to start tonight, and why you should pick just two Dr. Sujay Kansagra is a pediatric neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at Duke University, director of Duke's Pediatric Neurology Sleep Medicine Program, and author of "My Child Won't Sleep."

Follow Dr. Kansagra: @thatsleepdoc

Dr. Shelby Harris is a clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine specialist. She treats insomnia in women during perimenopause and menopause and is the author of "The Women's Guide to Overcoming Insomnia."