The question I’m asked most, and the one I’m most reluctant to answer (unless you’ve got at least 30 minutes to kill), is: “How many hours of sleep do I need?” To understand sleep need, we need to review a few concepts and bust a few myths.
Read MoreWant to know what I do in a typical Session 1 for insomnia? This post is essentially a written version of what I say to most insomnia patients in my clinic… “If you can’t sleep, stop trying. The act of trying to sleep, like flailing in quicksand, is probably the worst thing you can do in an insomnia moment.”
Read MoreLast year I gave a talk to a peer support group of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The topic is important to patients and their families, but rarely ever discussed by their neurologists: “Non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease.” I’m taking a week off from regular tip-based programming to talk about this topic, which is the subject of my latest peer-reviewed scientific study.
Read MoreHear me out…Anxiety is your friend. He's not the smartest friend you've got, because he's not great at nuance and moderation. But he's working hard and always trying to help. You can get on the same team by compassionately and patiently teaching your brain when anxiety is useful versus hampering.
Read MoreHave you ever heard the Benjamin Franklin quote, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise"? Mr. Franklin was right about many things, but he was wrong (or only half right) about this one.
Read MoreDoes your mind get a second wind as soon as you turn out the lights at night? Perhaps you’re plagued by worries, or perhaps it’s just a string of random musings, song lyrics, to-do lists, philosophical questions, embarrassing memories, and one-way conversations with unrelenting insomnia. It feels like there is a gaggle of excited puppies that won’t leave you alone, and the harder you try to calm them down, the faster they go bouncing around the room of your mind.
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