Why You Can’t Sleep (and How to Fix It) | Dr. Michael Grandner

Sleep quality depends on breaking the cycle of "conditioned arousal," where the bed becomes a site of stress rather than rest. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) addresses this through stimulus control and sleep restriction, effectively retraining the body to associate the bed exclusively with sleep. Sleep apnea, a pervasive yet frequently overlooked condition, often manifests as shallow sleep or unexplained nighttime awakenings rather than overt daytime fatigue. While wearable devices offer valuable insights into sleep-wake patterns, they should be interpreted cautiously to avoid orthosomnia, an anxiety-driven obsession with metrics. Optimizing sleep for cognitive performance requires consistent morning light exposure, strategic caffeine timing, and protecting sleep architecture from environmental disturbances, rather than relying on sedatives or supplements. Ultimately, sleep functions as a critical recovery protocol, and prioritizing consistent, high-quality rest yields measurable improvements in resilience, reaction time, and overall executive function.