I'm also a sleep expert. I sleep at least 12 hours a day, sometimes as much as 20 hours. This man is no true sleep expert. You can tell because he's not asleep. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go back to sleep. I am an expert after all.
“Doc, I can’t sleep” “Alright, well my first piece of advice is that you start going to sleep at the same time every night” “I... I don’t think you understand the problem.”
You're supposed to go to bed around the same time AND wake up at the same time every morning. Regardless of how many hours you actually slept. If you do that for a long enough period then your body eventually starts to adjust for the better. I used to average only 3-4 hours when it was really bad but now I'm closer to 6-7 hours. I hope one day I can fix it and get 8 more regularly. But it is what it is.
@@DrakeBrunette Nah, that's reverse fear conditioning and placebo. Nothing to do with sleep mechanisms per se. If you're healthy enough, your sleep regulates itself and your brain literally forces you shut.
This man was a fantastic guest. This is what this podcast is all about. He is an actual expert in the field he has been invited to discuss, he is extremely eloquent in his delivery and you can see on his face the passion he has for his expertise. Also, just seems like a super nice guy
When I was younger sometimes when I went to bed Id think about so many awkward bad moments... I guess it happens to everybody but now it got much better and I can just shrug it off
I have known for years that sleeping naked helped me sleep better. Unfortunately, my ex used to make me sleep with at least underpants on because she thought it was "weird" to sleep together naked... despite the fact that we literally fucked right before going to sleep. I wanted to sleep naked during my teens but I was bad at getting up in the morning so my parents would wake me up by ripping the covers off and throwing them beside my bed so I couldn't curl up and be warm anymore. I was terrified of them doing that and exposing not only my naked body but also the morningwood every healthy teenager occasionally gets. Oh, well. I'm an adult now and sleep fully naked haha.
If your sleeping in the same bed as someone else why would you need socks and gloves? If you can’t sleep just bang out a quickie and pass out. As a side note to the second commenter, if I had just had sex with someone and they then asked me not to sleep naked I would laugh at them and then go to sleep without putting on clothes. Allowing that sort of behavior is worse than the behavior itself.
Many hospitals and psychiatric units utilize weighted blankets for this exact purpose. The slight extra weight of the blankets induce feelings of security and calmness, thus facilitating sleep.
Took this man's course at UC Berkeley in 2015. He's an awesome professor as well as a great thinker. Rock on, prof Walker, and GO BEARS!!! Love watching your success!!!!
Berkeley , isn’t that the place full of blue haired , unwashed deluded liberals who think they’re anti fascist, non racist while acting like racist fascists I’ve seen so much on RU-vid ..
as someone with a severe case of tinnitus and insomnia, this advice is crucial to a functional life, as sleep is extremely important not only for your energy levels during the day, but also for mental health.
funny how people are locked into this free will ideology. you contemplate existence because of your health, your environment and the conditions you live in.
Sleep is so critical to basic human functions, but nobody ever does it right because we don't learn enough about it. These podcasts may have changed my life.
That is a topic that I can relate to as I have suffered from Insomnia all my life and is getting worst with each passing year. I hardly get any sleep now and it's taking its toll on me physically but more so mentally as no one can stand being around me longer than a few hours as I am always grumpy, short-fused and ready to explode at any time.
@@DrakeBrunette The first 3 fundamental rules for sleep are: - dark. - "cold"(meaning around 20 degree Celsius/68 Fahrenheit). - quiet(so no noise, ideally absolutely none). I know these rules for almost 20 years now and I tried to keep them and I mostly sleep like a baby. There some more of course, like: - dont eat close to sleep(usually my last meal is about 4-6 hour before sleep) - dont think of anything, but also dont force you not to think, because any conscious mental process will interfere with the spontaneous process of falling asleep. - dont carry your emotions into bed because it will lead to the above point. - regularity, of course. - dont have work to do in the first hour after wake, let alone something important. - have clean and lots of air in the room before sleep. - go to sleep between 10-11PM. and so on.
I’ve never had problems sleeping my whole life, I’m in my early 30’s now and my wife left me and it launched me into insomnia madness. I have too many memories with her, and these past 5 days have been 4 hours/5 hours/4 hours/6 hours/ now today 4 hours again. I’m extremely exhausted. I’m kind of falling into the mindset of “I’m scared I’m not gonna get a good nights sleep ever again” and it’s giving me mad anxiety, hopefully tonight will be the night.
This guy is absolutely right. There were a few weeks where we did Shabbat with no electricity. It's a Jewish thing and You're not supposed to turn electrical things on or off during shabbat. But we were staying with my uncle on the weekends who had a cabin with no electricity at all so there would be nothing to turn on anyway. We only had the natural light of the sun and moon the whole weekend and it completely reset out circadian rythym and ended up getting sleepy hours earlier without trying. Watching the sun set in the horizon until it got dark was like a sleep drug. We suddenly just couldn't keep our eyes open. We also woke up naturally with the sunrise. Those weekends gave us the best sleep we ever had and my brother sufferred from insomnia his whole life. It was also easier to concentrate and less stress during the day. He now tries to watch the sunset as often as he can so that he can sleep better.
So do you propose that we get rid of electricity and light bulbs then? It's ironic that you're using a computer (that uses electricity and an advanced version of a lightbulb) to say that you slept so much better when you didn't have electricity and light bulbs...
The best cure for insomnia according to me is to just stop worrying about your sleep. I used to follow all the suggestions mentioned in this video, and it never helped my insomnia, because I used to constantly worry about my insomnia and TRY to sleep. Instead I just did some random shit like washing and cleaning or some reading and I just dozed off. Most insomnia patients dont get sleep because they constantly worry about their insomnia. And I know it sounds ridiculous.
You're 100% right. It's easier said then done, but I think the 2 most important things are 1. Don't go to bed until you feel sleepy (not tired, sleepy). 2. If you can't sleep, get out of bed and do something relaxing like reading a book and go back to bed when you feel sleepy.
I fully agree with you, I've developed early stage insomnia now since I had strong anxiety/slight depression. And even despite following good sleep hygiene, I'd not be able to fall asleep because I'd stress about it so much, watch the clock etc. I'm still struggling now, but I'm learning to just accept it, read a book or journal/meditate, don't force sleep etc. I think these tips from this video rather apply to someone who can sleep but wants to improve their sleep quality/duration.
I have PTSD and have an awful time trying to sleep. Whether it’s never ending anxiety, not being able to turn my mind off, flashbacks while dreaming, etc.. I can tell you this guy speaks the truth. Going to sleep everyday same time and waking up same time (schedules and routines), sleeping in cold rooms, having comfortable lighting and staying away from blue light (iPhone yellow screen ftw). It doesn’t fix the situation, but my God is really makes a difference. If I sleep 4 hours a night I’m lucky. It’s tough and people don’t understand how PTSD derails your life. Just so I don’t have to answer this in responses, no I was not in the military. I was tortured for an extended period as a child and watched my mother kill my step father. Edit: also, at night I feel safer and get energy. It’s weird but it really does happen.
The book by Walker is probably the only book that has really made an impact in me. He describes the harm you cause by not sleeping enough so thoroughly that you don't want to sleep under 7,5 hours a night ever again
Listening to this guy talk has been the best cure for my insomnia. I put all 3 of his videos together and I'm out before the 3rd one starts. Thanks Joe! 💤💤
As a writer, I do my best work at night when it's dark and quiet and peaceful and the phone isn't ringing and cars aren't driving up and down the street and nobody is bothering me. It's just me and my own thoughts with no distraction. Also, I believe that humans were not designed to be forced awake. I feel lousy when I have to set an alarm, but if I get up naturally - usually between 10am and noon - I feel instantly ready to start the day.
racewiththefalcons1 society has changed alot, we arent ment to be woken and we probably did sleep more than once in previous times, now we have jobs with schedules, back in old time everyone was their own business, you grew what you wanted to sell and used the money to buy other foods you dident produce. Being self sufficient and choosing working hours, now we have times, schedules, rules, and other things that makes our lifes miserabel
That might be because when you wake up, you're interrupting your deep sleep. Try setting an alarm so that it wakes you up when you are in a lighter sleep state
Humans not designed to be forced awake? Seriously. Ever been out camping, in the woods,or on a farm? I dam near killed Woody Wood Pecker for waking me up at 5am!
There’s a really great app called the ‘Sleep Cycle’ app, which monitors your sleep and will wake you up during the lightest point in your sleep cycle. I’ve used it for years and found that it really does help me to get more quality sleep.
Not that I stay up till 4, but I’ve found over the last few days I go to sleep a little later, and wake up around 3:30-4:00 and I can’t go back to sleep. I end up having to doze through the day.
@@tyler4475 this is exactly what I am looking to correct. However this seems common in 25% of people. Our grandparents supposedly treated this as first sleep, and then took a nap later on in the day.(And I just got to the part where he covers this in the video I hadn't watched yet....)
Wow very interesting and good information. I'm a stay-at-home dad now and I've naturally fallen into a schedule of 6 hours of sleep at night and about a two-hour nap in the afternoon just as he explained towards the end of the video. I thought I had my sleep schedule kind of screwed up but maybe I don't. Also i have been every night sitting in the Jacuzzi while smoking a fat joint and listening to music just before bed. Pretty sure this guy it's on point. Another great interview.
my mind becomes more active once I go to bed. all the silence and darkness, it's so easy to think about things with no distractions. I've never been much of a sleeper. never thought of it as having insomnia, which I clearly probably do. I've just always lived with only a couple hours sleep a night.
For me it was worse at age 14-16, a combination of exam pressure and teenage angst/heart ache was the main factor. I used to deliberately go running and do lots of excercisethrough the day before 7pm to try fight the insomnia. I would run to school, i would run back. I would start working out once i got home, all the time with a fear of the insomnia. I worst hated it on the rare times i was falling asleep, but a sudden noise from a family member, or even them calling me 'have you gone to bed yet?' (at around 11pm) woke me up, and then anger and stress would keep me up until 4-5am, then 2 hours sleep, then up for school, then not being able to concentrate, especially after lunch time.
I am in that exact situation, I do running throughout the day to try and avoid going to school on 1 hour of sleep, but I am stuck in an endless cycle of going to bed and not being able to sleep
@@Ethan-zq5ry honestly it used to be the exact same for me around 1 year ago, and my best advice is just: it's not that deep bro, stop stressing about it, go to bed early, and wake up early
People with insomia clearly have underlying health issues or psychological/mental issues that havent been diagnosed. I do everything opposite this guy said and i still sleep like a baby. I have a feeling people with insomia need to alleviate potential underlying health issues whether its exercise, meditating eliminating stressful tasks throughout the day etc. Insomia label i believe is just a band-aid label for other underlying issue going on with the individual
It is. My insomnia I believe 100% is from childhood trauma and depression. I've tried everything and nothing helps. I actually get scared when night comes bc I know I won't sleep.
My gramma would force us to sleep at noon after eating. She’s part Spanish and apparently they’re big on Siestas. 1year death anniversary today. #RIPAmmahAida
I live in Spain, it's funny because people sleep 8 hours a night, then have a 1-2 our siesta after lunch. I'm English so I never really got used to it. Also the heat in Summer gets intense in Valencia from about 2pm to 4pm, so a lot of my friends will try to sleep through it.
6:40am. I've been awake for 20hrs, had one meal, drank 10 beers, and smoked 3 bowls. I'll sleep as easily tonight as I do every other night, which is badly. This guy is right.
One time, I was getting around 2hrs of sleep once every other day. During a camping trip around that time, I slept a quality sleep for a good 7-8 hrs every day, even the first day. Though the insomnia had to do with lots of things, I think most of what helped had to with the natural light. It's just funny that the guy mentions the experiment in the Rockies (where I was) where people sleep "2 hrs earlier". Shit was a miracle for me.
I was at my aunt's house in new Mexico once and I was playing hide and seek with my cousins and it was night time and I just laid down in the middle of the yard they couldn't find me and I just looked at the stars at night and it was beautiful and awe and I fell asleep and woke up 15 minutes later but the nap was so rejuvenating that I thought I slept for hrs
I put a pillow over my feet when I need to fall asleep fast. This guy just validated me. My dad slept a few hours at night, and a looong nap at the afternoon (he was the boss at his job, so he could do that). He could just not function on the evenings if he hadn't slept his siesta.
Me: I’m so tired I just need to sleep My brain: Me: so , are we gonna do this or... My brain: lets think about that internet argument from 6 years ago and what you should have said.
I had insomnia for years when I worked third shift. Struggled to get 4 hrs a night. As soon as I went back to days I slept so much better. Felt like a real person again.
I have the same problem atm , i cannot sleep more than 2.5h , and I stay awake more than 24h everyday .. i think i need to change my job .. it really fucked me up , gave me anxiety , lost weight .. gl on ur sleep
Totally makes sense, when you take a cold shower, afterwards you feel warm. I am surprised though that what was not brought up was the advice of the Dali Lama, " We cannot sleep, we "try" to sleep, forcing our eyes close,,. Keep your eyes open as much as you can and you will fall asleep instantly" Worked for me.
Man i am so glad that i never had trouble sleeping. Sleep is probably the only thing that managed to keep me from feeling fucking useless. I am glad my life is turning around and i no longer feel the desire to do bad unhealthy shit, like: eating unhealthy shit like a madman, masturbating 3x a day everyday, binge watching netflix or anime, playing video games, making excuses, etc.
i've noticed that cold temperature personally works much better putting me to sleep. i'm always very agitated sleeping in warm conditions, but i dropped the temperature in my room drastically, and as i predicted i began to drift into sleep far quicker and for far longer, with me rarely waking up during the night
Summers in my apartment are hell. Last time it was like 30 celcius inside. Yes, during the night. Plus the sun here doesnt stay down for long then. Only couple hours. So pretty much the worst sleeping conditions.
