Sleep is not simply a period of inactivity. While you rest, your body carries out essential maintenance that keeps you physically strong, mentally sharp, and emotionally balanced. Learning how sleep works — and what interferes with it — can help you improve your overall health. What Happens While You Sleep? As you sleep, your body…
It’s quiet. The house is still. You didn’t intend to wake up, yet there you are — wide enough awake to notice the clock glowing beside your bed. It reads around 3 a.m. Again. This kind of early-morning wake-up can feel strangely specific, but it isn’t mystical, random, or uncommon. In fact, it’s often the…
Nightmares don’t just end when you wake up. They can linger into the morning, leaving you tense, tired, and uneasy about going back to sleep the next night. When bad dreams repeat, they can quietly erode both sleep quality and emotional well-being. One therapeutic approach, known as Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT), offers a way to…
Some nights, sleep feels like a negotiation that never settles. You lie down, shift left, roll right, adjust the pillow, pull the blanket up, kick it off again — all without ever feeling comfortable enough to drift away. This constant movement isn’t random. It’s often your body’s way of saying it’s not ready — or…
Waking up at 2 or 3 a.m. and staring at the ceiling can be more exhausting than not sleeping at all. You may fall asleep easily, yet your rest breaks apart halfway through the night — leaving you groggy, irritated, and drained the next day. This problem is far more common than people realize, and…
Falling asleep is a biological “cool down” process. For your brain to initiate the sleep cycle, your core body temperature must drop. When this process is interrupted—whether by your environment or your internal chemistry—you end up tossing and turning in a “heat trap.” If you find yourself waking up damp or overheated, here is the…
While most people are familiar with the steady hum of white noise, sleep scientists are increasingly turning their attention to a more naturalistic frequency: Pink Noise. According to the CDC, nearly a third of adults struggle with sleep deprivation.1 If traditional fans or static haven’t worked for you, the biological “flatness” of pink noise might…
Most of us know that darkness is the key to rest, but the color of the light in your home before you hit the light switch is just as critical. Our eyes contain specialized receptors that communicate directly with the brain’s internal clock. These sensors are highly sensitive to specific wavelengths, meaning the glow from…
Achieving peak physical performance and mental clarity begins long before you close your eyes. While health authorities like the CDC emphasize a 7-hour nightly minimum, the quality of those hours is what truly dictates your health. Consistently falling short of this window creates a “sleep debt” that has been linked to long-term issues like metabolic…
For most healthy adults, the sweet spot for sleep lies between 60°F and 65°F (15.6°C to 18.3°C). Why does this work? Your body follows a circadian rhythm that naturally lowers your core temperature as evening approaches.1 This “cooling down” process is a signal to your brain that it’s time to sleep.2 Sleep Temperatures Across Life…