If you live in a region prone to haboobs, you already know the drill. The sky turns orange, visibility drops, and you shut your windows and wait it out. What you may not know is that the storm keeps affecting you long after the dust settles, especially at night. There are no studies yet that… Continue reading
Post Category → Sleep Basics
Why Permanent Daylight Saving Time Is the Wrong Fix
Congress is close to ending the twice-a-year clock change. That part is popular. But the version moving through Congress locks in permanent daylight saving time, not permanent standard time. Sleep medicine has been warning against this exact outcome for years. Here’s the problem in one sentence: daylight saving time pushes clock time an hour ahead… Continue reading
Can You Trust Your Sleep Tracker? Here’s What the Research Actually Shows
You wake up, check your watch, and see a sleep score. Maybe it says you only got 12 minutes of deep sleep. Maybe it tells you your REM sleep was low. You start the day feeling like you failed at sleeping. Here’s the problem. That number might be wrong. Consumer sleep trackers and apps have… Continue reading
What is Hypersomnia
If you sleep 9 to 12 hours a night and still feel exhausted the next day, something more than “being tired” may be going on. That’s hypersomnia. It’s not laziness and it’s not just needing an extra cup of coffee. It’s a real sleep disorder, and for many people it takes years to get a… Continue reading
Sleep Changes During Menarche: What Every Teen and Parent Should Know
If your daughter suddenly can’t fall asleep, feels tired all day, or seems moodier than usual after her first period, it’s not just teenage behavior. Menarche changes your biology in ways that directly disrupt sleep. Why your sleep changes when your period starts Menarche is the first menstrual cycle. It marks the start of a… Continue reading
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder where your airway repeatedly collapses or narrows during sleep, blocking or reducing airflow even though your body keeps trying to breathe. Each blockage can last 10 seconds or longer and is often followed by a gasp, snort, or brief awakening as your brain signals you to reopen… Continue reading
Overuse of Melatonin in the US
As a sleep physician, most of my clinical encounters involve patients asking about melatonin or already taking it to help them sleep. Almost none of them know the risks that come with it. There is a melatonin epidemic brewing in the US, and the numbers back that up. Melatonin use among US adults quintupled in… Continue reading
What Is Snoring? A Complete Guide
Snoring happens when air can’t move freely through your nose and throat while you sleep. As you breathe in, air squeezes through a narrowed space at the back of your throat. This makes the soft tissue there, especially your soft palate, vibrate. That vibration is what creates the sound. It’s incredibly common. Somewhere between 20… Continue reading