The Why Behind Your Z's with Paul Bright, certified sleep science coach

Do you find yourself too busy in the holiday season to enjoy the simple things? It's no secret that daily stressors have a negative impact on sleep, and even the "simple things" that are normally relaxing become stressful!

On this final episode of Season 2, I provide a mindfulness meditation that helps you engage in your senses as you do something most people do in the cold months- sit down and have a warm drink.

Play...

Sleep disturbances and disorders can be comorbid with another diagnosis. On my journey to becoming a certified sleep science coach, I expected this to happen with disorders like chronic pain or bipolar disorder.

What I didn't expect was to find sleep disorders to be comorbid with eating disorders.

Upon this discovery, I reached out to someone who could help explain what it's like when you lose sleep due to eating disorders ...

For more free sleep help and podcast updates, subscribe to my biweekly newsletter. You also get a free book!

This knowledge nap episode discusses a frustrating thing that happens to people when they get better sleep: they still get sleepy!

So, what's happening when that happens? What does it mean when you've done all the right things to improve your sleep, you sleep through the night, yet you're still fatigued?

I cover ...

Subscribe for free sleep coaching tips and a FREE sleep guide straight to your inbox here.

Most grad students with full time jobs and a social life find difficulty squeezing in sleep. They head to class or work like zombies.

I happen to know one who manages school, work, and weekend fun while getting eight hours of sleep every night and living in a college town.

She even went to Vegas!

Listen to my interview with her and you'll...

Many doctors and sleep professionals find melatonin supplements generally safe. It's often a go-to when you find that you can't seem to get sleepy at night.

Melatonin supplements do work.

But what happens when they don't? Or when they used to work, but have stopped working?

I explain why that happens in this episode and offer solutions within the domains I use to coach my clients.

If you like the information you learn...

Clean eating, especially a vegan diet, can really improve your sleep. And Touissant Stewart is here to explain it all.

Touissant is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to living a clean and relaxing lifestyle, but he didn't get there easy. Despite being raised in a food-conscious household, Touissant's early adult years were of the typical American diet. When he saw how it was draining his energy and fitness, he gradually ma...

WARNING: DO NOT PLAY THIS EPISODE WHILE DRIVING.

You just might pass out at the wheel!

Save this episode for just before bedtime!

Mindspace is a life domain where our sleep is impacted. Sometimes going to bed with a busy mind makes it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep.

A guided meditation can help by slowing down your neurons, which generate heat and energy in the brain and impede relaxation.

It's not practical for the br...

Stress is a huge factor in preventing restorative sleep. While there are many ways to de-stress, sometimes you need something that can happen in as little a 5 minutes with lasting effects.

As I searched for such a technique, I remembered learning a little about "tapping" in my previous job, and performing it on myself. I was surprised at how quickly I felt relief, but I couldn't remember the "why" or "h...

This season will feature "Knowledge Naps". These are shorter episodes that directly answer your questions about sleep. In this episode, I explain why you get sicker when you've got insomnia or your sleep has been broken for a while. It has to do with production and strengthening of your white blood cells. Without deep sleep, it doesn't happen!

I'll also talk about how you can improve your white blood cell coun...

This is the final episode of season 1! And I wanted to bring you some of my life lessons about sleep. I didn't realize it at the time, but my work at Millstone 4 H Camp back in the 90s planted me seeds about restorative sleep that came into full fruition 30 years later!

Those of you dealing with ADHD may want to listen because summer camp was my first experience working with ADHD kids. It was a riot! But they also taught me a l...

Can you die from insomnia?

Yes.

But what are the odds?

Very slim. And I explain why, even though chronic insomnia feels like death, scientifically you likely won't die directly from insomnia symptoms. There IS an insomnia-related, death-causing disease that affects a very small population. Learn about the Fatal Familial Insomnia symptoms (you can get a head start here) in this episode!

• This episode was supported in part b...

In this episode, I explain the science behind why we sleep best in the dark. Your eyes do have photosensitive neurotransmitters that are involved in this. The amount of light exposure- natural or artificial- also factors into your sleepiness after sunset.

But what if you want to sleep in the dark, but can't because of your surroundings? I provide two tips that absolutely will make your room darker than your school's permane...

This episode helps answer a question I often get asked: why can’t I fall asleep at night? Why does my brain start to overthink? I explore two of the main reasons why this happens- your brain’s neurotransmitter speeds at bed time, and  emotional dysregulation after midnight. I will also give you two practical solutions to what you can do to help your brain go silent and stay silent when you go to bed: down shift, then distract.

You...

My Air Force days taught me about how important good circulation is for the body. Jet engines, just like car engines, need good, clean oil to keep the parts in shape and free from damage. Our body needs good blood circulation for the same reasons. You'll know when your circulation is bad while you're awake, especially if you've ever had a leg go numb from sitting on it too long! But what about bad circulation in your sl...

What do the experts mean when they say Vitamin D is good for your sleep? I explain the "why" behind Vitamin D for sleep there are 2 types of Vitamin D!), how much you need, and the best sources, no matter your dietary style. In fact, there are free resources in abundance! It just takes a few minutes of your day to get the Vitamin D you need for sleep.

If you want even more help getting the sleep you deserve, subscribe to ...

At first, trying to figure out what fixes your sleep is like trying to clean up after a destructive toddler- so many places to start and seemingly the clean up never ends! My sleep science coaching method involves looking at 4 areas in your life (and a 5th one that ties them together) where you will find the solution to your sleep problems. I'll go through each area in detail, offering a potential solution in each one, and tell...

This episode discusses two often overlooked fundamentals that, if you don't keep them in mind while you try to correct bad sleep, will have you tossing and turning through quick fixes that never work. When does sleep actually start? What triggers the sleep mechanisms inside my body? Where do I start to make the fix? Grasp the basics about sleep and you'll begin to figure out where things went wrong and how this podcast will...

This is “Episode Zero” of The Why Behind Your Z’s because I want you to know what to expect from my podcast. And the best way to do it is to explain how I came up with the name and tagline- “the show that helps you maximize your sleep, one night at a time”. It’s all important and foundational to how you’ll get help from me and other experts.

For free sleep coaching resources and podcast updates, subscribe here.