#163 - Insomnia and Public Health: You're Looking Tired And More Than A Little Human

We all think we know what insomnia is: trouble sleeping, tossing and turning, maybe staring at the ceiling until sunrise. But does the public really have a clear picture of insomnia and does that impact the massive health impact it has? In this episode, we will:Explain how insomnia is not a single problem but a progressive condition, starting with a few rough nights and, in some, developing into a chronic disorderExplore why insomnia is often a disorder of perception, where patients significantly underestimate how much they sleepReview what studies show about actual sleep time in insomnia—based on polysomnography, actigraphy, and other objective measuresIdentify how public misunderstanding of insomnia has contributed to ineffective treatments and persistent mythsWalk through a new six-level clinical framework for managing insomnia, from public health education to relapse preventionHighlight why “doing nothing new” after a bad night may be the best form of early treatment—and why CBT-I remains the gold standard when things don’t resolveDiscuss the role of hyperarousal, sleep identity, and over-attention to sleep in making insomnia worse over timeProduced by: Maeve WinterMusic by: Dr. Abhinav Singh (@sleep_vigilante), all rights reservedMoreTwitter: @drchriswinterIG: @drchriwinterThreads: @drchriswinterBluesky: @drchriswinterThe Sleep Solution and The Rested ChildThanks for listening and sleep well!