Human Sleep Expert: Don't Pee In The Middle Of The Night & Why Night Time Sex Isn't A Good Idea!

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

FlightStory

Business, Society & Culture, Education

4.5 • 17.8K Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2026

⏱️ 144 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Are you always tired? Sleep Expert Dr. Michael Breus breaks down the 4 chronotypes to master your sleep, how to fix insomnia, the truth about sleep apnea, and why the 8-hour myth is wrong! Dr. Michael Breus is a clinical psychologist and a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine. He has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, served as a WebMD sleep expert, and is also the bestselling author of books such as, ‘Sleep Drink Breathe’. He explains: ▪️The 4 chronotypes that dictate your ideal daily schedule ▪️Why waking up at 3am is a biological temperature spike ▪️The "3-2-1 Rule" for the perfect evening wind-down ▪️How alcohol blocks the brain’s glymphatic toxin clearance ▪️The exact pillow checklist to fix neck pain and snoring (0:00) Intro (4:14) What Your Dreams Say About Your Mind and Personality (8:57) The "Caffeine Nap" That Supercharges You for 4 Hours (12:50) Why You Need to Know Your Sleep Chronotype Now (14:11) The Ideal Time to Have Sex—Backed by Science (16:27) When to Drink Coffee for Maximum Focus and Energy (21:03) Are You a Bear? Why Some Chronotypes Thrive Late Morning (25:50) Does Aging Make Us Grumpier? The Sleep Connection (26:46) Are Early School Start Times Hurting Our Kids’ Performance? (31:03) The #1 Parenting Tip to Prevent Sleep Issues in Children (33:43) How to Drink Alcohol Without Wrecking Your Sleep (36:33) The Best Time to Drink—According to Your Chronotype (37:48) What Happens When You Eat Right Before Bed (39:20) Proven Relaxation Exercises That Help You Fall Asleep (43:32) What the Ideal Sleep Environment Actually Looks Like (47:14) How the Military Falls Asleep in 2 Minutes Flat (52:39) These Smart Earphones Sync With Your Brainwaves to Improve Sleep (57:06) Why Sleep Might Be in Crisis by 2026 (1:00:26) Ads (1:02:16) 1 in 7 Have Sleep Apnea—and Most Don’t Know It (1:04:31) 6 Hidden Signs You Might Have Sleep Apnea (1:06:05) Should Couples Sleep Together or Apart? The Surprising Data (1:07:28) Why Sleep Apnea Symptoms Differ Between Men and Women (1:11:09) The Scary Health Dangers of Chronic Sleep Deprivation (1:13:43) The Most Common Myths About Insomnia—Debunked (1:18:45) How Sleep Problems Fuel Depression (And Vice Versa) (1:20:40) The Big Lies You’ve Heard About Melatonin (1:25:56) Kids Are Overdosing on Melatonin—Here’s What Parents Need to Know (1:27:36) How to Beat Jet Lag Like a Pro Traveler (1:31:35) The Hidden Dangers of Taking Melatonin Every Night (1:34:13) This Is the Most Researched Sleep Supplement Ever (1:36:14) Can Ashwagandha Really Calm Nighttime Overthinking? (1:37:06) The Turkey and Milk Combo That Actually Promotes Sleep (1:39:43) This Simple Banana Hack Could Help You Fall Asleep (1:42:20) Why Vitamin D Is Crucial for Your Body’s Internal Clock (1:43:27) Ads (1:45:42) How to Build a Sleep Routine That Actually Works (1:46:54) Should You Be Using a Wearable to Track Sleep? (1:50:03) What Dreams Are Trying to Tell You (And Why It Matters) (1:53:40) How to Reprogram Recurring Nightmares and Sleep Better (2:00:06) The First Night Effect Is Real—Here’s Why You Should Care (2:01:55) Why Fighting Before Bed Could Be Destroying Your Sleep (2:06:18) The Most Surprising Time of Day to Fall in Love (2:07:38) How to Find the Perfect Pillow in Just 4 Steps (2:16:29) How to Prep Your Bedroom for Deep, Restorative Sleep (2:20:12) What One Thing Would You Change About Healthcare? Enjoyed the episode? Share this link and earn points for every referral - redeem them for exclusive prizes: https://doac-perks.com Follow Dr Michael: Instagram - https://linkly.link/2ZqV9 YouTube - https://linkly.link/2ZqVD Website - https://linkly.link/2ZuLL You can purchase Dr Michael’s book, ‘Sleep Drink Breathe’, here: https://linkly.link/2ZqVM Dr Michael's Chronotype Quiz: https://my.sleepdoctor.com/sleep-quiz You can find out more about the resources mentioned, here: Sleep-Drink-Breathe 3-Week Plan - https://linkly.link/2ZuLP Orion Cooling Mattress Pad - https://linkly.link/2ZuLM Timeshifter - https://linkly.link/2ZuLN Upgraded Formulas Magnesium - https://linkly.link/2ZuLO Muse - https://linkly.link/2ZuLQ The Diary Of A CEO: ◼️Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/ ◼️Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://smarturl.it/DOACbook ◼️The 1% Diary is back - limited time only: https://bit.ly/3YFbJbt ◼️The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards (Second Edition): https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb ◼️Get email updates - https://bit.ly/diary-of-a-ceo-yt ◼️Follow Steven - https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb Sponsors: Stan: Join Stan’s Dare to Post 30-day Challenge. Post one video per day for 30 days. Finish the challenge and split $100,000. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. For Official Rules, visit https://DaretoDream.stan.store LinkedIn Marketing: https://www.linkedin.com/DIARY Intuit: If you want help getting out of the weeds of admin, https://intuitquickbooks.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	What are the most popular questions people come to you with as a sleep doctor?
0:04.1	There's three biggies.
0:05.1	Number one is, what do I do if I fall asleep okay and I wake up in the middle of the night
0:09.5	and I can't fall back asleep?
0:10.7	And you can help people with that?
0:11.7	Absolutely.
0:12.4	The second question is what pillow should I buy?
0:14.9	And I'm going to walk you through which pillows make sense for which people.
0:17.8	And then another one that people ask me all the time is, what's the best time to have sex? That's a strange thing for somebody of your profession to be engaged about. Well, let me explain why. So I've been an actively practicing sleep specialist for 26 years. I take care of people's sleep problems like apnea, insomnia. And I'm really interested in the things that you might be doing right now that are messing up your sleep that are easy to fix.
0:38.5	So, for example, most people don't know that they have a genetic sleep code inside them called their chronotype, which decides when your brain releases things like melatonin, cortisol, adrenaline, and dopamine.
0:48.8	And so I can show you based on your chronotype when it's bedtime, but also the perfect time of day to do almost any
0:54.8	activity, including the perfect time to have coffee and alcohol. Crazy. There's even data to show
1:00.7	that your ability to understand complicated concepts improves when you're more in line with your
1:06.1	chronotype. Now, there are three known chronotypes, but what I'm famous for is discovering a fourth one, which I think might be you. So we're going to talk a lot about that. We're also going to talk about dreams, because dreams can tell you things about yourself that you may not want to know. And then there's how to fix jet lag, whether you should sleep with a TV on the truth about melatonin supplementation, and my favorite way to get magnesium. But before we get into all of that, shall we go and look at the best possible sleep position?
1:31.3	Yeah, let's on the truth about melatonin supplementation and my favorite way to get magnesium. Before we get into all of that, shall we go and look at the best possible sleep position?
1:31.3	Yeah, let's check it out.
1:34.2	Guys, I've got a favour to ask before this episode begins.
1:37.2	69% of you that listen to the show frequently haven't yet hit the follow button.
1:41.0	And that follow button is very smart because it means you won't miss the best
1:44.3	episodes. The algorithm, if you follow a show, will deliver you the best episodes from that show
1:49.6	very prominently in your feed. So when we have our best episodes on this show, the most shared
1:53.8	episodes, the most rated episodes, I would love you to know. And the simple way for you to know that
	...

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