Episode 17 – Show Notes

• 4:23 — Our personal sleep histories
• 6:36 — Restless leg syndrome & childhood sleep anxiety
• 8:50 — Psychophysiologic insomnia & CBT-I explained
• 11:00 — Bedtime boxes & stimulus control for kids
• 12:50 — Sleep tracking: Oura Ring vs. Apple Watch
• 16:20 — Orthosomnia — when tracking makes sleep worse
• 18:32 — How your tracker score affects how you feel the next day
• 19:00 — Sleep environment: cold rooms, darkness, white noise
• 22:52 — Sleep masks, weighted blankets (Bearaby), and pillows
• 27:00 — Light-up alarm clocks (Philips, Hatch)
• 29:00 — AYO light therapy glasses & circadian entrainment
• 32:00 — Nighttime routines: DND, showers, reading
• 34:40 — Why a hot shower helps you sleep (the science)
• 36:00 — Craig's meditation practice & pre-bed habits
• 39:20 — Arielle's history with insomnia & trazodone
• 41:10 — What sleep medications actually do (and don't do)
• 44:17 — Magnesium glycinate — the evidence
• 47:35 — L-theanine — even less evidence, still worth trying?
• 48:11 — Melatonin: Craig's 1mg dose & the heart failure study
• 52:00 — How we're actually sleeping in 2026

• Both hosts have struggled with sleep throughout their lives — and that's part of why they do this work.
• Sleep anxiety in children (and adults) responds well to CBT-I; the behavioral components are often more important than the cognitive ones.
• Sleep trackers are best used to observe trends, not to optimize nightly metrics. Fixating on scores can cause orthosomnia — anxiety that worsens the very sleep it's supposed to measure.
• A cold bedroom (ideally 60–67°F), darkness, and quiet are the most evidence-based environmental changes you can make.
• A warm shower or bath before bed works by triggering a drop in core body temperature — the direction of change matters, not just the temperature itself.
• Magnesium glycinate and L-theanine have limited but plausible supporting data; more importantly, they're safe at typical doses. Use third-party tested brands.
• Melatonin is a hormone — more is not better. Craig uses 1mg. A 2024 conference abstract linking long-term melatonin use to heart failure has significant methodological limitations, was not peer-reviewed, and is not cause for alarm at low doses in otherwise healthy adults.
• Trazodone is a reasonable long-term option for some people with chronic insomnia. It's not habit-forming, increases slow-wave sleep, and has a stable side-effect profile — but it's still a tool, not a substitute for good sleep habits. Note: AYO glasses recommend a 20-minute morning session (not 10 minutes as mentioned in the episode).

• AYO Light Therapy Glasses
• Bearaby Weighted Blanket
• Oura Ring
• Magnesium Glycinate 500mg
• Nature's Trove L-Theanine
• Melatonin 1mg
• ConsumerLab.com — third-party supplement testing (subscription ~$60/yr)

• Magnesium for Kids' Sleep – Dr. Canapari
• Melatonin & Heart Failure Study – Dr. Canapari
• Melatonin Dosing Calculator for Children – Dr. Canapari

• Dr. Shelby Harris – CBT-I specialist
• Dr. Lynelle Schneeberg – Become Your Child's Sleep Coach: The Bedtime Doctor's 5-Step Guide, Ages 3–10
  • Book on Amazon
• Orthosomnia – original paper by Dr. Kelly Baron (J Clin Sleep Med, 2017)
• CBT-I Coach App (VA) — free, useful for teens 12+ and adults

• Expect to Sleep
• Free 24-Hour Sleep Guide (Arielle)