The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It<\/em><\/a>. Chris and I begin our conversation with why we get sleepy, and how people sometimes confuse fatigue with sleepiness. We then get into the real dangers of sleep deprivation, but how you probably shouldn’t worry about them if you have common problems with falling and staying asleep. We then talk about how many hours of sleep you actually need, how you may be stressing yourself out trying to get more than is necessary, and why it’s best to compare your varying hunger for sleep to your varying hunger for food. Chris unpacks what insomnia is, and how it’s not just an inability to sleep, but your response to that inability, and the extent to which insomnia is rooted in fear. From there we turn to the disparity that often exists between the perception and the reality of how much sleep you’re getting, and the fact that there’s a good chance you’re actually getting more sleep than you think. We then discuss creating a plan for what to do when you can’t sleep, which may involve spending less time in bed, or in fact relishing the time you spend lying in it awake. We end our conversation with when you should and shouldn’t nap, and when you should see a sleep doctor about your sleep problems. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over the past decade, there’s been an emerging focus on the importance of sleep. Thousands of books and articles have been put out which drive home just how central sleep is in our mental and physical health. This emphasis on sleep has had the positive effect of motivating people to better prioritize it. But, there’s been a downside to all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":195015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42265,156,42380],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-podcast","category-strength"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661-538x280.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661-768x432.png","aom":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661-372x230.png","aom-large":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661-1200x675.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661-320x180.png","reactor-640":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661-640x360.png"},"yoast_head":"\n
How to Get Better Sleep . . . By Thinking About It Less | Art of Manliness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over the\u00a0past decade there's been an emerging focus on the importance of sleep. But stressing about sleep may be what's hurting your sleep.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Podcast #661: Get Better Sleep by Stressing About It Less | The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the\u00a0past decade there's been an emerging focus on the importance of sleep. But stressing about sleep may be what's hurting your sleep.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Art of Manliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-16T16:55:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-12T20:53:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"AoM Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@artofmanliness\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"AoM Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"AoM Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/28ff38880a7c6995e23ac063aaaa81d4\"},\"headline\":\"Podcast #661: Get Better Sleep by Stressing About It Less\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-16T16:55:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-12T20:53:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":379,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/661.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"Podcast\",\"Strength\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2020\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Get Better Sleep . . . By Thinking About It Less | Art of Manliness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/661.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-16T16:55:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-12T20:53:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/28ff38880a7c6995e23ac063aaaa81d4\"},\"description\":\"Over the\u00a0past decade there's been an emerging focus on the importance of sleep. But stressing about sleep may be what's hurting your sleep.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/661.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/11\\\/661.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/strength\\\/health\\\/get-better-sleep\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Podcast #661: Get Better Sleep by Stressing About It Less\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Art of Manliness\",\"description\":\"Men's Interest and Lifestyle\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.artofmanliness.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/28ff38880a7c6995e23ac063aaaa81d4\",\"name\":\"AoM Team\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/beta.artofmanliness.com\\\/author\\\/aom-team\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Get Better Sleep . . . By Thinking About It Less | Art of Manliness","description":"Over the\u00a0past decade there's been an emerging focus on the importance of sleep. But stressing about sleep may be what's hurting your sleep.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Podcast #661: Get Better Sleep by Stressing About It Less | The Art of Manliness","og_description":"Over the\u00a0past decade there's been an emerging focus on the importance of sleep. But stressing about sleep may be what's hurting your sleep.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/","og_site_name":"The Art of Manliness","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/artofmanliness","article_published_time":"2020-11-16T16:55:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-12T20:53:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"AoM Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@artofmanliness","twitter_site":"@artofmanliness","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"AoM Team","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/"},"author":{"name":"AoM Team","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/28ff38880a7c6995e23ac063aaaa81d4"},"headline":"Podcast #661: Get Better Sleep by Stressing About It Less","datePublished":"2020-11-16T16:55:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-12T20:53:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/"},"wordCount":379,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661.png","articleSection":["Health","Podcast","Strength"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2020","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/","url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/","name":"How to Get Better Sleep . . . By Thinking About It Less | Art of Manliness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661.png","datePublished":"2020-11-16T16:55:44+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-12T20:53:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/28ff38880a7c6995e23ac063aaaa81d4"},"description":"Over the\u00a0past decade there's been an emerging focus on the importance of sleep. But stressing about sleep may be what's hurting your sleep.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/661.png","width":1280,"height":720},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/health\/get-better-sleep\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Podcast #661: Get Better Sleep by Stressing About It Less"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/","name":"The Art of Manliness","description":"Men's Interest and Lifestyle","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/#\/schema\/person\/28ff38880a7c6995e23ac063aaaa81d4","name":"AoM Team","url":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/author\/aom-team\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130395\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}