Sleep and the Mind at 2 a.m.

Matt Walker is a neuroscience professor at UC Berkeley and the author of Why We Sleep. His podcast has run since 2021 and covers sleep, the brain and the body. Episodes usually run under forty minutes. It suits the reader who wants to understand what sleep is doing before changing anything.

Jade Wu is a sleep medicine clinician with a PhD in neuroscience from Boston University and a residency and fellowship at Duke. She wrote Hello Sleep, about overcoming insomnia without medication. Her newsletter comes with a free workbook called Quiet Mind for Better Sleep. She writes about building trust with sleep again, past the usual list of sleep hygiene rules.

Martin Reed had chronic insomnia after moving from the UK to the US in 2008 and got through it without sleeping pills. He is a board-certified health and wellness coach with a certification in clinical sleep health. His approach draws on CBT-I and acceptance and commitment therapy. The podcast, a free email sleep course and a support forum cost nothing.

The VA built this free app with Stanford School of Medicine and the Defense Department. It walks through the sleep education and routines used in cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, for civilians as well as veterans. Its makers say it is meant to support care with a clinician and does not replace therapy for people who need it.

The National Institute on Aging explains how sleep changes with age and why older adults still need seven to nine hours. It covers insomnia, sleep apnea and restless legs, with plain tips for a steadier night. It also says when a sleep problem belongs in front of a doctor. It is a good page to share with a parent who has stopped sleeping well.