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

Steven Bartlett (0:00)

This year, most business owners have had one thing top of mind, which is how to make AI work for them, because its potential is limitless. But if you don't know what you're doing, then you're guessing, which can be incredibly risky. Our sponsor, NetSuite by Oracle, helps businesses to get AI embedded throughout their organization, whether they're earning millions or hundreds of millions. NetSuite is the number one AI Cloud financial system, and through their platform, you get all of your accounting, financial management, inventory and HR in one place. Their AI connector also lets you pick the AI of your choice. Connect it with your business's data, then you can ask it questions, like how much cash on hand have we got in the company? Or who are our key customers? And because all of that data is connected, it makes your AI smarter, so it can automate routine tasks, deliver specific actionable insights and help you cut the costs. Already over 43,000 businesses have chosen to future proof their business with NetSuite. So if you'd like to learn more and how you can help your business, just get their business guide, which is called Demystifying AI, and you can get that free at netsuite.com/bartlett.

What are the most popular questions people come to you with as a sleep doctor?

Dr. Michael Breus (1:11)

There's three biggies. Number one is, what do I do if I fall asleep okay and I wake up in the middle of the night and I can't fall back asleep?

Steven Bartlett (1:17)

And you can help people with that.

Dr. Michael Breus (1:18)

Absolutely. The second question is, what pillow should I buy? And I'm gonna walk you through which pillows make sense for which people. And then, another one that people ask me all the time is, what's the best time to have sex?

Steven Bartlett (1:29)

That's a strange thing for somebody of your profession to be.

Dr. Michael Breus (1:32)

Yeah. 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. 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. 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 activity, including the perfect time to have coffee and alcohol.

Steven Bartlett (2:05)

Crazy.

Dr. Michael Breus (2:06)

There's even data to show that your ability to understand complicated concepts improves when you're more in line with your 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 gonna talk a lot about that. We're also gonna 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 on.

Steven Bartlett (2:34)

Before we get into all of that, shall we go and look at the best possible sleep position?

Dr. Michael Breus (2:38)

Yeah, let's check it out.

Steven Bartlett (2:41)

Guys, I've got a favor to ask before this episode begins. 69% of you that listen to the show frequently haven't yet hit the follow button. And that follow button is very smart because it means you won't miss the best episodes. The algorithm, if you follow a show, will deliver you the best episodes from that show very prominently in your feed. So when we have our best episodes on this show, the most shared episodes, the most rated episodes, I would love you to know. And the simple way for you to know that is to hit that follow button. Thank you so, so, so much.

Dr. Bruce. Yes. What is it you do? Why does it matter so much now? And what perspective do you take on what you do that is atypical versus other people I might have spoken to about this subject?

Dr. Michael Breus (3:28)

I'm a sleep doctor. I take care of people's sleep problems like apnea, narcolepsy, insomnia, things like that. I've dedicated a good portion of my career, not just to understanding how to treat those disorders, which are sleep disorders, but what I also I call disordered sleep. I'm really interested in behavioral habits, what's going on, what are the things that you might be doing right now that are kind of messing up your sleep, that are easy to fix, and be able to maybe change how things are going forward. You know, I didn't start out thinking I was going to become a sleep doctor, if I'm going to be honest with you. Like that was not on the path. I was actually going in a completely different direction. And one of the things I really discovered was when you change someone's sleep, dude, you change their life. Like it is fundamental to who they are. And it's important for me to be a sleep educator in a way, shape and form that's practical so that people can actually get something from what I'm talking about and apply it right then and there.