FoundMyFitness · 2025-10-06 · Rhonda Patrick (host), Michael Grandner
Why You Can’t Sleep (and How to Fix It) | Dr. Michael Grandner
108 research-tied claims examined: 2 contradicted 5 overstated 9 context 78 supported 1 corroborated online 13 unverified
13 No source found (not proven false)
A sleep onset latency or wake after sleep onset of at least 30 minutes is a standard clinical threshold indicating potential insomnia disorder.
"a good rule of thumb we use is about 30 minutes. So, if it's taking you at least 30 minutes to fall asleep or you're awake for at least 30 minutes during the night trying to sleep and you can't, that's a good sign that maybe what you have is an insomnia disorder" (said at 0:03:20)
No published record matching the claim that a sleep onset latency or wake after sleep onset of at least 30 minutes is a standard clinical threshold indicating potential insomnia disorder was located; this does not prove the claim false.
Major medical and athletic organizations (including the NCAA and IOC) recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) as the first-line treatment for insomnia.
"But if you look at every medical organization that has any recommendation around in how to treat insomnia, and for athletes, you know, this includes like NCAA and IOC who who've put out sleep-related materials, they all say CBT-I first" (said at 0:33:52)
No published record matching the claim that major medical and athletic organizations (including the NCAA and IOC) recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) as the first-line treatment for insomnia was located; this does not prove the claim false.
Approximately one in three people in the United States experiences some form of sleep complaint or disturbance.
"about one out of three people in the US has some sort of sleep complaint or problem or something, whether it's falling asleep, staying asleep, not feeling refreshed. That seems to be about a third of the population at least." (said at 0:38:00)
No published record matching the claim that approximately one in three people in the United States experiences some form of sleep complaint or disturbance was located; this does not prove the claim false.
Approximately 10% of the US population meets the diagnostic criteria for an insomnia disorder.
"And it seems like about 1 in 10 people probably would meet the criteria for an insomnia disorder if you if you if you assessed them." (said at 0:38:17)
No published record matching the claim that approximately 10% of the US population meets diagnostic criteria for an insomnia disorder was located; this does not prove the claim false.
Natural sleep inertia wears off within 10 to 60 minutes after waking for most people.
"for most people, that natural sleep inertia will wear off within 10 to 60 minutes as soon as they wake up." (said at 1:31:55)
No published record matching the claim that natural sleep inertia wears off within 10 to 60 minutes after waking for most people was located; this does not prove the claim false.
In a collegiate sleep education intervention among Division I athletes, time in bed increased by an average of 40 minutes and total sleep time increased by over an hour.
"I went into the university, into the Division I athletes across all the different sports... On average, time in bed increased by 40 minutes. Total sleep time increased by over an hour." (said at 1:39:55)
No published record matching the specific collegiate sleep intervention findings among Division I athletes (reporting an average 40-minute increase in time in bed and over an hour increase in total sleep time) was located; this does not prove the claim false.
Melatonin lacks direct sedating properties and promotes wakefulness when administered to nocturnal animals.
"it has no sedating properties whatsoever. Melatonin doesn't. You give melatonin to a nocturnal animal, it wakes them up because it's a nighttime signal." (said at 1:43:50)
No published record matching the claim that melatonin lacks direct sedating properties and promotes wakefulness when administered to nocturnal animals was located; this does not prove the claim false.
Continuous use of supplemental melatonin does not suppress or reduce endogenous melatonin production.
"to my knowledge, there is no data that shows that continual use of supplementary melatonin changes or or reduces your ability to naturally produce it at night." (said at 1:55:09)
No published record matching the claim that continuous supplemental melatonin use does not alter or suppress endogenous melatonin production was located; this does not prove the claim false.
Melatonin regulates the expression of approximately 500 protein-encoding genes.
"Yeah, it's a hormone. I think it's regulating like 500 different protein-encoding genes." (said at 1:34:30)
No published record matching the claim that melatonin regulates approximately 500 protein-encoding genes was located; this does not prove the claim false. While melatonin acts through G-protein coupled receptors (MT1 and MT2), nuclear receptors, and epigenetic mechanisms to modulate the transcription of diverse genes across various cell types and physiological contexts, there is no established scientific consensus or canonized estimate identifying a fixed set of approximately 500 protein-coding genes regulated by the hormone.
Glutamine acts as an activating compound and can cause or exacerbate insomnia when taken at night.
"But if it's got a lot of glutamine in it, you want to not be using that because glutamine is is activating. And so, I mean, I've had athletes I've worked with who like complained about their insomnia. Turns out they're taking these nighttime supplements with a whole bunch of glutamine in it." (said at 2:02:18)
No published record matching the claim that oral glutamine supplementation acts as an activating compound to cause or exacerbate insomnia was located; this does not prove the claim false. While glutamine is biochemically involved in the central nervous system as a precursor for both excitatory glutamate and inhibitory gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), controlled human clinical trials demonstrating that oral glutamine intake induces wakefulness, central nervous system stimulation, or sleep disruption are lacking.
The sleep-promoting effects of THC diminish over a few weeks of use, leading users to escalate doses due to tolerance.
"One is that the sleep-promoting effects fade over time. So often it works great for a for a period of maybe a few weeks, but then you'll notice that it stops working in the same way. And so people start escalating doses for that reason." (said at 2:03:50)
No published record matching the claim that the sleep-promoting effects of THC diminish over a few weeks of use, leading users to escalate doses due to tolerance, was located; this does not prove the claim false.
Alcohol metabolism into acetaldehyde and acetate, along with hepatic glutamine rebound, stimulates the nervous system and causes nighttime awakenings.
"One of the reasons it does that is as the as the alcohol molecule metabolizes and becomes acetaldehyde, it can become a neural stimulant. The acetaldehyde could become acetate, which could become a neural stimulant, and as the liver is processing the alcohol, it can create a glutamine rebound, which can be activating." (said at 2:06:34)
No published record matching the claim that alcohol metabolism into acetaldehyde and acetate, along with a hepatic glutamine rebound, acts as a neural stimulant causing nighttime awakenings was located; this does not prove the claim false.
In a study of Major League Baseball players by Ben Potenziano, players scoring in the clinical range (over 10) on a baseline daytime sleepiness scale had a 75% rate of dropping out of the majors at follow-up.
"He worked with Major League Baseball. He still works in pro sports. He's a great guy. But he did this project where he gave sleepiness questionnaires to a whole bunch of MLB players. Followed them up a couple years later—I don't remember exactly the time frame—just looked to see who's still in the majors, and you could see dose-response: every one point extra increase on that scale, the likelihood of no longer being in the majors. And the ones who were in the clinical range, who scored over a 10 at that baseline time, 75% of them were not in the majors anymore." (said at 5:23:32)
No published record matching the specific study or reported statistics by Ben Potenziano on daytime sleepiness scores and MLB career dropout rates was located; this does not prove the claim false. While presentations and conference abstracts have explored sleep metrics and athletic longevity in professional baseball, peer-reviewed published data verifying this exact study and the reported 75% attrition figure for scores over 10 were not found in indexed literature.
Unverified means no publication matching the claim was located; it does not prove the claim false. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy - disputes from the people quoted are prioritized.