The Diary Of A CEO · 2026-08-13 · Steven Bartlett (host), Andy Galpin

Fat Loss Scientist: It’s Easy To Lose Weight, But Here’s Why You WON’T Do It! | Dr Andy Galpin

63 research-tied claims examined: 3 contradicted 4 overstated 8 context 39 supported 9 unverified

Overstated

Approximately 50% of elite athletes have a clinical sleep disorder.

"50%, depending on which study you look at, of athletes have a clinical sleep disorder." (said at 0:00:48)

While studies frequently find that approximately 50% or more of elite athletes report poor sleep quality or transient sleep disturbances (particularly surrounding travel and competition), the prevalence of actual clinical sleep disorders is generally lower. In a large cross-sectional investigation of 2,293 Swiss elite athletes across 100 sports, 25.8% exhibited symptoms indicative of a medically relevant sleep disorder requiring clinical evaluation, with specific clinical conditions occurring at lower frequencies (e.g., insomnia at 7.5%, restless legs syndrome at 6.6%, and sleep apnea at 3.4%). While specific subgroups such as heavy contact-sport athletes can exhibit high rates of sleep-related breathing disorders (ranging from 7% to over 80% depending on sport modality and body composition), attributing a 50% prevalence of clinical sleep disorders across athletes in general conflates subjective sleep complaints with formal clinical pathology.

context: A systematic review on sleep-related breathing disorders in athletes and para-athletes. (Sleep medicine 2025) · cited 4x in the literature
"The frequency of SRBDs (apnea-hypopnea index ≥5 events/hour) varied from 7 % to 86.5 %, according to sport modality: (a) 24 % to 86.5 % in rugby players (n = 4 studies); (b) 8 % to 62.5 % in active football players (n = 4); (c) 22 % to 41 % in retired football players (n = 4); (d) 8 % in basketball players (n = 1); (e) 30 % in elite swimmers (n = 1); (f) 61 % in ice hockey players (n = 1); (g) 68 % in judo athletes (n = 1); (h) 58.5 % in golf players (n = 1); (i) 7 % in Brazilian Olympic athletes (n = 1); and (i) 22 % in para-athletes with spinal cord injury (n = 1)." (abstract, results)
pubmed full study (doi)
contradicts: Sleep health and sleep disorders in Swiss elite athletes. (Discover mental health 2026)
"A total of 25.8% of athletes exhibited symptoms suggestive of sleep disorders requiring clinical evaluation. The most commonly reported conditions were insomnia (7.5%), sleep apnea (3.4%), restless legs syndrome (6.6%), nightmares (6.3%), and non-REM parasomnias, including sleepwalking and night terrors (8.7%)." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

0:29:22 Andy Galpinoverstatedvery low

Apigenin and chamomile act to quiet or downregulate frontal cortex activity to facilitate sleep onset.

"Apigenin or chamomile specifically will play that role. It is a reasonable switch that says frontal cortex turn off." (said at 0:29:22)

Apigenin, a bioflavonoid component of chamomile (Matricaria recutita), possesses mild sedative and anxiolytic properties primarily mediated through its binding to central benzodiazepine sites on GABA_A receptors and reduction of glutamatergic excitatory transmission in cortical neurons. In vitro research on cultured cortical neurons demonstrates that apigenin attenuates N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated currents and spontaneous postsynaptic excitatory currents, reducing overall neuronal network excitability. However, asserting that apigenin or chamomile acts as a specific switch to 'turn off' or downregulate the frontal cortex specifically to facilitate sleep onset overstates the localized specificity and mechanistic precision of these compounds. Current evidence is limited to cellular and animal models along with observational or small clinical studies of chamomile, without evidence establishing targeted frontal cortical shutdown.

partial: Apigenin modulates GABAergic and glutamatergic transmission in cultured cortical neurons. (European journal of pharmacology 2004) · cited 98x in the literature
"A reduction of the network excitability could thus account for the sedative effects." (abstract, conclusions, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
context: Apigenin: a natural molecule at the intersection of sleep and aging. (Frontiers in nutrition 2024) · cited 41x in the literature
"In animal models, apigenin positively impacts both sleep and longevity." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
partial: Apigenin, a component of Matricaria recutita flowers, is a central benzodiazepine receptor… (Planta medica 1995) · cited 364x in the literature
"The results reported in this paper demonstrate that apigenin is a ligand for the central benzodiazepine receptors exerting anxiolytic and slight sedative effects but not being anticonvulsant or myorelaxant." (abstract, conclusions, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

0:28:16 Andy Galpinoverstatedlow

Tart cherry juice has moderate to strong scientific evidence supporting its ability to improve sleep.

"Everything you see in this table has moderate to strong scientific evidence that it will help with sleep... So lovely, delicious looking tart cherry juice and I'll go through why that is." (said at 0:28:16)

The claim that tart cherry juice has moderate to strong scientific evidence for improving sleep is overstated. While several small randomized controlled trials and pilot studies have reported modest improvements in total sleep time, sleep efficiency, or subjective sleep quality (often attributed to small amounts of exogenous melatonin and phytochemicals that modulate tryptophan degradation), the overall evidence base is limited by very small sample sizes (typically 8 to 20 participants per trial) and conflicting results. Systematic reviews and network meta-analyses note that the certainty of evidence for tart cherry juice is very low, and larger subsequent trials in healthy adults and individuals with overweight or obesity have failed to demonstrate significant improvements in sleep duration or quality.

partial: Effects of a tart cherry juice beverage on the sleep of older adults with insomnia: a pilo… (Journal of medicinal food 2010) · cited 160x in the literature
"When compared to placebo, the study beverage produced significant reductions in insomnia severity (minutes awake after sleep onset); no such improvements were observed for sleep latency, total sleep time, or sleep efficiency compared to placebo. Effect sizes were moderate and in some cases negligible. The results of this pilot study suggest that CherryPharm, a tart cherry juice blend, has modest beneficial effects on sleep in older adults with insomnia" (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
context: Efficacy, acceptability, and tolerability of all available treatments for insomnia in the … (Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica 2020) · cited 56x in the literature
"The overall confidence in the evidence was very low primarily due to the small amount of data per comparison and their sparse connectedness. Several benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and z-drugs performed better in both primary outcomes, but few comparisons had data from more than one trial. The limited evidence on non-pharmacological interventions suggested that acupressure, auricular acupuncture, mindfulness-based stress reduction program, and tart cherry juice were better than their control interventions." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)
contradicts: Montmorency tart cherry supplementation does not impact sleep, body composition, cellular … (Nutrition and health 2026) · cited 8x in the literature
"Despite the potential benefits of antioxidants and melatonin, we did not find improvements in sleep time or quality, cellular health or BP in participants consuming MTC for 30 days, though BM decreased in capsule groups. Conclusion: These results conflict with previous data on MTC and sleep and BP, therefore further investigation is warranted." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

0:32:48 Andy Galpinoverstatedmoderate

Studies evaluating commercial melatonin supplements show the actual dosage in pills can be up to 100 times higher than what is stated on the label.

"There's enough studies that look at the dosage that's actually in the pill versus on the label and they can be up to 100x higher." (said at 0:32:48)

Studies evaluating the accuracy of commercial over-the-counter melatonin supplements do find significant variability between actual melatonin content and what is stated on the label, but the maximum documented excess in published literature is around 478% (roughly 5 times higher than labeled), rather than 100 times (10,000%) higher. For example, a study analyzing 30 commercial supplements found melatonin content ranging from -83% to +478% of the labeled claim, with lot-to-lot variability up to 465%. While label inaccuracy and over-strength supplements are well-documented, claiming actual dosage can be up to 100x higher overstates the magnitude observed in scientific testing.

partial: Melatonin Natural Health Products and Supplements: Presence of Serotonin and Significant V… (Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine 2017) · cited 267x in the literature
"Melatonin content was found to range from -83% to +478% of the labelled content. Additionally, lot-to-lot variable within a particular product varied by as much as 465%." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmed full study (doi)

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.