In this fast, fun Sleep Myth or Must-Do game episode, world-renowned Sleep Doctor Dr. Michael Breus breaks down the most common sleep myths midlife women hear every day — and reveals which ones are actually wrecking your nights.

We get into the truth about 3AM wake-ups, “catching up” on lost sleep, whether eight hours is really the gold standard, how hormones change everything after 40, and the daily habits that help (or totally backfire). Dr. Breus sorts fact from fiction with sharp, science-backed answers that are easy to understand — and even easier to put into practice.

If you want clearer nights, better energy, and a deeper understanding of what really works for midlife sleep, this episode gives you quick wins, surprising truths, and eye-opening corrections you won’t hear anywhere else.

Think you know how sleep really works in midlife? In this myth-busting game, the Sleep Doctor sets the record straight. We cover:

• Why midlife women wake at 1–3AM — and how to stop the cycle

• Whether you can “catch up” on lost sleep (the truth hurts)

• The real ideal sleep range for women over 40

• What actually affects REM and deep sleep

• The daily habits and routines that improve sleep — and the ones that sabotage it

• The biggest myths women take as fact (and why they don’t hold up)

This game episode is fast, fun, and packed with science-backed clarity to help you finally understand your sleep — and reclaim your nights.

• You can’t “make up” lost sleep later — the body doesn’t work that way.

• Most midlife women don’t need eight hours; 6.5–7.5 hours can be optimal depending on chronotype.

• Hormones in perimenopause and menopause significantly change sleep quality and timing.

• Caffeine and alcohol hit women harder after 40 and can disrupt REM and deep sleep.

• Mis-timed sleep routines (too much screen time, inconsistent bed/wake times) matter more than people think.

• Simple daily habits — hydration, light exposure, timing, nervous system regulation — make the biggest difference.

• Sleep myths spread online often harm midlife women more than help them.

You can't make up for lost sleep.

Anybody out there who's listening? Who had kids come on the first year that they were born? How much sleep did you get?

Zero.

Almost none.

Right, Right. Everyone should aim for eight hours of sleep a night.

Wrong. Eight hours is a myth. Well, one thing we haven't talked about is cannabis.

Oh, right. What do you. Yeah. What do you think about that? Everybody should come see you if they're having sleep issues. I mean, everybody lining up.

So on the iconic midlife, we always like to end the show with a game if you're up for it.

Sure. Let's go.

All right, so this game segment is called Sleep myth or must do. So myth is totally false. And a must do is, like, for sure it's happening.

All right, got it.

Number one, melatonin is the best fix for insomnia.

False. Terrible idea. Do not use so melatonin. So a lot of people don't know that melatonin has interaction effects.

Did you know that melatonin affects birth control?

No, I did not know that.

I know. Nobody does. Did you know melatonin also affects blood pressure medication, diabetes medication, and antidepressants?

I would gather that of your listening audience, probably 50% are on one of those four things. And when you take melatonin, they are now ineffective. So I'm not a fan.

I use melatonin in my patients for jet lag, for shift work, and for something called REM behavior disorder. That's it.

That's it. Oof. That's good to know. Thank you. Number two, blue light is the biggest threat to good sleep.

False. So the data on blue light is. It's not great. Here's what I'll tell you is more important.

It's not so much that you got blue light coming from your screen at night. It's that you're trying to get your high score on Candy Crush and you're not trying to go to bed. Okay. Like, it's about the engagement level.

It's about, what are you doing? It's not about. I mean, to be fair, you don't want to lie in a.

In, you know, your bedroom with every single light on, you know, at 11 o' clock at night and think you're going to be able to fall asleep. But at the end of the day, blue light's not going to cure. Lack of blue light is not going to cure your insomnia. Your behaviors probably will.

And I, I would argue that the timing of when you get your blue light, as in right before bed, is probably not the best.

Not the best. Okay, number three, magnesium before bed can help women over 40 fall asleep faster.

So there is some data to suggest that that is true. I have seen that with that upgraded formulas magnesium, we did find that people fell asleep faster and they actually slept deeper.

So I would argue that, yes, that is probably true.

That's correct. Okay, number five, you can't make up for lost sleep.

That is correct. You cannot make up for lost sleep. But you don't have to. Your body absorbs it and your body knows what to do with it. Think about it like this.

Anybody out there who's listening, who had kids, come on. The first year that they were born, how much sleep did you get?

Zero.

Almost done.

Right, Right.

Like, I mean, we look at. I mean, I think there's a statistic that, like, within the first four years of a child's life, the parents lose approximately a year of sleep.

And so if we really had a sleep debt, like, we would be in forever payment of it. Like, we'd never make it up. Like, it's. It would be literally impossible to make up.

So I don't want people to wander around thinking, like, hey, I'm going to, you know, sleep in on the weekends. I'm going to do any of that stuff. No, bad idea.

Okay. Bad idea. Okay. Everyone should aim for eight hours of sleep a night.

Wrong. Eight hours is a myth. I, um, Very few people need exactly eight hours.

What we would now say is somewhere between seven and nine is really the new eight. Um, I don't. Almost none of my patients get more than seven hours, and I don't have any problems with it whatsoever.

Oh, good to know.

Okay.

Drinking wine helps you fall asleep faster.

Uh, that is true. It does. However, it gives you rotten quality sleep. So, yes, it does make you fall asleep faster, but no, you do not want to do it.

So you would say go for quality over quantity of sleep every single day. Okay.

And twice on Sundays.

There we go. If you snore, it's probably just annoying and not dangerous.

No, it is probably sleep apnea. And it's definitely something that you want to look into. So once again, I can't push this button enough. If you or your bed partner are doing this.

Look, the test is 200 bucks. It's probably covered by your insurance. Just go do it. Right. Go to my website. We'll put a link in here to get people there. No problem.

Okay. You should go to bed and wake up at the exact same time every day. Even on the weekends.

It would be great I would love that. That would be my formal recommendation. But I'm not so foolish as to think that people will actually do that.

But again, if only you took half of that recommendation and just woke up at the same time every day, I'd be happy.

How much sleep do you get a night, by the way?

I sleep between six and a half and seven hours a night. I haven't had any coffee today, it's 12 o'. Clock. This is my normal energy level. I'm 57 years old. This is me.

It's not hard if you take good care of yourself. Here's the thing.

If you regularly get six and a half to seven hours of sleep every single night, if then one night you only get five hours, your body doesn't care. Your body will snap back just like this. It's the person who has irregular sleep and then has a really terrible night.

That's when everything goes off the rails.

And do you drink or no?

Do I drink alcohol? Yeah, I mean, I'm not a big drinker. I'm not one to like have a cocktail when I come home.

But like if there's football and there are friends over, sure, I'll have a beer.

Okay. And so it's like very, very moderate. So it's not affecting your sleep as much. Okay.

Yeah. Well, one thing we haven't talked about is cannabis.

Oh, right. You know, what do you. Yeah, what do you think about that?

So I'm not, I'm a pro cannabis. I don't have any problems with cannabis.

But people need to be thoughtful because remember, high levels of thc, which is the main psychoactive substance in cannabis. This increases your heart rate and lowers REM sleep, two things we don't like.

So if you're going to use cannabis, you want to have very small amounts of thc, right. You don't want to get stoned and go to bed, just like you don't want to get drunk and go to bed. Right.

If you're going to use cannabis as a medicine, then use it as a medicine. Have a nice small dose. And the thing you're looking for is cbn, as in nighttime.

That is the constituent inside of cannabis that at least has got two studies to show that it lowers arousals and awakenings in the middle of the night.

Okay, that's interesting because you do see those sleep gummies with the different levels of like THC and to.

Okay, you want the lowest level of THC and the higher level of cbn.

Cbn. Okay. And that will keep you asleep for the night, Correct? Correct. Okay, last one. Midlife insomnia is something you, you just have to live with.

No, I don't, I don't agree with that. I mean, my most popular video right now walks through some of the, like the 4, 7, 8 breathing we were talking about and those type of things.

The answer is no, you don't have to live with it. There are definitely solutions. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one. I'm a cognitive behavioral therapist.

So as an example, if somebody comes to see me and we discover that they've got some form of insomnia, it usually takes me between eight and 10 weeks, 30 minutes each. Each week I've got them fixed. No drugs. Almost every time.

That's great. Well, everybody should come see you if they're having sleep issues.

I mean, I don't know about that. I'm not sure I want everybody to.

Come and see me. Everybody lining up.