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The SleepTrace Blog
Clear, calm, science-grounded writing on understanding your sleep, no hype, no fear, no medical claims.
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Latest
Fresh from the SleepTrace desk, newest first.
Symptom
Nocturia: waking up to pee at night, causes and studies
What nocturia is, how common it is by age and sex, which causes studies have linked to it (sleep apnea, heart disease, diabetes, salt, menopause), what it is associated with and what has been tested in studies. A study overview, not a diagnosis.
Sleep quality
Sleeping with a fan: is it bad for you? What studies say
Is sleeping with a fan bad for you? Sleep studies on airflow in warm rooms, what a fan can do to your nose and throat, whether it can make you sick, the fan death myth, and a pros and cons table.
Sleep science
Exercise before bed: does it hurt or help your sleep?
Is exercise before bed bad? Three meta-analyses, a 14,689-person wearable study and small lab trials on evening workouts, how close to bedtime is too close, and what light exercise and stretching add.
Browse by topic
Everything we've written, organised by what's keeping you up.
Sleep apnea & breathing
14- Sleep apnea treatment: options, evidence and the care path
- Mouth breathing v nose breathing: what the research shows
- Adenoid removal for sleep apnea in children and adults
- Sleep apnea and yoga: which exercises have been tested
- Sleep apnea risk factors: who gets it, and why
- Types of sleep apnea: obstructive, central and mixed
All 14 articles
- Sleep apnea and pregnant women: how common, who is at risk
- Best position to sleep in for sleep apnea (and for snoring)
- Sleep apnea natural treatments: what has trial evidence and what does not
- Oximetry and sleep apnea: what a pulse oximeter can and cannot tell you
- Can you have sleep apnea without snoring?
- Home test for sleep apnea: how to do it, and what it can't tell you
- Signs of sleep apnea in women (why it's so often missed)
- Is sleep apnea dangerous? What the risks really are
Snoring & night sounds
26- Snoring humidifier: does a humidifier help with snoring?
- Do nasal strips work for snoring? What the trials found
- Nasal dilator for snoring: internal vs external, who benefits
- Devices to stop snoring: what the evidence says, by type
- Pillows and snoring: what the trials show
- Ear protection for snoring: do earplugs help a partner?
All 26 articles
- What causes snoring in men, and what changes for women
- Snore recorder app: what it measures, how accurate it is
- Adjustable beds and snoring: what a raised head does
- Can a deviated septum cause snoring? What the evidence says
- Weight loss for snoring: what the studies show, and how much it takes
- How to stop others snoring: you can change the night, not the snorer
- Crying in sleep and laughing in sleep: what it means in adults
- Does an anti snoring mouthpiece work? The short answer
- How to stop snoring while sleeping: what works, in order
- Sleep sounds that actually work: pink noise, white noise, rain and ASMR
- White noise machine to sleep: how it works, and what the research shows
- What does ASMR mean, and does it help you sleep?
- Snoring while pregnant: when it's normal, when it's not
- Is snoring bad for you?
- How to know if you snore (when you sleep alone)
- What causes snoring, and what it signals
- Mouth breathing and 'mouth breather face': what's real
- Catathrenia: why some people groan in their sleep
- Why do I moan in my sleep?
- Snoring and sleep apnea: what the sounds can tell you
Symptoms at night
30- Nocturia: waking up to pee at night, causes and studies
- Infant coughing at night: teething, a cold, or something else?
- Excessive coughing at night: what is too much, and what helps
- Insomnia after quitting drinking: why sleep falls apart
- Insomnia after quitting weed and how long it can last
- Insomnia after anesthesia: why sleep breaks down after surgery
All 30 articles
- Insomnia and Hashimoto's: what the thyroid has to do with sleep
- Why do I keep waking up at night? Causes by pattern
- Waking up confused not knowing where I am: what it means
- Waking up with a sore throat on one side: causes
- Sore throat at night: why it only hurts after dark
- Only coughing at night? What the timing says about the cause
- Sore throat in the morning: why it happens and what helps
- Headache after nap: why it happens and what to do about it
- Back of head headache: what headache location really means
- What are the causes of restless legs syndrome, and what actually helps
- Cold pack for neck pain: heat or cold, and when physiotherapy helps
- Massage for TMJ: what helps, what's worth skipping, and when to see a dentist
- Ice pack for muscle pain: what helps sore, tight, and overworked muscles
- Why do I wake up at 4am every night?
- Morning breath: why it happens and what actually fixes it
- Why do I drool in my sleep?
- Waking up nauseous: the usual causes
- Waking up with anxiety: why it happens before you've even thought of anything
- Waking up gasping for air: what it means
- Waking up choking at night: causes and clues
- Dry mouth in the morning: why it happens and what helps
- Morning headache every day: what's behind it
- Waking up with heart racing: what it means
- Waking up with numb hands: common causes
How sleep works
35- Exercise before bed: does it hurt or help your sleep?
- How long can the human body go without sleep? What studies say
- Nicotine and sleep: what smoking and vaping do to your nights
- Can't sleep after a workout? Why you're wired and what helps
- Headache sleep deprivation: why too little sleep hurts
- Circadian rhythm light therapy: timing, lux and what works
All 35 articles
- Lucid dreaming method: what MILD, WBTB and reality checks do
- Why do I always wake up before my alarm? Causes and fixes
- Fatal insomnia: what it is and how rare it is
- Cortisol and sleep: what studies show and what they don't
- REM sleep behavior disorder: when you act out the dream
- REM sleep behavior disorder treatment: what doctors actually do
- The REM sleep behavior disorder melatonin question, answered
- Clonazepam for REM sleep behavior disorder: what to know first
- REM sleep behavior disorder and Parkinson's disease: the numbers
- How much deep sleep do you need? The real numbers
- Deep sleep vs REM: what each stage actually does
- How much REM sleep do you need? The real percentages
- Social jet lag: why your weekends are secretly hurting your sleep
- Polyphasic sleep: can you hack sleep into multiple naps?
- Sleep fragmentation: why broken sleep feels worse than short sleep
- Delayed sleep phase disorder: why you can't fall asleep before 2am
- Sleep inertia: why you feel groggy after waking up
- Is 7 hours of sleep enough? The short answer
- What's the ideal temperature for sleeping? The real number
- Best sleeping position for good sleep: side, back or stomach
- What jet lag means for your circadian rhythm
- Sleep deprivation symptoms: how to spot them
- Exploding head syndrome: the loud bang that isn't real
- Why you twitch as you fall asleep (hypnic jerks)
- Hypnagogic hallucinations: the images at sleep's edge
- Sleep paralysis demon: why you see a figure you can't escape
- Hypnopompic hallucinations: seeing things as you wake
- How to get more deep sleep
- How sleep phases work: light, deep and REM
Better sleep & trends
44- Sleeping with a fan: is it bad for you? What studies say
- Can oversleeping make you tired? Causes and what studies show
- Best position for sleeping with back pain: what studies show
- Night shift sleep schedule: when to sleep, what studies found
- How to wake someone up from deep sleep, gently and safely
- What is insomnia? Definition, types and criteria
All 44 articles
- Herbal teas for insomnia: what the trials say
- Insomnia and ovulation: why sleep can break before your period
- Why do I have nightmares every night? Causes and what helps
- Is napping bad for you? What nap studies say about length
- Insomnia cognitive therapy (CBT-I): what a course contains
- Sleep disorders and insomnia: the main types in plain words
- Melatonin heart failure: what the AHA abstract shows
- How long does melatonin stay in your system? Half-life facts
- Is melatonin safe? Reviews, labels and pregnancy data
- What causes insomnia? Three layers, not one cause
- Can ADD cause insomnia? What ADHD does to falling asleep
- Medications that cause insomnia: what studies show
- Insomnia and meditation, tai chi or yoga: the trials
- Sleep hygiene for insomnia: why habits are not a cure
- Insomnia test: do you have insomnia, and what can a night recording add?
- Pregnant insomnia, trimester by trimester: what is common and what to mention
- Insomnia perimenopause: why sleep breaks in the transition, and what a night recording can show
- Breathing for deep sleep: what the evidence really shows
- How long to nap: lengths that refresh vs. leave you groggy
- Tired but can't sleep: the two problems most people confuse
- Heavy sleeper: what it means and how to wake up easier
- Melatonin for sleep: how much, when to take it, and does it work
- Sleep hygiene tips: the habits that actually improve rest
- How to fix a sleep schedule: the reset that actually works
- Power nap length: how long a nap should actually be
- The best sleep tracking app for iPhone, compared
- Mental health resources: the practical guide to finding help
- Guided meditation to sleep: techniques that actually work
- Overstimulation: why everything feels like too much, and how to reset
- Do blue light glasses work? The evidence for sleep
- Protein and muscle recovery: what actually works after a workout
- Baby sleep training: routines, schedules and what actually works
- How to stop mouth breathing at night
- Why do I wake up at 3am every night?
- Does mouth taping work, and is it safe?
- What causes teeth grinding in your sleep: signs and what helps
- How to record yourself sleeping (and actually learn something)
- Why am I still tired after 8 hours of sleep?
Wearables & tracking
5Curious about sleep
11- Night terrors adults get vs nightmare: what sets them off
- False awakening: when you wake up inside the dream
- Sleep texting: yes, it is real, and here is what is happening
- Magnesium for sleep: what the evidence really shows
- Short term memory loss and brain fog: what's normal, what's worry, what helps
- Why do people sleepwalk?
Sleep & mental health
5- Overthinking therapy: what actually helps racing thoughts
- Grief and sleep: why you can't sleep (or won't wake) when you're grieving
- Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD): what it is and what helps
- Seasonal affective disorder therapies: the winter sleep-mood connection, and what helps
- Social anxiety and treatment: what actually helps
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