Melatonin, Naps, and Tracking: What You're Getting Wrong About Sleep | Dr. Martin Kawalski, Stanford Sleep Expert

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Sleep is not just about feeling tired tomorrow.

In this episode, Stanford sleep researcher Dr. Martin Kawalski explains why sleep often gets harder after 50, why older adults do not simply “need less sleep,” and why getting the basics wrong for long enough may affect how well we age.

One of the biggest ideas from this conversation: sleep regularity may matter more than total hours. Martin explains why consistent sleep timing is linked to all-cause mortality, and why your body craves rhythm across sleep, meals, caffeine, training, travel, and daily life.

We also talk about chronotypes, deep sleep, REM sleep, wearables, melatonin, alcohol, late meals, cannabis sleep gummies, naps, jet lag, and sleeping with a partner.

This is a practical conversation about building a sleep rhythm that works in real life — without turning sleep into one more thing to obsess over.

In this episode:

Why sleep gets harder after 50Why older adults do not necessarily need less sleepThe sleep habit linked to all-cause mortalityWhy regularity may matter more than chasing 8 hoursWhat wearables can and cannot tell youCaffeine, alcohol, late meals, and 3 a.m. wakeupsMelatonin, cannabis gummies, naps, and jet lagSleeping with a partner, intimacy, and “sleep divorce”How to improve sleep without becoming obsessive

Subscribe and share this episode with someone who keeps waking up tired.

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Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

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Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

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