The how, not the what
Knowing about sleep isn't the same as knowing how to sleep.
We track it, read about it, medicate it — and end up knowing more about our sleep than ever while sleeping worse than ever. The data tells you how badly you slept; it never tells you what to do. A few simple things do. Almost no one is shown them.
The wrong place
We look everywhere except where the answer is.
When sleep breaks, we reach for whatever is nearest: a pill, a supplement, a new tracker, one more article. A landmark survey of over 2,000 adults with insomnia found that most never reach the approach with the strongest evidence behind it.
Only 13% ever raised it with a doctor — and most of them left with a prescription, not the behavioural approach the guidelines put first.
What people actually do about it
The approach clinicians reach for first, recommended by every major guideline since 2016.
Morin et al., Sleep Medicine, 2006
What actually works
The good news: a few simple things do.
The behaviours that actually retrain sleep are few, and none of them are secret. The hard part was never learning them. It is doing them — and not quitting in the second and third week, when sleep gets worse before it gets better and the urge to give up is strongest.
That window is where most people stop, and what decides whether it works. Fast Asleep is built for it: a clinician-built program that holds you to the few things that work, adapts to your own data, and carries you through the weeks that break attempts done alone.
“All adult patients should receive cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia as the initial treatment for chronic insomnia disorder.”American College of Physicians Clinical Practice Guideline (Qaseem et al., 2016)
The honest map
Not more sleep facts. The true ones.
Most sleep advice is noise — supplements, gadgets, sleepmaxxing, scores. This is where we separate what the evidence actually supports from what it doesn't, so you stop pouring effort into the wrong places. Four pillars, every claim sourced.
How Sleep Works
The biology and architecture of sleep — circadian rhythms, sleep stages, the science behind why some nights feel restful and others don't.
Evidence
20–25%
of a typical night is spent in REM sleep.
Carskadon & Dement, 2017
What Insomnia Is
Prevalence, mechanism, and the disorder behind the diagnosis. Spielman's 3P model, the sleep-effort paradox, comorbidities, and what the data says about who develops insomnia and why.
Evidence
~10%
of adults meet criteria for chronic insomnia disorder.
Ohayon, Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2002
What Helps
CBT-I is the approach clinicians reach for first — recommended by every major guideline body since 2016. The pillar covers the approach itself, why it works, and the treatment gap that keeps most adults from ever encountering it.
Evidence
70–80%
response rate reported in clinical studies of clinician-delivered CBT-I.
Trauer et al., Annals of Internal Medicine, 2015
Habits & Trends
Sleep hygiene, supplements, devices, the timing of caffeine and exercise, sleepmaxxing trends. What the evidence supports, what it doesn't, and where each piece fits as an adjunct to CBT-I rather than a substitute.
Evidence
~7 min
average reduction in sleep onset latency from melatonin in adults.
Auld et al., Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2017
From the library
Start with the evidence.
The Treatment Gap: Why 80% of Insomnia Sufferers Never Get the Right Help
Stigma, normalization, a shortage of specialists, and a healthcare system that defaults to pills — the systemic failures behind the world's most undertreated condition.
- Sleep Science·11 min read
The Harder You Try to Sleep, the More Awake You Become
- Insomnia·7 min read
Why an Acute Sleep Problem Becomes Chronic: Spielman's 3P Model
- Treatment·11 min read
Why CBT-I Is the Gold Standard: What 245 Clinical Trials Tell Us
- Habits & Trends·~8 min
Alcohol and Sleep: The Nightcap Myth
- Habits & Trends·~8 min
Bedroom Temperature and Sleep: The Physiology of Cooling Down
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A quick sleep check
How well are you sleeping?
A short, honest sleep check built by our clinical team — around four minutes, no signup, no wall. You'll see how significant your sleep difficulty looks right now, the pattern it follows, how long it's run, and what actually tends to help.