Active Choices To Support Adult Sleep

When sleep becomes unpredictable, every part of life feels more difficult. Tiredness can drain patience, confidence and emotional steadiness – and for many adults, sleepless nights create a cycle of worry and frustration that’s hard to break. In this episode, Dr Lee David speaks with occupational therapist and CBT-i specialist Louise Berger about how adults can understand their sleep more clearly and make small choices that genuinely help nights settle again.

They explore what drives sleep, why it becomes difficult and how anxiety, over-effort and disrupted routines keep patterns stuck. Louise shares practical evidence-based strategies that support adult sleep – from resetting unhelpful habits to easing night-time worry and rebuilding confidence in the body’s natural rhythm.

This is a conversation about choice, change and compassion – recognising that sleep can improve, that pressure makes it harder and that adults deserve support without blame or rigid rules.

Highlights & key moments

00:00 Introduction – why adult sleep becomes difficult
03:28 What sleep does – physical, cognitive and emotional health
05:55 Why worry about sleep makes nights harder
07:20 Sleep quality – what it really means
10:00 Why night-time waking is normal
11:49 CBT-i explained – the science behind effective change
13:40 Stimulus control – resetting the bed–sleep connection
14:55 Scheduling sleep – why less time in bed can help
16:27 Sleep hygiene – what matters and what doesn’t
17:34 Common myths – blue light, screens and sleep stages
21:13 Practical boundaries – choosing what helps you wind down
24:30 Night-time worry – why the brain is different at 3am
27:03 Worry time – scheduling thinking with compassion
31:18 Stress and sleep – preventing long-term problems
36:08 Sleep trackers – why data can mislead
40:12 Choice Space takeaways

About the host

Dr Lee David is a GP, CBT therapist and author specialising in mental health and wellbeing. Lee has written many books on CBT, mindfulness and teen wellbeing, and speaks regularly at conferences and in the media. Away from work she enjoys running, hiking, singing in a choir and spending time outdoors with her family. You can find Lee through her website and on Instagram, TikTok (@dr.lee.david) and LinkedIn. You can find more about her books, wellbeing courses and therapy here: https://linktr.ee/dr.lee.david

About the guest

Louise Berger is an Occupational Therapist specialising in sleep and leads the Insomnia Clinic at the Royal Surrey County Hospital – one of the few UK NHS services dedicated to insomnia treatment. She focuses on turning sleep science into practical support, delivering training, mentoring and public speaking and contributing to national guidance to improve access to care. Alongside her NHS work she offers private sleep coaching, lectures on the University West England Sleep Medicine course, is a trustee for the British Society of Pharmacy Sleep Services and sits on the communications committee for the British Sleep Society.

You can connect with Louise on LinkedIn or contact her directly at [e-mail]

References

CBTi - JAMA Psychiatry 2024;81(4):357-365

Impact of blue light - Sleep Med Rev 2024;76:101933