Resources:

Sleep OS Hormones → https://thelongevityvault.com/sleep-os/hormones/

Subscribe for more evidence-based guides on sleep in midlife and beyond → https://thelongevityvault.substack.com

How Do You Fall Back Asleep? — The Question That Reframed Everything I Knew About Sleep

Most people optimize sleep onset—earlier bedtime, caffeine changes, darker rooms—yet still wake around 2–3 a.m. and drift until morning.

This short episode explains why the issue isn’t getting to sleep; it’s what happens to your sleep architecture in the second half of the night.

Key points:

Cholinergic–GABAergic imbalance can push premature REM and fragment continuity.

Inadequate daytime adenosine buildup shortens the second half of the night.

Misaligned melatonin offset (often from evening light) destabilizes early-morning sleep.

Listen for:How the first half of the night carries more deep sleep, the second half becomes more REM, and how fragmentation in that progression impairs glymphatic clearing, memory, and cognitive resilience.

Read the full article:

“Why Can’t I Stay Asleep Longer Than 5-6 Hours?”

Resources:

Sleep OS Hormones → https://thelongevityvault.com/sleep-os/hormones/

Subscribe for more evidence-based guides on sleep in midlife and beyond → https://thelongevityvault.substack.com

Using Melatonin? Here’s How It Can Affect Your Blood Sugar Levels

Many adults use melatonin purely as a sleep aid, unaware that it’s also a hormone with broad metabolic effects. What helps you fall asleep can, under certain conditions, make it harder to maintain stable blood sugar—especially when taken close to meals or in higher doses.

This short episode explains how melatonin interacts with insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, why timing and genetics determine whether it helps or hinders glucose control, and how to adjust your use so it supports both sleep and metabolic health.

Key points:

• Human studies show that supplemental melatonin can reduce insulin secretion or sensitivity, leading to higher nighttime glucose levels.

• The effect depends heavily on timing—melatonin taken within a few hours of eating overlaps with digestion and sends the body mixed metabolic signals.

• About 30 percent of individuals carry an MTNR1B genetic variant that makes pancreatic cells more sensitive to melatonin’s “stop insulin” signal.

• Lower, physiologic doses (0.1–0.3 mg) taken after the digestive window—rather than standard 3–10 mg doses—are less likely to impair glucose control.

Listen for:

How melatonin’s hormone signaling extends beyond sleep, how meal timing and genetics shape its blood-sugar effects, and simple adjustments that let it work with your metabolism instead of against it.

If 3 a.m. wake-ups have become the new normal, explore how hormonal and metabolic support can help your body sustain sleep—not just signal it.

Learn more inside Sleep OS Hormones → https://thelongevityvault.com/sleep-os/hormones/

Resources:

Sleep OS Hormones → https://thelongevityvault.com/sleep-os/hormones/

Subscribe for more evidence-based guides on sleep in midlife and beyond → https://thelongevityvault.substack.com

Are My Hormones Affecting My Sleep? An Overlooked Reason Hormone Therapy Falls Short

Many adults turn to hormone therapy hoping to restore sleep, energy, and mood. Yet results often disappoint. Even when hormone levels rise, restorative sleep may not follow. The missing piece is how well your body responds to those hormones—not just how much you have.

Sleep quality depends on receptor sensitivity: how effectively tissues like the hypothalamus and hippocampus recognize and respond to hormones once they arrive. Aging, oxidative stress, and inactivity all reduce this sensitivity. Hormone replacement alone can’t correct that.

Key Points

Testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone each shape different stages of sleep—deep, REM, and circadian timing—but their effects depend on receptor responsiveness.

Receptors decline in number and efficiency with age, especially in sleep-regulating brain regions.

Genetic differences (like androgen receptor CAG repeats) help explain why two people with similar hormone levels can experience different sleep outcomes.

Exercise and enriched environments can increase receptor activity and signaling efficiency in both animal and human data, suggesting partial reversibility.

Resistance training, reduced oxidative load, and maintaining synaptic health may help preserve receptor sensitivity—and improve sleep without escalating hormone doses.

Listen for:How receptor function shapes the body’s “hormone responsiveness,” and why improving receptor sensitivity—rather than simply raising hormone levels—may be an overlooked path to better sleep and vitality in midlife and beyond.

Read the full article: Are My Hormones Affecting My Sleep? An Overlooked Reason Hormone Therapy Falls Short

Learn more inside Sleep OS Hormones → https://thelongevityvault.com/sleep-os/hormones/