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10% Happier with Dan Harris

10% Happier with Dan Harris

The Science of Sleep: Why You're up at 3AM — And Why Worrying About It Makes It Worse | Sara Mednick

May 13, 2026 · 53m

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About this episode

Sara Mednick is a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of the book The Power of the Downstate . This episode is part of our month-long "Mental Health Reboot" series to mark Mental Health Awareness Month. This episode is from our archives. In this episode we talk about: The nuances of napping Dr. Mednick's definition of the "downstate" Whether there are practices that can compensate for poor sleep Why heart rate variability is an important measurement of health Why sex is so helpful for sleep And when to take melatonin to best effect Join Dan and Emmy Award-winning journalist Allison Gilbert at 92NY on May 17th for a live conversation about how…