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When “One More Sleep Hack” Is the Thing Keeping You Awake
- chevy mermelstein
- Feb 22
- 4 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
This morning my two-year-old grandson staged a quiet rebellion.
He was standing in the hallway, tiny boots in hand, coat half on, hat somewhere in the vicinity. He knows how to do it all. He’s done it before. Boots? Manageable. Coat? Fine. Hat? Slightly sideways, but acceptable.
And then someone said it.
“Let’s go! Hurry up! We’re going to miss the bus!”
He slowly lowered himself to the floor.
Not dramatic. Not screaming.
Just… shutdown.
Blank stare. System overload.
It wasn’t the boots.
It wasn’t the coat.
It was the pressure layered on top.
And I see this exact pattern with sleep.
The Sleep Advice Avalanche
Most adults can handle a few reasonable adjustments:
Less coffee in the afternoon
Dimming the lights before bed
Getting outside in the morning
Maybe adding magnesium
That’s doable.
But then it starts.
A new sleep study.
A new hormone statistic.
A new podcast episode.
A new supplement.
A new “must-have” gadget.
A new biohack that promises 23% more deep sleep.
Every. Single. Day.
You’re told to track your REM.
Fix your cortisol.
Balance your nervous system.
Cool your room.
Warm your feet.
Eat earlier.
Don’t eat earlier.
Lift weights.
Don’t overtrain.
Breathe this way.
Stop breathing that way.
And somewhere in the middle of all that information, your brain quietly whispers:
“I can’t keep up.”
And what happens next?
Shutdown.
You scroll.
You pour the wine.
You reach for the pill.
You go back to what feels familiar.
Not because you don’t care.
Because you’re overwhelmed.
When Sleep Becomes a Performance
I work with people who are truly struggling with sleep. They’re exhausted. Frustrated. Sometimes scared. They want relief.
We work together. We simplify. We calm the nervous system. We build stability.
And they start sleeping.
Not perfectly. Not like robots. But consistently. Calmly. Confidently.
They know what to do after a bad night.
They understand their patterns.
They’re no longer panicking at 2 a.m.
And then I get the email.
“I just heard about this new supplement — should I add it?”
“My neighbor swears by this lavender spray — will it increase deep sleep?”
“There’s a new magnesium everyone is talking about — is mine outdated?”
Nothing is wrong.
But something inside says:
“What if I’m missing something?”
This is the part nobody talks about.
Even when sleep improves, the temptation to optimize never disappears.
Because we live in a culture that tells us improvement is endless.
There is always something better.
Always something newer.
Always something more advanced.
And slowly, without realizing it, sleep becomes another area of performance.
Another place to measure.
Another thing to get right.
And performance activates pressure.
Pressure activates the nervous system.
And a stimulated nervous system does not sleep well.
Information Isn’t the Problem. Overload Is.
You can get overwhelmed two ways:
By being told all these new things and so you just give up,
Or because all these things aren’t helping you sleep, so you just get frustrated — and the insomnia becomes even worse.
I love research. I respect science. I care deeply about evidence-based approaches.
But knowledge without discernment becomes noise.
Sometimes it’s knowing:
That was a fun read.
Interesting.
Informative.
And still deciding…
“I’m not changing anything.”
That is maturity.
That is stability.
That is nervous system safety.
You do not have to implement everything you learn.
You do not have to respond to every podcast episode.
You do not have to upgrade every time the industry does.
Sleep thrives on consistency.
It thrives on predictability.
It thrives when your body knows what to expect.
Constant change — even “healthy” change — keeps the system slightly on alert.
And alert does not drift into deep sleep easily.
The “One More Thing” Trap
Over the years, I’ve noticed something consistent:
The people who struggle the most are rarely uninformed.
They are overloaded.
They’ve tried the hacks.
The supplements.
The gadgets.
The breathing techniques.
The routines.
And instead of feeling empowered, they feel behind.
Behind on the newest protocol.
Behind on the latest research.
Behind on someone else’s perfect sleep score.
But here’s the truth:
If something is working for you — protect it.
Let it work.
Do not dismantle stability in the name of novelty.
Sometimes the most powerful sleep strategy is not adding.
It’s ignoring.
Back to My Grandson
My grandson didn’t need better boots.
He didn’t need a new system.
He didn’t need a productivity hack.
He needed the pressure to ease.
When the urgency disappeared, he stood up.
He put on the coat.
He walked to the bus.
Adults are not so different.
When we remove the constant urgency — the constant upgrading — the constant feeling of “not enough” —
The body often does what it already knows how to do.
Sleep.
If You’re Tired of Chasing Trends
If you’ve tried all the hacks…
If you’ve downloaded the apps…
If you’ve bought the supplements…
If you’re overwhelmed and still not sleeping…
Maybe you don’t need more.
Maybe you need less.
Less noise.
Less pressure.
Less “one more thing.”
And more clarity. More stability. More calm.
If that sounds like you — let’s talk.
We’ll cut through the overload. We’ll simplify what actually matters. And we’ll get you back to sleeping in a way that feels steady and sustainable.
Because sleep isn’t built on constant upgrades.
It’s built on safety.
And sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stop adding — and start trusting.
Need more help? Check out my blog
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