When Insomnia Became My Teacher

Turning late-night restlessness into actionable insights with the nine tenets of mental fitness.

I couldn’t sleep again, so I stepped out onto my deck just after midnight, the salt breeze off St. Pete’s bay brushing my face. The city lights glimmered across the water, and the distant chirp of night herons felt strangely comforting. Instead of scrolling through another late-night feed, I reached for my journal. I remembered a moment from my conversation with Dr. Drew Ramsey—how he described treating middle-of-the-night wakefulness as an opportunity, not an enemy. So I unscrewed the cap of my pen and began to write.

At first, the words came in a jumble: the client call I’d left on voicemail, the outline for next week’s episode still half-finished, the sinking feeling that I wasn’t living up to my own standards. Then I paused and asked myself: Why do I feel this way? In the silence, I noticed the familiar knot of shame—shame for struggling with insomnia despite knowing better, shame for hiding behind busyness, shame for letting perfectionism dictate my worth.

Page by page, I untangled those threads. I wrote about the listener who messaged me last week, saying they’d nearly given up before hearing our chat with Commander Susan Kilrain. I wrote about the early mornings I spend meditating on the beach and how real peace still feels elusive. By the time my pen hovered above the final line, I felt a flicker of something I hadn’t had in days: clarity.

That’s when my phone buzzed on the outdoor table. A new message from that same listener glowed on the screen:

“John, your episode with Drew Ramsey changed everything for me. But now I’ve been offered a chance to move across the country for a dream job— and I’m terrified I’ll lose the life I’ve built here. I don’t know what to do.”

My thumb paused over the keyboard. Should I share with them every insight from Drew’s nine tenets—self-awareness, nutrition tweaks, sleep rituals, unburdening techniques? Or is this a moment that calls for something deeper, something only I can offer from my own journey?

I sat there, heart pounding, as the cicadas wound down their chorus. I realized this wasn’t just about giving advice. It was about leaning into uncertainty—one of Dr. Ramsey’s core principles. If my listener moved, they’d gain new opportunity but risk losing their community. If they stayed, they’d preserve their comfort zone but wonder “what if?” I knew the weight of that decision. I’ve faced crossroads where every path demanded a piece of my identity.

I took a breath and remembered another of Drew’s insights: “Mental fitness is a process, not a destination.” It’s about practicing tough choices, one small step at a time. And though I’ve interviewed astronauts who risk everything to explore space and Paralympians who redefine possibility after life-altering injuries, I’ve learned that our everyday dilemmas are just as profound.

So I leaned back in my chair, stared out at the water, and typed back a single line:

“Let’s talk it through. I’ll share my story, and we’ll figure out how to turn this fear into momentum.”

I hit send and watched the message drift off into the night. In that moment, I felt something shift—the tiniest tremor of hope that connection can dissolve isolation and that, together, we can transform fear into fuel…

Beyond the stories and prompts, let’s get a little technical—because I know many of you live for the “why” behind the “what.” Here’s a deeper look at some of the key mechanisms Dr. Ramsey and I unpacked:

The Glymphatic System: Your Brain’s Nightly Cleanup Crew

We often talk about sleep as “rest,” but it’s so much more. During deep, non-REM sleep, the spaces between brain cells actually expand, allowing cerebrospinal fluid to rush through and flush out metabolic waste, especially beta-amyloid proteins linked to cognitive decline. Alcohol, blue light exposure, and fragmented sleep all blunt this process. That’s why Dr. Ramsey’s sauna-then-sleep routine is so clever: the heat primes your body to transition smoothly into the restorative stages of slumber where glymphatic flow is maximized.

Neuroplasticity & BDNF: Wiring Your Brain for Growth

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is the protein at the heart of neuroplasticity—your brain’s ability to form new connections and prune away the unhelpful ones. Nutrients like omega-3 fats, zinc, and the B-vitamin family directly boost BDNF production. So do activities from aerobic exercise to intentional learning. In our chat, Drew shares why a half-hour brisk walk before sunrise isn’t just “good for you” — it floods your brain with BDNF, setting the stage for mental flexibility all day long.

Epigenetics: Your Genes Are Editable

You inherited your DNA, but you don’t inherit its destiny. Epigenetic markers—molecular tags on your genes—influence which ones get “read” or silenced. Chronic stress, processed foods, and sedentary habits create epigenetic patterns that dampen mood-regulating pathways. Conversely, whole foods, movement, and even mindful breathing shift those tags in your favor. That’s the essence of “playing poker with your genes” — you can’t rewrite your genome, but you can change how it’s expressed through daily choices.

Gut-Brain Axis & Inflammation

Nearly 90% of serotonin receptors live in your gut lining, and trillions of microbes there produce short-chain fatty acids that modulate the inflammation systemically and in the brain. Ultra-processed foods starve these good bacteria, tipping you toward a pro-inflammatory state linked to anxiety and depression. Drew’s research underscores specific dietary swaps—fermented foods, leafy greens, oily fish—that recalibrate your microbiome and cool down the inflammatory fire.

Each of these systems—glymphatic clearance, BDNF-driven plasticity, epigenetic editing, microbiome balance—interlocks to form the “mental fitness engine” we discussed.

John

Listen to the full conversation below.

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