Why We Sleep - The Great Sleep Challenge

Why We Sleep - The Great Sleep Challenge

From The Self-Driven Child by Ned Johnson

December 16, 2025 · 38 min · Season 1 · Episode 65

About this episode

The episode explores the importance of sleep and its impact on learning and emotional health with Dr. William Stixrud.

In this episode of The Self-Driven Child Podcast, I sit down with my longtime partner, co-author, and neuropsychologist Dr. William Stixrud to dig deep into something hiding in plain sight: sleep. We talk about why so many kids, teens, and frankly adults are walking around chronically exhausted—and what that’s quietly doing to learning, emotional health, and overall well-being. This conversation grew out of a powerful question a student asked us after we issued a real-world “sleep challenge,”...

People in this episode

Host: Ned Johnson

Guest: Dr. William Stixrud

Topics covered

  • sleep
  • education
  • emotional health
  • well-being
  • parenting
  • chronic exhaustion

Keywords

  • sleep
  • chronic exhaustion
  • learning
  • emotional health
  • well-being
  • parenting
  • teens

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Self-Driven Child Podcast

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