Portrait of James Hartley, JavaSleep contributor
JavaSleep Contributor

James Hartley

12 pieces published
A dimly lit bedroom captured at 3 a.m., a digital clock on the nightstand…
Insomnia July 2026 · 9 min

PTSD and Sleep: I Spent Six Weeks Testing What Actually Quiets the 3 A.M. Waking

If your sleep fell apart after something bad happened — a crash, a deployment, a loss, a night you don't talk about — and you've been treating it like ordinary insomnia, the connection between PTSD…

By James Hartley · Read →
A close-up photorealistic photograph of a middle-aged man asleep on his back in a…
Sleep Apnea July 2026 · 5 min

Sleep Apnea Types: What the Diagnosis Actually Tells You

You get the report and there's a number on it. The apnea-hypopnea index — the AHI — counts how many times an hour your breathing stopped or shrank. Five is the threshold. Fifteen is moderate.

By James Hartley · Read →
A dimly lit rental apartment bedroom at night in Lisbon, photographed from a low…
CPAP June 2026 · 5 min

Sleep Apnea Therapy on the Road: What Actually Happens When You Travel With a CPAP

The first night in the rented apartment in Lisbon, I could not find an outlet within reach of the bed.

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A photorealistic medium shot of a middle-aged man asleep on his back in a…
Sleep Apnea June 2026 · 5 min

I Wore a Home Sleep Test for Three Nights: What Obstructive Sleep Apnea Actually Looks Like on a Chart

My wife has told me for years that I stop breathing in my sleep. I assumed she was exaggerating, the way you do when someone interrupts an argument with your own snoring.

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A dimly lit bedroom at 3 a.m., shot from a low angle beside a…
Sleep Apnea June 2026 · 6 min

Snoring Isn't Always Obstructive Sleep Apnea — Here's What the Sound Actually Tells You

There is a specific sound a person makes when they've been elbowed awake for the third time and asked, with real worry, to please just roll over. It's a half-apology. Most snorers have made it.

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Overhead flat-lay photograph of a rustic wooden nightstand at dusk, arranged with sleep-associated foods…
Sleep May 2026 · 5 min

Sleep-Promoting Foods: What the Evidence Actually Says About Natural Sleep Aids on Your Plate

There is a glass of tart cherry juice in roughly half the sleep articles on the internet, and it is usually doing more work than the underlying study can support.

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A photorealistic overhead shot of a wrinkled bed at 3 a.m., soft moonlight filtering…
CBT-I May 2026 · 5 min

Why a Psychologist Might Be the Best Insomnia Treatment Your GP Hasn't Mentioned

A reader writes, in so many words: I've had bad sleep for two years. I don't want to be on temazepam for the rest of my life. My GP suggested a psychologist.

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A photorealistic close-up of a middle-aged man asleep on his back in a dimly…
CPAP May 2026 · 6 min

The Real Health Risks of Sleep Apnea: Where the Standard Warnings Hold Up, and Where They Don't

The standard warning goes like this: untreated sleep apnea raises your risk of heart attack, stroke, dementia, car crashes, depression, and early death.

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A serene early-morning bedroom scene shot on a full-frame camera with a 35mm lens…
Sleep May 2026 · 6 min

Six Weeks of Changing My Days, Not My Nights: A Sleep and Lifestyle Experiment

My bedroom was not the problem. That is the part I had to admit before anything got better. For about a year I had been doing what the internet told me to do. Blackout curtains. Thermostat at 18°C.

By James Hartley · Read →