The Daring Well Podcast - Holistic Health & Wellness, Mindset, and Personal Growth · Rita Mercer, Wellness, Mindset & Mental Health Expert

Why We Can’t Sleep: Insomnia, Anxiety, & the Call to Rest Well with Dr. Benjamin Long

·41 min·2 clips

The “clock watcher” turns a sleepless night into a countdown from seven hours to five.

Rita Mercer opens the conversation by framing insomnia as something that often loops back to thought life and behavior. She welcomes Dr. Benjamin Long, who brings both sleep doctor work and seminary study to the discussion. That pairing gives the episode its shape. Long explains that faith has always been an integral part of his life, and that he wanted to explore how theology and sleep meet. His perspective stays grounded in what people actually do when they cannot fall asleep. A major thread is the idea that worry management matters, because anxious thinking can keep repeating itself long after the original concern has passed. Long describes a worry-time practice that asks listeners to set aside a specific window for concerns instead of carrying them through every hour. Outside that window, the listener writes the worry down and puts it off until the scheduled time. It sounds simple. He says it takes repetition, because the goal is to build a new habit rather than expect an instant fix. The practice gradually narrows the day of endless rumination into a contained space where worries can be faced more clearly. If a concern is important, it will still show up at worry time. That expectation helps separate urgent problems from the anxious pressure to keep checking them. Once worries are gathered in one place, the conversation shifts to planning and challenge. Long encourages people to use the time to decide what can actually be done, which worries are realistic, and which thoughts need to be questioned. Rita Mercer reflects that this can feel like a kind of mindfulness, a way to keep everything from spilling into the whole of life. The discussion also highlights Long's book, Sleep Habits Journal, which pairs sleep practices with prayers and devotions for sleepless nights. That keeps the episode tied to lived care rather than theory alone. By the end, the conversation leaves sleep feeling less mysterious and more workable, with room for both spiritual reflection and concrete practice.

As heard by us

A faith-shaped insomnia conversation with a concrete worry-time practice.

The episode frames insomnia through anxious thoughts and habits, then settles on practical help from Dr. Benjamin Long, a sleep doctor and seminary student.

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Why you'd press play

When worry keeps stealing your nights, this episode gives you a calm way to park it.

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