When you can't sleep, you're desperate for help. And there's a booming industry waiting to tell you all the ways a lack of sleep can ruin your health -- and to sell you fancy gadgets to help you finally doze off. Shedding light on this flawed doomsday messaging, Dr. Jen Gunter explains why you shouldn't lose sleep over sleep -- and what to do instead. (For more on how your body works, tune in to her podcast, Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter, from the TED Audio Collective.)

Jen Gunter: Do you really need 8 hours of sleep every night?

Do you really need 8 hours of sleep every night?

Dispelling the myth of a uniform 7-8 hours of sleep need, highlighting the diverse range of healthy sleep durations for adults.

Orthosomnia, or the obsession with achieving perfect sleep through tracking devices, ironically leads to more sleep issues.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) emerges as a highly effective, drug-free treatment for sleep problems.