The dream of perfect sleep may be making you an insomniac

As a professional basketball player, Adam Kemp learned discipline — and that extended to his sleep.

“Restful sleep hasn’t come easily to me,” says Kemp, a fitness consultant who until recently played professionally in Poland. “I tried a lot of different strategies — melatonin supplements, meditation, deep-breathing exercises and noise machines. Focusing too much on achieving the ‘perfect’ sleep often made falling asleep even harder. I found that the more I pressured myself to sleep perfectly, the less restful my nights became.”