Hi, I’m Verner — the person behind SleepWell Guide.
I’m a 36-year-old game programmer living in the United States. I spend most of my day in front of monitors, debugging code and sitting through long meetings. For years, I told myself that feeling tired was just part of being an adult with a demanding job. I was wrong.
For most of my early thirties, I averaged 5–6 hours of broken sleep. I would lie awake until 2 a.m., wake up with a racing heart, and survive the next day on coffee. My black-framed glasses became a permanent fixture not because of style, but because my eyes were constantly strained from screen time and poor rest.
What finally changed my sleep
The turning point came when I started working with a sleep specialist. I learned that my problems were not just “stress” or “bad luck.” They were habits: irregular bedtimes, late-night coding, a bedroom that was too warm, and a brain that had forgotten how to wind down.
Over the next year, I rebuilt my sleep routine step by step. Some changes worked immediately. Others failed. I tried white noise, blackout curtains, magnesium, caffeine cutoffs, journaling, and more. The articles on this site are a record of what actually made a difference — and what did not.
My life outside of sleep writing
When I’m not coding or writing, I’m usually at home with my two pets: Lili, a small black dog with a “four-eyed” face, and Luck, a white Siamese fold-eared cat. Lili has her own sleep schedule, which does not always match mine. Luck believes 3 a.m. is the perfect time to walk across my pillow. Living with them has taught me that sleep disruption can come from many places — not just your own habits.
Being overweight also gave me a personal reason to take sleep seriously. I learned that excess weight, snoring, and sleep quality are closely connected, and that small changes in routine can have a bigger impact than I expected.
What I am not
I am not a doctor, sleep scientist, or licensed therapist. I am someone who has lived through chronic insomnia, experimented with the common recommendations, and learned — often the hard way — what works and what does not.
Every article on this site is based on a combination of:
- Personal experience: strategies I have tested on myself over months or years.
- Professional guidance: concepts and frameworks I learned while working with a sleep specialist.
- Credible sources: peer-reviewed studies, public health organizations such as the CDC and NIH, and guidelines from sleep medicine societies such as the AASM.
If you have a medical sleep disorder, persistent insomnia, or any health condition, please consult a qualified healthcare provider. The information here is meant to support better sleep habits, not to diagnose or treat medical conditions.
How I write and review content
Before anything is published, it goes through the following process:
- Research first: I start with evidence from reputable institutions and clinical guidelines.
- Personal relevance test: I ask whether the advice is practical for someone with a full-time job, limited time, and a normal budget.
- Draft in English: I write the complete article in English first, including specific details, numbers, and honest outcomes.
- Professional translation: the article is then translated into German, French, and Japanese without rewriting the structure or adding unsupported claims.
- Final review: I check that sources are cited, claims are proportional to the evidence, and the article answers a real question.
What you’ll find on SleepWell Guide
This site covers the topics I personally struggled with and researched:
- Falling asleep faster and staying asleep longer
- Managing stress, anxiety, and racing thoughts at night
- Optimizing bedroom environment for temperature, light, and noise
- Understanding sleep disorders and when to seek professional help
- Building sustainable sleep routines without expensive gadgets
I do not accept payment for product placements, and I do not recommend treatments I have not personally investigated.
Get in touch
Have a question, a correction, or a sleep topic you’d like me to cover? You can reach me through the Contact page. I read every message and use reader feedback to decide what to write next.
Verner
Founder and writer at SleepWell Guide
Game programmer, former chronic insomniac, and structured-sleep advocate. Sharing evidence-based sleep strategies tested in real life — with occasional interruptions from Lili and Luck.