Why You’re Tired All Day & Wide Awake at Night | Dr. Patrick Porter
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Summary
Your brain can run on stress all day and still not know how to power down.Stress isn’t the enemy. Stress without recovery is. When the brain never shifts out of high alert, energy crashes by afternoon and sleep slips away at night. Dr. Patrick Porter, founder of BrainTap and co-author of Brain Fitness Blueprint, explains the six brainwave states and how light and sound can shift them. Dr. Brandon Crawford, who pairs BrainTap with laser therapy in his clinic, adds the clinical view. They close with breathing routines for morning, midday, and bedtime.
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Show Notes
Dr. Brandon Crawford and BrainTap founder Dr. Patrick Porter explain why the modern brain struggles to switch between work and rest, and what actually helps.
Porter, co-author of “Brain Fitness Blueprint,” breaks down the brainwave states (beta, alpha, SMR, theta, delta, and gamma), their roles in attention, creativity, sleep, and repair, and why he says a healthy brain moves fluidly between them. He describes how BrainTap uses light to the eyes and ears alongside entrainment audio, including isochronic tones, and why he believes light can speed up results compared with sound alone. Dr. Crawford shares how he combines BrainTap with laser therapy and scent in his work with injured and neurodivergent brains.
The conversation then turns to measurement and practice. Porter explains how NeuralChek Go uses heartbeat interval data to track nervous system balance, baseline stress, neurotransmitter production, utilization, and inflammation. He closes with three breathwork routines for morning, midday, and bedtime, and Dr. Crawford describes his own evening wind-down.
Key Takeaways
Here are the main ideas Dr. Porter and Dr. Crawford unpack, from brainwave basics to a nightly breathing practice you can start tonight.
- Why a healthy brain moves between six brainwave states
- Why stress isn’t the enemy, but a lack of recovery is
- How light, sound, and guided sessions can shift brain states
- Why light may speed up results compared with sound alone
- The difference between isochronic tones and binaural beats
- How smell, sound, and surroundings shape the nervous system
- What heartbeat interval data can reveal about stress, balance, and inflammation
- Why Dr. Crawford pairs brainwave training with laser therapy
- Three breathing routines for morning, midday, and bedtime
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Mentioned Resources
BrainTap (14-Day Free Trial)
Brain Fitness Blueprint: Integrating Ancient Wisdom and Modern Technologies for Peak Performance by Patrick K. Porter, Ph.D. and Ruchika Sikri
Dr. Kelly Miller / Saving Your Brain
Concussion Treatment Protocol Utilizing Brainwave Entrainment with the BrainTap headset & Compression Therapy with the NormaTec Pulse 2.0. Study conducted by Dr. Arkfeld at the Gaylord High School in Gaylord, MI, United States. 2020-2021.
Dr. Patrick K. Porter, Ph.D.
Dr. Patrick K. Porter, Ph.D., is the founder of BrainTap and co-author of Brain Fitness Blueprint. For four decades, he has worked in brainwave entrainment, helping clinics and everyday users train the brain with light, sound, and guided sessions.
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