Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter

On this special Halloween edition, we will wander into the dark and terrifying forest of nightmares and night terrors. In this episode, we will:Explore the origin of the term nightmareDifferentiate nightmares from bad dreams and learn what constitutes the diagnosis of nightmare disorderList other REM-related parasomnias besides nightmare disorder (like isolated sleep paralysis (Episode 16), REM Behavior Disorder, and catathreniaCharacterize the prevalence of nightmares and nightmare disorder as well as its risk factorsLook in depth at treatments in particular Image Rehearsal Therapy and the newer Targeted Memory Reactivation techniqueName medications sometimes employed in nightmare disorder therapyDefine night terrors and other non-REM-related parasomnias like sleep talking (somniloquy), sleepwalking (somnambulism), sleep-related eating disorder (SRED), and various sexsomniasCharacterize the prevalence of night terrors as well as their risk factorsReview treatments and best practices for these disordersProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Twice a year, daylight saving time takes center stage as we talk about it, worry about it, plan for it, and either rejoice or renounce its very existence. Now, as the United States government debates whether or not to legislate an end to the practice, let's take some time to explore the topic. In this episode we will:explore the origins of daylight saving time and its particularly unique history in the United Statesunderstand the reasons for not only implementing the practice of daylight saving time as well as the reasons why it has persisteddifferentiate the various aspects of daylight saving time and standard timetouch on the actual energy savings created (or not) by daylight saving timeprobe the public's sentiment for keeping DST or adopting permanent standard timeevaluate the health risks (and sleep risks) of the biannual changes (as well as a potential intrinsic risk of DST itself) and why we should adopt permanent standard timelist some possible strategies for lessening the impact of the transitionProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Has there ever been a topic more fraught with misunderstanding and misinterpretation than napping. Should we nap? Should we not nap? What if I can't nap? This episode will cover it all. In this episode we will:Understand how napping can benefit our health and performanceEvaluate how in some populations, excessive napping can be a marker of poor healthLearn how napping can be employed to supplement nocturnal sleep and repay sleep debtFind out the ideal way to structure the environment and timing of napsRecognize when napping may be a sign of poor health.Produced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Almost half of all people will experience the terrifying feeling of awakening from sleep unable to move. Sleep paralysis has its roots deep in history and separating fact from lore is not always easy. this this episode we will:explore the history and mythology surrounding sleep paralysis, the night hag, incubus/succubus, and the origin of the term nightmarecontrast different cultural interpretations of sleep paralysis as well as the various treatments believed to ward off the conditionexplore the incidence of the disorder both as an isolated phenomenon as well as a chronic statedescribe the various ways in which it manifests in individualslist the risk factors and predisposing conditions for sleep paralysisdetail the neural pathways and highlight the neuroanatomy of the process and how it links to causes and risk factorsdiscuss treatment options and for whom they may be appropriateProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

When it comes to sleep, I'm not sure there a topic that frustrates more than waking up at night (sometimes referred to as sleep maintenance insomnia). The struggle to make it from bedtime to wake can be a long and tortuous journey for some.  In this episode we will:explore the history of sleep and nocturnal awakenings define the prevalence of nocturnal awakenings in the adult populationunderstand both the definition of arousal and its relationship to awakeningsinvestigate the concept of sleep efficiency, how it relates to sleep expectation versus sleep need, and how this itself can lead to increased awakenings at nightdetermine how the presence or absence of excessive sleepiness can help to understand the cause and seriousness of nocturnal awakeningslearn the risk factors and predictors that often lead to nocturnal awakeningsfind out that an individual's determination of the cause of their awakenings can be unreliablediscuss the role of sleep studies in determining if there are pathological causes for nocturnal awakeningsexplore the role of anxiety and worry in nocturnal awakeningssummarize the numerous studies that have shown the role of exercise in reducing both frequency and duration of nocturnal awakeningsProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Even though circadian rhythms seem initially to be exclusively linked to our sleep, these primitive timing mechanisms reach back to virtually the dawn of life as we know it. Understanding circadian pathways lays the groundwork for not only understanding circadian disorders like jet lag and shift work, but also for understanding how to optimize our own health. In this episode we will:define circadian rhythmsunderstand the mechanisms in the nervous system that govern circadian rhythms and biological timingfind out about some of the early pioneers of circadian science and how their experiments helped to shed light on intrinsic rhythmslearn why human circadian rhythms are slightly longer than 24 hourslist the multiple systems within our bodies that depend on these rhythmsexamine research that indicates how harmful biological timing is to our health and the diseases/conditions they influencedetermine ways to optimize our own health through improved circadian schedulingProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a unique and relatively common sleep disorder that quietly affects the sleep of 15% of individuals (by some generous accounts). Despite its initial description dating back to 1672, it still remains somewhat of a mystery--suffered miserably by many but often missed as a sleep diagnosis. In this episode, we will:learn the unusual history of the multiple 'discoveries' of RLSgive an overview of the symptoms of RLS and the varied ways in which they are described and experienceddissect the diagnostic criteria of RLSdifferentiate primary RLS from secondary RLSlist the risk factors for RLS including low iron, pregnancy, and certain medicationsdiscuss the treatments (both medicinal and non) of RLS including weighted blanketsProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

The intersection of sleep and athletic performance, relatively speaking, is a new frontier. In the last two decades, the interest in how sleep optimization can improve achievement within sports has exploded. In this episode I will discuss:the history of how sleep has been looked at in sports and the earliest observations on the subjecthow I became interested and eventually involved with research in sleep and sportthe story behind my initial studies with Major League Baseball and travelthe topic of circadian advantage and how we measured it over ten years of Major League Baseball gameshow chronotype seems to impact the performance timing of elite athletesthe influence of sleepiness on athletic performance, success in a sport, and potentially longevity as an athleteother influential research and researchers in the fieldwhat it all means for not only professional sports organizations, but also the average athleteProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

As a sleep physician, I am constantly confronted with sleeping pills and the misunderstanding that seems to be inherent to their existence. While I do feel like there are specific instances where sleeping pills are helpful, I think the vast majority of sleep experts and behavioral sleep therapists would generally frown upon their use. In this episode, we will cover:why I feel sleeping pills are largely unnecessary, particularly given the fact that everyone sleeps (Episode 2)to whom these pills are marketed and how ad prey upon fear of sleeplessness as a means to create a market for their productthe surprisingly modest sleep improvement results (sleep latency, sleep efficiency) these medications produce and how these stand in direct opposition to what the average user thinks is happeningthe risk of sleeping pillshow the relevance of these promoted benefits is of unclear significancefailure of sleeping pill research to prove health or performance benefitsthe repetitive history of the sleeping pill cycle and how history has judged the fate of many that have come beforeProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

In January of 2015, I spent the night in a haunted hotel in Oklahoma City and wrote about the experience in The Huffington Post. That would begin a series of articles I called "Sleeping Around" where I explored unusual sleeping situations and what they could teach us about our own sleep.In 2020, I began working with Sleep.com to create content for their new website completely devoted to sleep and topics surrounding it.  One day, Sam Bennett, their senior vice president of marketing asked me what my dream sleep project would be. Easy. I want to make a film version of Sleeping Around.A few weeks later we were filming three episodes: a few days on the road with musical artist Shakey Graves, 24 hours with the Fort Worth Fire Department, and a night sleeping on a portaledge with professional Red Bull climber Sasha Digiulian. To mark the milestone of recording our tenth episode, I wanted to record this bonus episode for listeners to take them behind the scenes of this project, and hopefully share why it is so important to me. Produced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!