Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter

Insomnia treatment in this country is hindered by one simple fact -  very few people really understand what insomnia is and how it is defined, including many physicians who treat adults and kids with insomnia. In this first (of many) episodes about insomnia, we will:start with the basics of insomnia definitions: What is insomnia?understand that insomnia is not and individual who "can't sleep"touch upon the academic definitions of insomnia and how they can often take away from the patient problems by arbitrarily relying on useless timeframe parameterslearn (via a story that admittedly goes on way too long) that anything, even a Fantasy Football game, can precipitate a night of transient insomniaunderstand that a patient's perceived disability is at the core of the insomnia definition, and only the patient gets to define that disabilitybegin to uncover that an individual's perception of what happen when they sleep is not always an accurate representation of what actually happens,  creating problems both diagnostically and therapeutically for many clinicians and patientsProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!

There are few things more universal and fun to talk about than sleep. We all do it, and it impacts everyone's health and sense of wellness. For the last 30 years, I have been involved in some way or another with sleep. I began studying sleep as a researcher in the early 1990s and am now a neurologist who specializes in treating sleep disorders in adults and kids. In this episode, I share a bit about my background in sleep science and how I have come to spend three decades in the field. Future episodes will include:practical sleep information, tips, and strategies for resting better and understanding sleepinteresting and illustrative patient storiesexperiences with the many professional sports organizations for whom I workexcerpts from my books debunking sleep myths and misinformationexplanations and responses to current research and popular topicsitems that go beyond traditional biomedical sources like music and art that involve sleepProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!