Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter

Latest Episodes:

#73 - Sleep Inertia: I Can’t Wake Up Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

It can be hard to wake up. For some people, it is almost impossible. Sleep inertia is the medical term of an inability to awaken in the morning. In this episode we will:

Define sleep inertia
Describe how sleep inertia interacts with our homeostatic and circadian drives
Understand the occupational hazards of sleep inertia
Postulate what function sleep inertia might serve
Review the symptoms of sleep inertia
List the causes of sleep inertia
Touch upon the Sleep Inertia Questionnaire
Look at potential sleep inertia treatments

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Twitter: @drchriswinter
IG: @drchriwinter
Threads: @drchriswinter
Bluesky: @drchriswinter
The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

#72 - Insomnia and the Gut Microbiome: Empty Stomach, Empty Head Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

A relatively new frontier of medicine is the exploration of the gut microbiome and its relationship to our body's functioning, health, and susceptibility to disease. The gut-brain axis represents a relatively strong relationship between the gut microbiome and our body's ability to function properly, and it has been proposed that this relationship influences sleep and risk for insomnia. In this episode we will:

Define the gut microbiome
Explore the beginnings of its suspected role in neurological functioning and sleep
List the three proposed pathways by which the gut microbiome interacts with the nervous system
Evaluate the role that the gut microbiome plays in terms of regulating our circadian rhythm via gene expression of the gut biome's own circadian patterns
Discuss metabolic linkages between the gut microbiome and why disruption can increase the chances of metabolic syndrome
Look ahead toward gut biome-based therapies for insomnia

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Twitter: @drchriswinter
IG: @drchriwinter
Threads: @drchriswinter
Bluesky: @drchriswinter
The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

#71 - Sleep and Extreme Temperatures: Hot Blooded/Cold As Ice Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

Saunas and cold-water tanks are everywhere in their personal fitness and recover space. These modalities have also been linked to improving sleep parameters, but is there any science behind the claims? In this episode, we will:

Examine the use of sauna therapy and cold-water immersion (CWI) in elite athletics, and the relative adoption rate for both
Discuss the literature linking sauna/heat therapy with improved health and longevity, particularly in the cardiovascular space, but also emerging in the cognitive health space
Define hormesis and link it to these therapies
Explore the role of sauna therapy as an exercise mimetic, and how that can act to explain the health benefits as well as the sleep benefits of sauna therapy
Link sauna therapy to inflammatory and immune modulation
Touch upon other potential pathways that sauna therapy could benefit sleep
Clarify the confusion about cold water therapy timing and sleep
Review evidence from research showing CWI therapy earlier in the day improving slow wave sleep and reducing sleep latency

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Twitter: @drchriswinter
IG: @drchriwinter
Threads: @drchriswinter
Bluesky: @drchriswinter
The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

#70 - Sleep and Injury: Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

One of the most common questions I am asked about sleep is, "What are the adverse health consequences of inadequate sleep?" While I am quick to answer something related to cardiovascular or cognitive health, physical injury is not one that comes to mind immediately, but new evidence suggests it should. In this episode, we will:

Discuss sleep mechanisms that might relate to increased injury
Investigate how inadequate sleep may influence the immune system and inflammatory processes of the body
Focus on cognitive changes, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, that might lend to an increased risk of injury
Touch upon concentration and focus impairments as supplemental aspects leading to increased injury risk
Review data within athlete, adult, high school, and juvenile populations that show increased injury risk in sleep deprived individuals
Outline steps that can be taken to address sleep and injury risk factors

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Twitter: @drchriswinter
IG: @drchriwinter
Threads: @drchriswinter
Bluesky: @drchriswinter
The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

#69 - Somniloquy: Keep On Talking In My Sleep Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

Perhaps the most common sleep disorder in the world is sleep talking. It most likely affects at least half of all individuals at some point in their life. With the condition being this common, there are still many misunderstandings about sleep talking. In this episode we will:

Define sleep talking as a parasomnia
Review the incidence of sleep talking, the hereditary nature, and how it changes over time
Differentiate it from taking during REM sleep
List the risk factors for somniloquy
Categorize disorders that may lead to sleep talking
Touch upon treatment for somniloquy

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Twitter: @drchriswinter
IG: @drchriwinter
Threads: @drchriswinter
Bluesky: @drchriswinter
The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

#68 - Perinatal Sleep: Hey, Hey, Baby! (All Night Long) Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

The perinatal sleep experience is often talked about in less than glowing terms. It's often a situation that is cannot be helped, it simply must be endured. In this episode, we will:

Look at the common changes that occur during the pregnancy period, trimester by trimester
Review the incidence of sleep disturbances in all pregnant individuals
Contrast the incidence of sleep disturbances in women with psychiatric diagnoses versus women without psychiatric disorders
Examine how increased sleep as well as decreased sleep during pregnancy can be predictive of depression and psychotic episodes respectively
Evaluate some common perinatal sleep myths

Episode Written by Maeve Winter

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Twitter: @drchriswinter
IG: @drchriwinter
Threads: @drchriswinter
Bluesky: @drchriswinter
The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

#67 - 20 Insomnia Pretenders: Don't Get Me Wrong Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that we have discussed frequently on this podcast. It's also a disorder that can have its origins in other sleep and medical disorders. Many disorders can masquerade as simple insomnia, and knowing the true underlying cause can be the difference between solving a medical mystery and suffering needlessly. In this episode, we will:

Differentiate between primary and secondary insomnia
Review the medications that often disrupt sleep
Breakdown the reasons sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy can confound medical providers as it pertains to insomnia
Touch on paroxysmal disorders like epilepsy/seizures and migraine and how they can be mistaken for insomnia
Spotlight menopause and pregnancy as an insomnia pretender
Look at the sleep consequences of neurocognitive disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease
Showcase pain and itching as unusual causes of insomnia-like behavior
Talk about gastrointestinal disorders like gastroesophageal reflux disease and irritable bowl syndrome
Sprinkle in several other medical problems that can behave like insomnia

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Twitter: @drchriswinter
IG: @drchriwinter
Threads: @drchriswinter
Bluesky: @drchriswinter
The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

#66 - Sleep and Longevity: You and I Are Gonna Live Forever Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

The promise of youth eternal is ubiquitous, and is often related to some new sleep intervention. When it comes to dialing back the years, what is fact and what is fiction? In this episode we will:

List the sleep variables most commonly manipulated to improve health and longevity
Understand the relationship between the sleep, testosterone, and cortisol and its impact on insulin and endocrinological health
Revisit exercise and sleep as it pertains to longevity
Touch upon lighting and how it relates to sleep and longevity
Review digital technology's role in sleep and health
Finish with the relationship between deep sleep/slow wave sleep and longevity

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Twitter: @drchriswinter
IG: @drchriwinter
Threads: @drchriswinter
Bluesky: @drchriswinter
The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

#65 - REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: Wild Night Is Calling Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

We have touched upon REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in many episodes of the podcast, but it's never been the star. An individual acting out their dreams can be distressing, and understanding the disorder has many layers. In this episode we will:

Describe the features of RBD and what it clinically looks like
List the characteristics of the disorder and how it fits into the parasomnia family
Review the incidence based upon age
Differentiate primary (idiopathic) from secondary RBD
Touch upon conditions that mimic RBD and why differentiating these is important
Review treatment options
Discuss the relationship between a diagnosis of idiopathic RBD and its predictive value related to neurodegenerative disorders
Outline how clinicians should handle the sensitive nature of this condition when speaking to patients

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Twitter: @drchriswinter
IG: @drchriwinter
Threads: @drchriswinter
Bluesky: @drchriswinter
The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

#64 - Sleep and the Gridiron: Your Country Needs You To Play Football Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

It's that time of the year again...football season. With the excitement building as rivalries renew both at the collegiate and professional level, it seems an appropriate time to look at the sleep through the lens of the sport of American football. In this episode we will:

Preface the episode by considering the first athletic trainer in history, James Robinson of Harvard
Explore some of the early research looking as sleep and football player/team performance
Dissect the controversy regarding the actual risk of sleep disordered breathing in American football players
Differentiate the differences between professional football sleep and collegiate sleep both in and out of season
Touch upon the evidence for increased injury in underslept players
Look ahead to innovative programs designed to manage the sleep of football players both active and retired

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Twitter: @drchriswinter
IG: @drchriwinter
Threads: @drchriswinter
Bluesky: @drchriswinter
The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

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