Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter

Latest Episodes:

#213 - Research from the 2026 SLEEP Scientific Conference: Something New Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

Every June, thousands of sleep researchers descend on one city and quietly rewrite what we think we know about a third of our lives. This year it was Baltimore's turn, for the 40th annual SLEEP meeting — and the data that came out of it hits closer to home than usual: blood pressure, diabetes, teenage phones, and why "night owl" might really mean "lonely." Here are my Top 10 studies from SLEEP 2026 most likely to actually change how you sleep. In this episode we will:

Break down why being sleepy and wired at night is a uniquely dangerous combination for blood pressure — and why either symptom alone barely moves the needle
Sit with a staggering number out of Yale: veterans with both insomnia and sleep apnea face six times the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
Revisit the "regularity beats duration" thread from Episode 209 with two brand-new studies — one in preschoolers, one tracking teens all the way to age 22
Unpack why women's sleep apnea can look identical to men's on paper and feel completely different in the body, and why that's delaying diagnoses
Get into the psychology of sleep: why night owls' anxiety may really be about nighttime loneliness, and why expecting bad postpartum sleep can help create it

To find out more about this week's podcast sponsor Flexispot, please use the following link: Flexispot Hako G1 Bed and use the discount code FLEXISPOTG1 for an extra 5% off.

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!

#212 - Deep Sleep and REM Sleep: A Deeper Understanding, Lost In A Dream Jul 13, 2026

Show notes

Deep sleep and REM sleep get lumped together as "good sleep," but they're almost opposite states — one is the quietest your brain gets all night, the other is nearly as active as being awake. In this episode we pull the two apart: how we stumbled onto each of them, what's happening chemically while they run, and why one of them quietly shrinks as we age while the other holds steadier. In this episode we will:

Break down what's actually happening in slow-wave sleep versus REM — brainwaves, muscle tone, and why one is a "quiet body, quiet brain" state and the other is "quiet body, active brain"
Trace the history back to 1953, when a University of Chicago graduate student stumbled onto REM sleep almost by accident
Get basic on the neurochemistry: the GABA-driven shutdown that produces deep sleep, and the acetylcholine surge that flips REM on
Bring in new data from SLEEP 2026 in Baltimore, including a 22-million-night wearable dataset showing how deep sleep changes across adulthood, and a mattress-temperature study that moved the needle on restful sleep by nearly 20 minutes a night
Cover what actually protects deep sleep — and what quietly wrecks it, from alcohol to late caffeine to a bedroom that's too warm

To find out more about this week's podcast sponsor SideSleeperZ, please use the following link: https://sidesleeperz.com/

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!

#211 - Insomnia and Sleep Apnea: Just Don’t Know Jul 06, 2026

Show notes

We tend to think of insomnia and sleep apnea as two completely different sleep disorders. One means you can't sleep. The other means you stop breathing. Simple, right? Not so fast. In reality, many people with sleep apnea don't complain about snoring or excessive daytime sleepiness. Instead, they complain that they wake up repeatedly throughout the night and can't stay asleep. In this episode we will:

Explain why sleep apnea often causes insomnia-like symptoms rather than daytime sleepiness
Explore the growing recognition of COMISA (comorbid insomnia and sleep apnea)
Discuss why women and non-traditional sleep apnea patients are especially likely to be misdiagnosed
Review the latest research on treating insomnia and sleep apnea together

To find out more about this week's podcast sponsor Sleep Reset, please use the following link: https://www.thesleepreset.com/podcast

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!

#210 - Top 10 Sleep Threat Power Rankings: Stop Right Now, Thank You Very Much Jun 29, 2026

Show notes

This week marks the 12th month we have put out the Top 10 Sleep Threats Power Rankings, and this week, we have a special guest assessor, Upneet Chawla, MD (@sleeping.beauty_md). Upneet is an internist and board-certified sleep specialist. In this episode, she has graciously provided us her list. In this episode we will:

Find out what Dr. Chawla thinks are the top threats to your sleep
Incorporate abstracts from the 2026 Sleep meeting to illustrate her points

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!

#209 - Sleep Quantity or Consistency…which is Queen?: Your Future’s At Stake Jun 22, 2026

Show notes

Sleep duration has always been the headline number in sleep science, but mounting research is pushing the conversation toward something less obvious: how consistent your timing is from night to night. In this episode we dig into a debate that's far from settled, and into a statistical trap that may be quietly distorting it. WIn this episode we will:

Break down the four separable pillars of sleep health: duration, consistency, continuity, and circadian alignment
Walk through the landmark UK Biobank study showing sleep regularity outpredicting duration for all-cause mortality
Bring in brand-new data from SLEEP 2026 in Baltimore linking sleep consistency to long-term cardiovascular trajectories
Expose the "range restriction trap," why duration looks less important in these studies largely because almost nobody in them was severely sleep-deprived for years on end
Stress-test the theory with five hypothetical sleepers, each excelling at one dimension and failing at another, to figure out which variable really wins when you push it to the extreme

To find out more about this week's podcast sponsor Welltory, please use the following link: https://welltory.com/

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!

#208 - Menopause and Sleep Update: Outside This Woman's Work Jun 15, 2026

Show notes

Menopause has always been linked to sleep disruption, but the story has changed dramatically since we last covered it in episode 3. Hot flashes and night sweats still matter, but newer research is pushing us to think more broadly about brain temperature regulation, insomnia, mood, sleep apnea, cardiometabolic risk, and a new generation of nonhormonal medications that directly target vasomotor biology. In this episode we will:

Revisit why menopause so often produces sleep-maintenance insomnia
Explore the KNDy neuron/neurokinin pathway and why drugs like fezolinetant and elinzanetant matter
Separate hot-flash awakenings from true insomnia disorder
Discuss CBT-I, hormone therapy, and nonhormonal treatment options
Explain why sleep apnea and cardiometabolic risk should not be overlooked in midlife women

To find out more about this week's podcast sponsor Moonbird, please use the following link: https://www.moonbird.life

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!

#207 - Insomnia and Narcolepsy: Tired of the Same Old Story Jun 08, 2026

Show notes

Narcolepsy is often described as a disorder of excessive daytime sleepiness, but that description only tells part of the story. Many people living with narcolepsy also struggle with fragmented, restless, and unrefreshing sleep at night; and these symptoms that can look a lot like insomnia. In recent years, researchers have increasingly viewed narcolepsy as a disorder of sleep-wake instability, where the boundaries between wakefulness, non-REM sleep, and REM sleep become less secure. Understanding narcolepsy through this lens helps explain why someone can be profoundly sleepy during the day and still feel like they "can't sleep" at night. In this episode we will:

Explore why disrupted nighttime sleep is considered a core symptom of narcolepsy, not merely a side effect
Discuss the role of orexin (hypocretin) in stabilizing sleep and wake states and what happens when that system fails
Examine the surprising overlap between narcolepsy and insomnia symptoms, including frequent awakenings, vivid dreaming, and nonrestorative sleep
Review key research supporting the concept of sleep-state instability as a unifying explanation for many narcolepsy symptoms
Consider how treatments aimed at improving nighttime sleep consolidation may help patients feel more alert and functional during the day

To find out more about this week's podcast sponsor Sleep Reset, please use the following link: https://www.thesleepreset.com/podcast

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!

#206 - Sleep Trackers in the Clinic--Help or Harm?: I Guess I Gotta Buy It May 31, 2026

Show notes

Sleep trackers have become one of the fastest-growing trends in modern health culture. Rings, watches, apps, and mattress sensors now promise to measure everything about your sleep, but are these devices actually helping us sleep better…or simply giving us one more thing to worry about? In this episode, we will:

Discuss whether sleep trackers improve sleep health or simply increase sleep-related anxiety
Explore whether sleep trackers are evolving from wellness gadgets into legitimate healthcare tools
Discuss the recent news surrounding Oura’s confidential IPO filing and what it says about the future of sleep technology
Explore the concept of “orthosomnia” and why the pursuit of perfect sleep scores may backfire
Review studies examining the accuracy of modern sleep trackers for total sleep time, REM sleep, and deep sleep
Talk about who may genuinely benefit from sleep tracking and who may actually be harmed by it.
Examine research suggesting that health data alone often fails to change behavior unless paired with education, coaching, or medical guidance

To find out more about this week's podcast sponsor NOCTEM Health, please use the following link: https://noctemhealth.com/

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!

#205 - Socks In Bed: Taking All The Heat On Your Feet May 25, 2026

Show notes

People tend to have surprisingly strong opinions about wearing socks in bed. Some people swear by them, claiming they fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply. Others find them uncomfortable, claustrophobic, or far too warm. But beneath this oddly polarizing sleep habit lies some genuinely fascinating science involving thermoregulation, circulation, and the body’s preparation for sleep. In this episode, we will:

Explore why warming your feet may actually help cool your core body temperature
Review the physiology of distal vasodilation and why warming the feet may help people fall asleep faster
Discuss the landmark research by Kräuchi, Raymann, Ko, and others examining foot temperature and sleep onset
Examine how socks may improve sleep continuity and reduce nighttime awakenings in cooler sleeping environments
Explain why warm feet and a cool bedroom may actually represent an ideal combination for sleep
Discuss the difference between healthy sleep-supportive habits and sleep rituals that can evolve into “sleep effort”
Review what types of socks may work best for sleep, including breathable and moisture-wicking fabrics

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!

#204 - Nidra for RLS: Voltage Running Through Your Skin May 18, 2026

Show notes

Restless Legs Syndrome has long been treated as a medication problem. But what if one of the most important clues was hidden in the thing patients already know: movement helps. Nidra, a prescription neuromodulation device using tonic motor activation, attempts to borrow the benefit of movement without requiring patients to pace the bedroom at 2:00 AM. In this episode we will:

Review how Nidra stimulates the peroneal nerves to engage movement-related pathways
Explore the RESTFUL pivotal trial and the extension data that supported FDA authorization
Discuss what the studies showed for IRLS scores, global improvement, sleep quality, and safety
Examine why this therapy fits into the changing RLS treatment landscape
Identify which patients may be good candidates and who should avoid it
Share the practical keys to a successful Nidra experience, from placement to consistency

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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