Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter
Episodes
#98 - Insomnia and Belief: You Only Perceive What You Believe
06 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the aspects of insomnia that can be both a perpetuating factor and and target for treatment is exploring dysfunctional beliefs. In this episode...
#97 - Nightmare Disorder: Nights So Cruel I Thought I'd Die
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dreams happen, and unfortunately, sometimes those dreams are nightmares. For most, these terrifying nights are few and far between. For a small few, n...
#96 - Narcolepsy Stories: My Patience Has Reached Its End
22 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Narcolepsy is a misunderstood medical disorder and as such, it generates some fascinating stories and anecdotes when you treat narcolepsy. In this epi...
#95 - Sleep and Breath: Every Breath You Take
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The health benefits of yoga are widely espoused, but for many, the belief is that the benefits are derived mainly from the physical nature of the pose...
#94 - Grounding and Sleep: I Felt The Earth Beneath My Feet
08 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Though widely regarded as pseudoscience for many years, there has been a recent resurgence in the practice of earthing/grounding. This practice aims t...
#93 - 10 Strange Insomnia Treatments: Rock Yourself to Sleep
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are no shortage of insomnia treatments and we have covered many on this podcast. In honor of April Fool's Day, we spotlight 10 unusual trea...
#92 - Sleep and Nicotine: I’d Have Another Cigarette But I Can’t ‘Sleep’
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to substances affecting sleep negatively, it seems alcohol and caffeine hog all of the spotlight. But what about nicotine? While the num...
#91 - Drowsy Driving: Asleep at the Wheel
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a 2017 study, approximately one-third of the respondents reported having fallen asleep driving within the last month. Sleepy driving is a massive p...
#90 - Sleep and Hospitality: Gotta Hurry On Back To My Hotel Room
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most interesting trends in sleep is the growing number of hotels and hospitality centers that are embracing sleep as a primary focus for th...
#89 - Circadiansomnia: I Was Up Before The Dawn
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last two years, we have covered several circadian rhythm disorders...jet lag disorder and shift work disorder as well as covering the general...
#88 - Weighted Blankets: Pushing Down On Me, Pressing Down On You
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Weighted blankets have soared in popularity over the past decade and they often promise better sleep. What exactly dose the evidence say and for what ...
#87 - Sleep Masks: I'll Wear a Mask for You
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A simple piece of cloth over the eyes can have a powerful effect of the quality on an individual's sleep. The evolution of the sleep mask has bee...
#86 - Sleep and Bedding: Lay Me Down In Sheets of Linen
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Picking the right mattress and pillow is important. Choosing the right material that goes over your mattress is equally essential. Bedding materials c...
#85 - Insomnia and Fear: So Scared to Sleep
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's hard to find insomnia without a healthy dose of fear or anxiety. Few individuals make an appointment to see a sleep specialist only to let t...
#84 - Sleep and Smart Phones: No One’s Answering
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The research on sleep and cell phone use is negative and there is an overwhelming amount of it. The negative impacts on sleep affect all age groups an...
#83 - Brain Fog and Sleep: There's Someone In My Head, But It's Not Me
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While brain fog has been described in many contexts, its incidence has soared since Covid. While the existence of brain fog is clearly real, its lac...
#82 - Exploding Head Syndrome: Exploding In The Night
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If catathrenia (Episode 30) is the parasomnia that bothers everyone except the sleeper, exploding head syndrome (EHS) is the parasomnia the only bothe...
#81 - Insomnia and Social Isolation: We’re Afraid To Be Alone
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2023, the Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an 82-page advisory entitled, "Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation" and it detai...
#80 - Weight Training and Sleep: Keep on Lifting
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Happy new year! It's 2024 and with a new year comes resolutions to join a gym and get into shape. The podcast has explored exercise and sleep rel...
#79 - 2023 Sleep Unplugged Awards: I'm Winning And I Don't Intend On Losing Again
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Another year calendar year of the Sleep Unplugged podcast has come to a close. With the escalation in podcast popularity soaring, the 2023 Sleepy Awar...
#78 - Central Sleep Apnea: Let Me Catch My Breath To Breathe
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout the podcast, we have shone a light on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, but the lesser known (and less common central sleep apnea) has gott...
#77 - Sleep Trackers: Seemed Like The Real Thing
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sleep trackers are everywhere and depending on the voice you are listening to, they are either the secret to hacking your sleep or worthless pieces of...
#76 - Insomnia and Popular Media: I Love To Watch Things On TV
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Apple TV (not Max as stated in my episode) has a new show about two friends with Insomnia called Still Up. It is another example of the media portrayi...
#75 - Eating At Night: Bittersweet I Could Taste In My Mouth
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Within the world of sleep disorders, there is often confusion surrounding disorders that feature nocturnal food consumption. These disorders share man...
#74 - The 2nd Annual Holiday Sleep Gift Guide Extravaganza: This Is What I Give To You
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Sleep Unplugged podcast is here to ease your holiday shopping stress with some of my favorite sleep product companies. In this episode, we will ex...
#73 - Sleep Inertia: I Can’t Wake Up
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
#72 - Insomnia and the Gut Microbiome: Empty Stomach, Empty Head
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A relatively new frontier of medicine is the exploration of the gut microbiome and its relationship to our body's functioning, health, and suscep...
#71 - Sleep and Extreme Temperatures: Hot Blooded/Cold As Ice
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Saunas and cold-water tanks are everywhere in their personal fitness and recover space. These modalities have also been linked to improving sleep para...
#70 - Sleep and Injury: Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most common questions I am asked about sleep is, "What are the adverse health consequences of inadequate sleep?" While I am qui...
#69 - Somniloquy: Keep On Talking In My Sleep
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 l...
#68 - Perinatal Sleep: Hey, Hey, Baby! (All Night Long)
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#67 - 20 Insomnia Pretenders: Don't Get Me Wrong
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 sl...
#66 - Sleep and Longevity: You and I Are Gonna Live Forever
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
#65 - REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: Wild Night Is Calling
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
#64 - Sleep and the Gridiron: Your Country Needs You To Play Football
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's that time of the year again...football season. With the excitement building as rivalries renew both at the collegiate and professional level...
#63 - Sleep and Anxiety: Why Worry?
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's hard to have a full conversation about insomnia without bringing up the topic of anxiety, the most common psychiatric diagnosis in the world...
#62 - Sleep and Memory: You'll Forget About Me After I've Been Gone
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The link between sleep and memory has been a compelling area of research for many years. New theories about the specific relationship between sleep an...
#61 - How Much Sleep Do You Really Need? Just Can't Get Enough
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Within the field of sleep science, there are few questions asked more frequently than, "How much sleep do we need?" While the answer eight h...
#60 - Influencers, Experts, and Bad Sleep Advice: Would I Lie To You?
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Information and advice about better sleep comes from more individuals and sources than can be counted. In our current era of "fake news," it...
#59 - Bedtime Rituals: Right On Time
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One often overlooked strategy to improve sleep and manage insomnia is to employs bedtime rituals. While most think of these as activities designed to ...
#58 - Lucid Dreaming: You Make My Dreams
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The phenomenon of dreaming is an endless fascinating topic for many individuals, and the concept of lucid dreaming is a never-ending source of interes...
#57 - Sleep and Yoga: Gotta Find A Way To Flow
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last several decades, there has been a heightened interested in alternative therapies for sleep disorders, and the practice of yoga as a slee...
#56 - Sexsomnia: Hard To Explain Last Night
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
An important subset of parasomnias is sexsomnias--sexual behaviors that arise at night with little or no memory reported from the person involved. In ...
#55 - Are You Sleepy or Are You Fatigued?: I'm So Tired
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of the biggest misunderstandings in medicine is the differences between sleepiness and fatigue. Add to this poorly defined terms like "tired&...
#54 - Insomnia and the Five Senses: See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The five senses are our brain's main way of collecting information about our immediate environment. They have a powerful effect on our moods, cog...
#53 - Sleep and Green Spaces: Lay Me Down In the Tall Grass
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There has been an explosion of research looking at relationships between one's proximity to nature and sleep. During the Covid pandemic, this res...
#52 - Finding the Perfect Mattress: The Bed's Too Big Without You
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps the biggest single influence on your sleep is the surface that you sleep on. Choosing a mattress is a process that combines personal preferenc...
#51 - Dispatches from the 2023 SLEEP Scientific Conference: A New Sensation
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The 2023 SLEEP meeting just concluded in Indianapolis where the greatest sleep minds come together and share the amazing academic and scientific proje...
#50 - Is There A Case For Sleeping Pills?: I Wanted To Be Wrong
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While we discussed sleeping pills on episode 11 of the podcast, there is a lot of unfinished business here. A recent conversation with a distinguished...
#49 - Sleeping Naked: Are Your Clothes Getting In The Way?
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The media loves to talk about sleeping naked. The topic carries just enough taboo to make it irresistible to readers. Given that up to a third of adul...
#48 - Sleep and Pain: When It Hurts So Bad
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Chronic pain is a disabling problem that could affect as many as 1 out of every 5 adult Americans. It is a costly and tragic collection of disorders t...
#47 - Sleep and Mouth Taping: Our Lips Are Sealed
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Now that lettuce water and melatonin spray has had their moments, mouth taping seems to be the latest sleep social media trend that everyone is talkin...
#46 - Choosing the Right Pillow: Send Me The Pillow You Dream On
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It would be tough to argue that one of the most important factors that influence your sleep is right under your nose (literally, depending on what pos...
#45 - Are You A Good Sleeper Or A Bad Sleeper?: It Was My Attitude
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our identity as either a good sleeper or a bad sleeper plays an outsized role in the development and persistence of insomnia in individuals. In this e...
#44 - Shift Work: I Got No Time For Livin', I'm Workin' All The Time
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Maybe the Rush lyric should have been, "I've got no time for sleepin'" because a huge population of people in this world participa...
#43 - In A Deep, Deep Sleep: Where Do You Go For Deeper Sleep?
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone wants slow wave sleep, commonly referred to as deep sleep. It's the sleep of youthfulness. It's the sleep of performance. It's...
#42 - Severe Sleep Apnea and Treatments: Quit Holdin' Out and Draw Another Breath
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 5 of the podcast, we explored the confusing entity of mild/borderline sleep apnea and the treatment confusion it causes. In this episode we...
#41 - How To Shut Off Your Racing Mind: It’s Late, You Can’t Turn Out the Lights
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"I can't shut my mind off at night" is a very common refrain among insomnia patients. Is this a real phenomenon and if so, how does it ...
#40 - Tired Sleep Advice: Got To Search For Something New
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sleep tips are everywhere and the more 'surprising' the advice is, the better. While the majority of what is out there is helpful at its cor...
#39 - Narcolepsy Treatments: I Want A New Drug
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In episode 26 of the podcast, we began a discussion about narcolepsy...what it looks like, how it's diagnosed, and why it's so often overloo...
#38 - Coffee and Sleep: There's Too Much Caffeine In Your Bloodstream
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There is no chemical on the plant more tied to sleep disruption and wakefulness promotion than caffeine. As every research paper on the plant points o...
#37 - Marijuana and Sleep: The Drugs Don't Work, They Just Make You Worse
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The explosion of both medicinal and recreational marijuana use (as well as its derivatives) has led to the obvious question: Does marijuana help an in...
#36 - Jet Lag: Take Your Chance on a Big Jet Plane
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Anyone who has traveled a significant distance has felt the effects of jet lag...the fatigue, the altered appetite, the sleep irregularities. The scie...
#35 - Sleep and Cardiovascular Health: Stop Draggin' Your Heart Around
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The link between cardiovascular health and sleep is beyond compelling and is probably the most researched topic related to sleep health. This has take...
#34 - Next Position Please: The Science of Sleeping Positions
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Back sleeper, side sleeper, stomach sleeper...which is the best position for quality sleep? Body position is a popular topic in the media, but how muc...
#33 - The Scientific Results Are In: CBTi is the Cure for Insomnia
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Clickbait title comments aside, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi) is the scientific gold standard when it comes to insomnia therapy. It...
#32 - Co-Sleeping: Let's Spend The Night Together
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are many controversial topics in the world of sleep. Not many spark more conversation and controversy than various forms of co-sleeping. In this...
#31 - Polyphasic Sleep: Sleep The Clock Around
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps no topic in sleep is more filled with more wild claims and unsubstantiated research than polyphasic sleep. The division of sleep into several ...
#30 - Catathrenia/Sleep-Related Moaning: Here She Comes Now Singing Moany Moany
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Individuals who moan or groan in their sleep are not uncommon...at least we think so. Catathrenia, the medical term for the disorder, is poorly studie...
#29 - Snoring: The Sound That Drives Us Out of Our Heads
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Snoring is a common sleep problem that affects many individuals either directly or indirectly. There is a significant amount of confusion around the t...
#28 - The 9 Ps of Insomnia
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1987, Arthur Spielman put forth a model for understanding insomnia that came to be known as the 3-P Model. It laid out the progression of the disor...
#27 - The 2022 Sleep Unplugged Awards
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It has been a truly incredible year for the Sleep Unplugged podcast. In operation just over six months, the success of the podcast is both exciting an...
#26 - Narcolepsy: The Rare Sleep Disorder That Isn't
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Given that approximately 1 in 2000 people in the United States has narcolepsy, and their symptoms are so dramatic, there is a good chance you know s...
#25 - Temperature and Sleep: In the Cold Cold Night
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We have been dancing around this topic since pretty much the beginning of Sleep Unplugged. Sleep and Menopause...Circadian Rhythms...Insomnia...even...
#24 - Alcohol and Sleep: Raise a Glass to Terrible Rest
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There may be no topic in sleep that is more studied yet often misunderstood than alcohol. Even a casual overview of popular media is full of referen...
#23 - Light and Sleep: The Legend of Blue Light
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to healthy sleep, plays a huge role. The discussion often vilifies light, in particular blue light, but is it always bad? In this episod...
#22 - Holiday Sleep Gift Guide Extravaganza
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the holidays around the corner, I have reached out to my favorite sleep product companies as well as my favorite sleep experts to get product rec...
#21 - Sleep and Food: You Sleep What You Eat
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nutrition and food are big topics within sleep circles. What can I eat to support great sleep? In this episode we will:Learn about the amnio acid tryp...
#20 - Paradoxical Insomnia: The Insomnia You've Never Heard Of
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There is nothing in the realm of sleep medicine that creates more confusion (both among patients and providers) than paradoxical insomnia. Known by ma...
#19 - Nightmares and Night Terrors: Whatever You Do, Don't Fall Asleep
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On this special Halloween edition, we will wander into the dark and terrifying forest of nightmares and night terrors. In this episode, we will:Explor...
#18 - Daylight Saving Time: What Exactly Are We Saving?
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 existe...
#17 - The Truth About Napping
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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&apo...
#16 - Sleep Paralysis: There's a Demon In My Bed
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
#15 - Insomnia: Waking Up At Night
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 insom...
#14 - Circadian Rhythms: Time May Change Me
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Even though circadian rhythms seem initially to be exclusively linked to our sleep, these primitive timing mechanisms reach back to virtually the dawn...
#13 - Restless Legs Syndrome: You Gotta Move
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a unique and relatively common sleep disorder that quietly affects the sleep of 15% of individuals (by some generous a...
#12 - Sleep and Athletic Performance: Major League Sleep
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The intersection of sleep and athletic performance, relatively speaking, is a new frontier. In the last two decades, the interest in how sleep optimiz...
#11 - Sleeping Pills: Sleeping With The Enemy
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Bonus: Behind the Scenes of Sleeping Around
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 se...
#10 - Alarm Clocks: Starting Your Day Right
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Alarms clocks may be responsible for the most dreaded sound in our lives. Despite their constant presence, how do you choose the right alarm for your ...
#9 - The Controversy Surrounding School Start Times
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Students everywhere are beginning to head back to school soon, so in this Back-To-School episode, I examine the ongoing school start time debate in th...
#8 - Trendy Sleep Topics: Orthosomnia, Sleep Divorce, and Revenge Bedtime Procrastination
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 1990's, Dr. James Maas coined the phrase "power nap" and since that time, there have been many trendy sleep terms. In this ...
#7 - Why No One Cares Your Child Is Sleepy
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After sleep apnea, narcolepsy is the most common cause of excessive sleepiness in sleep clinics across the country. A large portion of the nearly 200,...
#6 - The Trauma of Insomnia
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In episode 2, I talked about what insomnia was not--namely sleep deprivation. In this episode, we begin to explore what insomnia is and who is most at...
#5 - Mild Sleep Apnea: Death By CPAP
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sleep apnea constitutes the lion's share of the diagnoses sleep clinicians see in their clinics. One of the most misunderstood and poorly managed...
#4 - White Noise and Sleep
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
White noise is everywhere, and it's association with sleep has been discussed for decades. But what exactly is white noise, and does it play a ro...
#3 - Sleep and Menopause: Why Don't We Talk About This More?
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When I wrote my first book The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How To Fix It, I made the decision to cut the chapter on menopause because...
#2 - Insomnia: It's Not What You Think It Is
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Insomnia treatment in this country is hindered by one simple fact - very few people really understand what insomnia is and how it is defined, includ...
#1 - Welcome/Introduction to Sleep Unplugged
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...