In this episode of the Sleep Edit, Craig and Arielle are thrilled to welcome Dr. Sujay Kansagra of Duke University to discuss the weird and wonderful world of parasomnias, restless leg syndrome, and restless sleep disorder in children. Parasomnias include NREM parasomnias (sleep walking, hypnic jerks, night terrors) and REM parasomnias (sleep paralysis and nightmares).

• 00:00 Introduction and Disclaimer 
• 01:09 Parenting Anecdotes and Guest Introduction 
• 02:22 Journey into Medical Social Media 
• 05:21 The Importance of Engaging Content 
• 10:50 Understanding Parasomnias 
• 15:25 Non-REM vs REM Parasomnias 
• 24:26 Night Terrors and Sleepwalking 
• 28:17 Fever Dreams and Sleep Disruptions 
• 28:58 Genetic Predispositions and Sleep Studies 
• 29:21 Scheduled Awakenings and Melatonin 
• 30:23 Nightmares vs. Night Terrors 
• 31:39 Sleepwalking Safety Tips 
• 37:43 Understanding Restless Leg Syndrome 
• 48:58 Restless Sleep Disorder 
• 53:38 Final Thoughts and Parenting Advice

Links

• Dr. Sujay Kansagra at Duke Health
• Sujay’s Instagram profile 
• Sujay’s time zone video
• “I am the research”
• His excellent sleep book
• The rest of his links
• Night terrors, sleep walking, and sleep talking in children by Dr. Canapari
• Restless leg syndrome in children by Dr. Canapari

Transcript
Audio Sleep Edit 8 Sujay Kansagra
[00:00:00] Arielle Greenleaf:
[00:00:00] Welcome to the Sleep Edit, a podcast devoted to helping tired kids and parents sleep better. We focus on actionable evidence-based sleep advice, so everyone in your home can sleep through the night. Now, a quick disclaimer, this podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice.
[00:00:27] Craig Canapari MD: No doctor patient relationship is formed. The use of this information and the materials linked to this podcast and any associated video content are at the user’s own risk. The content on the show is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay obtaining medical help for any medical condition they have
[00:00:53] or that their children may have, they should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions. Nothing [00:01:00] stated here reflects the views of our employers or the employees of our guests. Enjoy the show.
[00:01:09] Okay. I am just doing the very important
[00:01:11] work of giving my 13-year-old more screen time on the Xbox, so he at least is not screaming during this.
[00:01:18] Arielle Greenleaf: Oh yeah.
[00:01:19] Sujay Kansagra: as I say, not as I do in the world of parenting.
[00:01:22] Craig Canapari MD: So listen, let’s
[00:01:23] get started from the top. welcome back to the sleep edit. I am Dr. Craig Canapari
[00:01:28] Arielle Greenleaf: I’m Arielle Greenleaf.
[00:01:30] Craig Canapari MD: it is my great pleasure to welcome my friend Dr. Sujay Kansagra on today.
[00:01:35] He’s a pediatric sleep doctor and neurologist. He attended Duke for medical school, went to UNC for residency and fellowship, and made, a triumphant return to Duke afterwards.
[00:01:44] Sujay Kansagra: Lost some friends during the transition, but yes.
[00:01:47] Craig Canapari MD: I gotta tell you, man,
[00:01:49] as a lifelong UConn basketball fan, I’ve got wild beef with Duke.
[00:01:53] Sujay Kansagra: Yes. I can understand that. Listen, people ask me now, who do I support? ’cause UNC is where I started as an undergrad, and so the [00:02:00] basketball allegiance still lies there. But for medicine, I’d cheer for Duke.
[00:02:03] Craig Canapari MD: I still remember UConn losing to Duke in 1990 the first time they made the tournament.
[00:02:09] Sujay Kansagra: I remember UConn beating Duke in the finals. This was probably 1999, 2000. we were very excited at UNC for your win.
[00:02:17] Craig Canapari MD: Oh yeah. And let me tell you that every time I’ve won a basketball pool, it’s because UNC has won..
[00:02:21] Sujay Kansagra: Yes.
[00:02:22] Craig Canapari MD: I just wanna talk a little bit about your online presence, because when did you start med school advice? ’cause that’s how you first came on my radar.
[00:02:31] Sujay Kansagra: This is like the original back when, the day we called it Twitter.
[00:02:35] I was still a resident. I was a child neurology resident and we were talking earlier, this was really the wild west of social media. Folks in medicine were just getting
[00:02:44] their foot in the door and learning to navigate the social media
[00:02:47] channels. And back then my goal was just to give, just advice because I grew up having an older
[00:02:52] sister that went to medicine that helped guide me and I’m like a lot of people that don’t understand, what it takes to consider medicine, what a life in medicine [00:03:00] is.
[00:03:00] So I started blogging in 2012 and I felt like at that point it was already too late, right? Because there were already like people out there who have been doing it since the early two thousands. I think Howard Luks was on from like the 1999 or something. when your pediatric sleep book came out and it’s great guys. You all should buy it. My Child Won’t Sleep. A quick guide to the sleep deprived parent. I’d been blogging for two or three years and I’m like, man, this guy wrote a book. I better up my game here.
[00:03:27] Yeah. Who is this guy yeah, I mean that book, it’s funny ’cause I was doing a lot of the research behind it when I was a new father and I was also reading all the books that are out there just to get some background information what is Weissbluth saying what is Ferber saying? We knew the techniques, but what do you have in these 400 pages? And, part of me, when it came to the techniques I was screaming at the book just
[00:03:48] tell me the technique. I already knew the technique, but I’m like, where is it? These are sleep deprived
[00:03:52] parents, I’m like, just where’s your technique?
[00:03:55] And that was the impetus behind the book. Just give it to them straight. Give it a step by step approach. And [00:04:00] it’s probably too slimmed down because unfortunately I glossed over a lot of the other issues like parasomnias and restless leg and sleep apnea. It’s just
[00:04:07] behavioral insomnia approaches. Cognitive behavioral therapy approaches for older kids.
[00:04:11] Delayed circadian rhythm stuff for older children as well. Just the core things that you can modify without needing a physician sometimes,
[00:04:19] Arielle Greenleaf: I think That’s really valuable in just in what I do. Parents are just, there’s so...