How can you dream well if you’re not sleeping well? Our guest in this popular replay is neurologist, sleep specialist, and podcaster Dr. Chris Winter. Chris starts out talking about how he has always enjoyed sleeping and how that ultimately led him to a career as a sleep specialist. 

We sleep a third of our life and sleep affects all aspects of our waking life. We talk about “eight hours a night, every night”. Is that a myth or do sleep needs really fall on more of a bell curve? You might think you need less sleep than that, but is it really enough or are you just getting by? How do you feel during the day? Also falling asleep too quickly is a clue to being sleep deprived.

We take a call from Susan from Novato who talks about enjoying waking up early, even sometimes as early as 3:30am. Dr. Winter talks about chronotypes and how they vary from person to person and with age. He speaks about dreaming as a marker for getting good sleep and that dreams can be a kind of sandbox for the mind.

BIO: Dr. Christopher Winter is a neurologist and sleep specialist. He is the author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How To Fix It and The Rested Child: Why Your Tired, Wired or Irritable Child May Have A Sleep Disorder–And How To Help. In addition to optimizing the sleep of numerous professional sports organizations, he hosts the podcast Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter which is consistently ranked as one of the most popular medical podcasts in the country. He is also the host of the Sleep.com series Sleeping Around with Dr. Chris Winter.

Find our guest at: wchriswinter.com and also at Twitter, IG and TikTok @DrChrisWinter

Intro music is Water over Stones and outro music is Everything both by Mood Science. Aambient music is by Rick Kleffel. The audio can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick Kleffel for also engineering the show, to Tony Russomano for answering the phones and to Ewa Malady for audio editing.

Show was broadcast on June 15, 2024 as a replay from a show originally recorded on January 21, 2023.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on FB and IG @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

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The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms released the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/. Now also available on PRX at Exchange.prx.org/se