Did you get enough sleep last night? One in three adults don’t get enough sleep. Why is sleep so important, anyway? The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society insist that sleeping less than seven hours per day is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and frequent mental distress.

Lifestyle changes such as going to bed at the same time each night, rising at the same time each morning and turning off or removing televisions, computers and mobile devices from the bedroom can help people get the healthy sleep they need.

On this edition of Houston Matters, we get answers to your questions about sleep and sleep disorders from Dr. Richard Castriotta, medical director of Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center’s Sleep Disorders Center and professor and director of the division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine at UTHealth Medical School.

Also this hour…

Exclusive: Gerald D. Hines on His Life Building Houston’s Iconic Skyline:

Ever shopped at the Galleria? Gone up to the top of the 64-story Williams Tower? Or have you been inside One Shell Plaza or Pennzoil Place? So has Gerald Hines. But, the difference is he built them, and he’s talking only to Houston Matters about his amazing career.

Scientist Hosting Symposium with Siblings:

Dr. Anne Sereno is a cognitive neuroscientist with the McGovern Medical School who will be hosting a symposium with her five siblings who are also scientists, for the 42nd Annual Interdisciplinary Conference in January. It’s called the Sereno Symposium: The Lanscape of Human Cognition. Maggie Martin sat down with Dr. Sereno, professor of neurobiology and anatomy with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, to talk about growing up in a large family and what it’s like planning a public talk with her siblings.

Houston Matters offers a free daily, downloadable podcast here, on iTunes, Stitcher and various other podcasting apps.