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 and demographics. While the impact on mood, memory, and attention is clearly sizable, the impact on sleep exists independently from these effects.  In this episode we will:

• Examine the effects of cell phone use in three populations: adults, college-age students, and adolescents/school-aged children
• Determine the scope of cell phone use at bedtime and beyond
• Measure the impact phone use has on sleep, including sleep onset, sleep quality, and sleep amount
• List the features of phone use at night that may explain the detrimental effects
• Review the impact curtailing cell phone use at night can have one sleep

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

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 lack of clear definition and delineation from similar disorders does inject diagnostic and therapeutic confusion into the clinical setting. In this episode we will:

• Offer elements central to the definition of brain fog
• Touch upon the demographics and incidence of the disorder, with particular attention to Covid
• Review the history of the disorder
• Look at theories related to the pathophysiology of brain fog
• Evaluate the interplay of sleep and brain fog
• Discuss the development of a brain fog assessment
• List some potential brain fog interventions

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

If catathrenia (Episode 30) is the parasomnia that bothers everyone except the sleeper, exploding head syndrome (EHS) is the parasomnia the only bothers the sleeper, and very much so at that. Imaging being awakened by a sound so loud and dreadful that you awaken certain that you are about to die. In this episode we will:

• Define exploding head syndrome
• Review the key characteristics of the parasomnia
• Explore the history and legend of EHS
• Examine the demographics of the disorder
• Understand the incidence and age range of the parasomnia
• Mention theories that might explain its underlying cause
• Discuss potential treatment options

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

In 2023, the Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an 82-page advisory entitled, "Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation" and it details the health consequences of social isolation and lack of social support. In the report, sleep was specifically highlighted as an aspect of health affected by social isolation. This highlights an important connection and potentially and avenue of insomnia treatment. In this episode we wilL

• Define loneliness and social isolation
• Examine the scope and trajectory of the problem
• List contributors including Covid and personal electronics/social media
• Understand the role of social isolation in insomnia and how data supports the link
• Evaluate the role of work/workplace environment on sleep through the lens of social isolation

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

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 relationships before, but is there a benefit to lifting weights? In this episode we will:

• Touch on current gym use statistics
• Revisit the impact sleep has on weight training, recovery, and athletic gains
• Detail the impact on specific strength training exercises and sleep
• Understand the impact of weight training on sleep quality and depression indices
• Look at research showing sleep apnea improvement in individuals who weight train

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Another year calendar year of the Sleep Unplugged podcast has come to a close. With the escalation in podcast popularity soaring, the 2023 Sleepy Awards seem all the more important and exciting.  It's fun to sing the praises of these special sleep colleagues as 2023 comes to a close. Join me as we celebrate some of the brightest stars within the field of sleep.

The 2023 Sleepy Award winners are:

Social Media Warrior                    Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown (@restfulsleepmed) 

Sleep Outsider Award                  Tommy Tucker (@ttuckerwwl) 

Sleep Vanguard Organization   MyFitnessPal

Sleep Sports Organization          Oklahoma City Thunder 

Sleep Podcast of The Year          Talking Sleep (AASM/Dr. Seema Khosla)

Best Insomnia Advice                    Dr. Jade Wu (@dr_jade_wu)

Book of the Year                               Sleep To Heal: 7 Simple Steps to Better Health
                                                                    Dr. Abhinav Singh (@sleep_vigilante) 
                                                                    Charlotte Jensen (@author.char.jen)
                  
Sleep Crusader Award                 Julie Flygare  (@remrunner)

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Throughout the podcast, we have shone a light on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, but the lesser known (and less common central sleep apnea) has gotten little attention. In this episode, we will: 

• Define central sleep apnea 
• Differentiate central apnea from obstructive
• Understand the mechanisms that create central apnea
• Describe how obstructive and central apneas differ both physiologically as well as how they are differentiated diagnostically
• Contrast the forms of central sleep apnea seen in adults and children
• List the various types and causes of central sleep apnea
• Review the treatments of central sleep apnea

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

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 plastic on your wrist. The world of consumer sleep trackers is vast and confusing. In this episode we will:

• Discuss the basics of monitoring sleep
• Understand the role of surrogates in the measurement of sleep
• Examine the history of research actigraphy devices and their evolution to become the first generation of sleep wearables
• Follow the development of second generation devices and the expansion of the parameters they measured
• Outline the uses for these devices
• Dive into the strengths and limitations of these devices
• Look at what current research has to say about these devices
• List the problems with this technology in the marketplace

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

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 portraying sleep disorders, but how accurate is the depiction, More to the point, is it a helpful perspective or does it simply perpetuate harmful ideas and stereotypes? In this episode we will:

• Consider the role media plays in illustrating, explaining, and sensationalizing insomnia
• Explore the use of sleep disorders like insomnia and narcolepsy for comedic effect
• Examine the role media plays in terms of disseminating good diagnostic and treatment information for sleep disorders
• Review research that evaluates trends in narcolepsy portrayal in the media
• Discuss Still Up in terms of accuracy and helpfulness in terms of a insomnia portrayal

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Within the world of sleep disorders, there is often confusion surrounding disorders that feature nocturnal food consumption. These disorders share many similarities, but their distinctions are worth understanding. In this episode we will:

• Describe the disorders of nocturnal eating
• Characterize the incidence of these conditions
• List the comorbid diagnoses often seen with these disorders including eating disorders
• Define nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder (NSRED) and night eating syndrome (NES)
• Differentiate these disorders based upon consciousness/volitional eating and the characterizations of the eating
• Review the diagnostic criteria for each
• Touch upon theories behind these disorders
• List treatment options

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• Twitter: @drchriswinter
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• Threads: @drchriswinter
• Bluesky: @drchriswinter
• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!