Maybe the Rush lyric should have been, "I've got no time for sleepin'" because a huge population of people in this world participate in some form of shift work, and it takes a heavy toll on sleep, health, and the bottom line of their employers. In this episode we will:

• Examine the inherent sleep deficit that comes with shift work
• Determine how much sleep the average shift worker is losing
• Debunk the idea that staying on night shift actually creates a true biological adjustment
• Explore the work-related consequences of shift work sleepiness
• Highlight the unequal 'double burden' women engaged in shift work assume
• List the medical consequences of shift work
• Define the medical disorder Shift Work Disorder
• Evaluate the countermeasures and interventions that can lessen the impact of shift work

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

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 the sleep of recovery. It's the sleep through which growth hormone flows. Lots of things promise a deeper sleep, but what really delivers? In this episode we will:

• Revisit the reasons deep sleep is so important for optimal health
• Examine the research behind exercise and deep sleep
• Explore the links between mindfulness and meditation and sleep
• Determine if hydration plays a role in slow wave sleep enhancement
• Look at the surprising link between lavender and deep sleep
• Understand the role temperature plays in this process and why exercise my actually be utilizing body temperature as a pathway for its enhancement of deep sleep
• Untangle the complicated research looking at alcohol and its role as both an enhancement and degrader of deep sleep

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

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 look at the other end of the sleep apnea spectrum...severe sleep apnea where the only confusion is, "Why didn't your primary care doctor order a sleep study sooner?" In this episode we will:

• Define sleep apnea and learn how the Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) helps us classify an individual's sleep apnea severity
• Briefly touch upon other metrics being considered to grade the severity of sleep apnea
• Look at sleep apnea through the lens of a recent patient who averaged 155.8 significant breathing disturbances/hour and understand what that means in terms of health and medical risk factors
• Examine the process by which one slowly develops sleep apnea and ask the question, "Why, in the midst of elevated weight, high blood pressure, and/or diabetes do more doctors not order home sleep studies to screen for sleep apnea when it is a modifiable risk factor with massive potential for health benefit?"
• Understand how the concept of CPAP therapy "working" or "not working" needs to be clearly defined as different therapy modalities are considered.
• Examine Inspire therapy, understand what it entails, who is eligible, and how there is much more to consider than their advertisements seem to indicate
• Compare sleep apnea therapies and their strengths/drawbacks

Note: I let an f-bomb slip in this episode…sorry to those offended by this.

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

"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 relate to the disorder of insomnia.  In this episode we will:

• Review the cognitive role of mental hyperarousal in insomnia
• Explore how mental de-arousal is an integral part of managing insomnia 
• Learn how insomnia patients raise their level of arousal as they approach bedtime and are often cued to do so by their sleep environment.
• Differentiate poor sleepers who often view their racing thoughts or inner monologue as an impediment to their sleep versus normal sleepers who do not. 
• See mindfulness as the countermeasure to our culture's propensity to stress mental escalation while ignoring techniques for de-escalation
• List some methods, including the use of biofeedback devices, for practicing how to manage a racing mind
• Touch upon the idea that the "racing mind" is something to embrace, not fear

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

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 core, over time, these tips can distort the actual goal individuals have to develop not only healthy sleep practices, but a deeper understanding and sturdier relationship with sleep. To that end, it's important to dissect these ubiquitous instructions and figure out what they are really telling us. In this episode, we will: 

• dive into why we are constantly ordering people to never be in bed awake, and how it can erode the positive feelings and impact resting can have in our lives.
• push back against techniques that promise faster sleep
• dispel the myth of fluid restriction at night and why hydration restriction is not only unhealthy, but also largely ineffective
• evaluate the idea that delaying caffeine intake scientifically reduces a mid-afternoon 'crash' and overlay his theories on the two-process model of sleep/wakefulness
• learn how going to bed at the same time every night might be unhelpful over time
• explore the idea of not watching television 2 hours prior to bed and why that is an impractical notion for most people
• understand why sleep hygiene alone is not likely to fix a significant sleep problem
• briefly touch upon the current fad of mouth taping, it's like of rigorous scientific backing, its academic opposition, and how medical trends (sometimes dangerous ones) are perpetuated

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

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 overlooked. Diagnosis is just the first hurdle as many patients are unaware of or simply not offered the best therapies for the disorder. In this episode, we will: 

• touch upon theories of treating narcolepsy include non-medication therapies
• list the major pharmaceutical therapies
• differentiate the mechanism of actions among these medications
• outline the drug strategies for managing narcolepsy symptoms including excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy
• learn why so many patients are denied optimal therapy because of doctor's ignorance or insurance company denials/red tape
• briefly touch upon the obstacles involved specifically in narcolepsy care

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

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 out in the first sentence of the manuscript, caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive drug in the world. The consumption of caffeine as spawned its own culture and massive business machine. In this episode we will:

• discover the history of caffeine research in sleep
• learn about caffeine and the related methylxanthine chemicals theophylline and paraxanthine
• analyze the antagonistic effects that caffeine has on adenosine signaling
• touch upon the differential effects of caffeine based upon age
• explore the negative effects of caffeine on sleep including new research on its effects on REM sleep
• detail the research looking at the timing of caffeine ingestion related to bedtime and how its effects may be more prolonged than most thought
• uncover the reality about the wakefulness effects of caffeine and the facts that predict it.
• break down the caffeine and performance findings of the International Society of Sports Nutrition

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

The explosion of both medicinal and recreational marijuana use (as well as its derivatives) has led to the obvious question: Does marijuana help an individual sleep better? If you pay attention to those who sell it, the answer seems to be a resounding yes...but is that true. In this episode we will:

• learn about marijuana and the chemical cannabinoids that are often proclaimed to be sleep-promoting
• understand that in many ways, using marijuana for insomnia is no different than other pills and its success leans heavily on how we measure sleep success...or how it "works"
• touch upon older research about marijuana
• learn the differences between transient sleep effects and the sleep effects of long-term use
• explore cultural conversations and myths about marijuana use, in particular that it's helpful in pregnancy
• discover the misperceptions surrounding marijuana use in college
• uncover how the bottom line of some studies can be affected by pharmaceutical companies trying to develop novel sleep therapies
• look ahead to potential therapies for conditions like REM behavior disorder and Restless Legs Syndrome

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Anyone who has traveled a significant distance has felt the effects of jet lag...the fatigue, the altered appetite, the sleep irregularities. The science of jet lag and sleep is topic of tremendous interest both scientifically and in popular culture. In this episode we will:

• Define jet lag and how it relates to the circadian rhythm
• Examine how jet lag can influence our general and cognitive health as well as cancer risk
• Contrast the biological difference between eastward and westward travel and how they relate to circadian advances and delays
• Explore the various ways jet lag can be mitigated
• Understand the use of light exposure to lessen the impact of jet lag and how the timing of light relates to our body temperature curve
• Learn about the use of melatonin as a toll for jet lag mitigation
• Touch upon how caffeine and napping can be jet lag strategies
• Characterize the merits of hypnotics for travel
• Discover the surprising relationship between fasting and jet lag
• Conclude with the folly of alcohol as a jet lag strategy

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

The link between cardiovascular health and sleep is beyond compelling and is probably the most researched topic related to sleep health. This has taken on greater meaning as studies show the cardiovascular health of all age groups is declining. Recently, the American Heart Association added Sleep Health to its 'Essential 8'--a collection of the meaningful steps individuals can take to improve their cardiovascular health and outcomes. But what constitutes the relationship between sleep health and cardiovascular health?  In this episode, we will:

• Introduce the American Heart Association's Essential 8, and how sleep health not only factors into the list, but directly affects the other seven items.
• Trace the long history of sleep being associated with coronary artery disease.
• Explore the relationship between sleep and stroke risk
• Understand the mechanisms of increased atherosclerotic plaque burden in people getting inadequate sleep
• Learn about the relationship between inadequate sleep and  elevated blood pressure/"non-dipping," and how sleep extension may improve those measurements
• Characterize the increased risk or arrhythmias in patients with sleep=related breathing disorders and their underlying mechanisms
• Probe the link between inadequate sleep and systemic inflammation and how these changes can be permanent
• Touch upon the topic of poor sleep and impaired glucose homeostasis
• Conclude with looking at the confusing relationship between insomnia and cardiovascular disease

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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

Thanks for listening and sleep well!