Sleep apnea constitutes the lion's share of the diagnoses sleep clinicians see in their clinics. One of the most misunderstood and poorly managed conditions I see is mild sleep apnea, or individuals who generally have 5-15 breathing problems/hour. In this episode we will:

• start with the basics of sleep apnea: What is it?
• understand the difference between obstructive and central apnea
• define what constitutes and apnea (or hypopnea) and how those tallies are utilized to arrive at not only a diagnosis, but a severity designation for the condition
• look at the literature and why some experts advocate treating mild sleep apnea and while other do not
• understand how patients can sometimes get caught in a situation where they are aggressively treating a mild condition in which the benefits may be few or nonexistent.
• begin a much larger dialogue aimed at understanding the nuances of sleep apnea, a very common sleep disorder.

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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• The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

White noise is everywhere, and it's association with sleep has been discussed for decades. But what exactly is white noise, and does it play a role in optimizing sleep?

In this episode we will cover: 

• the science of white noise and what it represents
• how the history of white noise machines has evolved
• relationships and research looking at white noise, sleep, memory, and cognition
• the recent research linking white noise to brain damage
• the emergence of pink noise and how it differs from white noise
• differences between other "colors of noise" specifically purple/violet, grey, brown, and blue.
• binaural beats, what they are, and the science linking them with better sleep

NOTE: Your AirPods are working fine. The recording software used to record this episode completely suppressed all of the noise samples played during the episode. To hear examples of the noise colors mentioned in this podcast, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colors_of_noise

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

When I wrote my first book The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How To Fix It, I made the decision to cut the chapter on menopause because of length. I have regretted that decision ever since. It is by far and away the most common question I get asked about the contents. "Is there a chapter about menopause?"

No, but there is a podcast episode entirely devoted to the topic. In this episode we will cover: 

• the basics of menopause and how it affects sleep
• some data that tries to understand the impact menopause has on women's sleep architecture 
• the consequences of hot flashes and how predictive they are regarding sleep issues
• how menopause can lead to a higher incidence of sleep disordered breathing
• the role of hormone replacement therapy
• how other factors could influence sleep in the menopausal population
• strategies for minimizing the impact of menopause on sleep

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

Insomnia treatment in this country is hindered by one simple fact -  very few people really understand what insomnia is and how it is defined, including many physicians who treat adults and kids with insomnia. In this first (of many) episodes about insomnia, we will:

• start with the basics of insomnia definitions: What is insomnia?
• understand that insomnia is not and individual who "can't sleep"
• touch upon the academic definitions of insomnia and how they can often take away from the patient problems by arbitrarily relying on useless timeframe parameters
• learn (via a story that admittedly goes on way too long) that anything, even a Fantasy Football game, can precipitate a night of transient insomnia
• understand that a patient's perceived disability is at the core of the insomnia definition, and only the patient gets to define that disability
• begin to uncover that an individual's perception of what happen when they sleep is not always an accurate representation of what actually happens,  creating problems both diagnostically and therapeutically for many clinicians and patients

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

There are few things more universal and fun to talk about than sleep. We all do it, and it impacts everyone's health and sense of wellness. For the last 30 years, I have been involved in some way or another with sleep. I began studying sleep as a researcher in the early 1990s and am now a neurologist who specializes in treating sleep disorders in adults and kids. In this episode, I share a bit about my background in sleep science and how I have come to spend three decades in the field. Future episodes will include:

• practical sleep information, tips, and strategies for resting better and understanding sleep
• interesting and illustrative patient stories
• experiences with the many professional sports organizations for whom I work
• excerpts from my books 
• debunking sleep myths and misinformation
• explanations and responses to current research and popular topics
• items that go beyond traditional biomedical sources like music and art that involve sleep

Produced by: Maeve Winter

More

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

Thanks for listening and sleep well!