There is nothing more pleasing to the soul than wandering into a space that makes you feel protected, present, and at peace. Many elements involved in the creation of a comfortable bedroom sanctuary have been covered on the podcast. Now, we work to synthesize them all into your Zen den masterpiece. In this episode we will:

• Think about how room color choices affect relaxation and sleep
• Design the lighting that will best support our sanctuary's mission
• Consider how decorations can work to sooth or distract from the goal of rest
• Evaluate the role of air filters in our room design
• Look at materials on the floors and walls in terms of sound dampening
• Define 'biophilic design' and explore how it will shape the direction of the room
• Embrace organic and natural bedding materials instead of synthetics
• Remove clutter from the space and thoughtfully consider the pros and cons of electronics
• Create a "travel version" of our room choices when possible

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

As the owner of a private medical practice, I know how difficult it is for the solo provider/small group to keep the doors open and deliver quality care, especially if the providers participate with insurance carriers. This fact not only affects providers, but as we will explore in the episode, it can often directly impact they options for care a patient receives. In this episode we will:

• Understand the obstacles and misperceptions baked into a career in medicine.
• Examine the debt of the typical medical doctor after finishing medical school
• Calculate the problematic combination of 1) starting a career in debt, and 2) starting a career relatively late
• Compare the rate of the rising costs of running a medical practice with the relative rate of medical insurance reimbursement
• Evaluate the massive burdens that insurance companies place on providers in the form of prior authorizations (PA)
• Learn how to navigate your own care in this difficult climate

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!

We have talked extensively about Type 1 and Type 2 narcolepsy on the podcast, but what about its mysterious cousin idiopathic hypersomnia (IH)? What is IH and why is it so hard to diagnose? What is its relationship with narcolepsy, and how do we treat it? In this episode we will:

• Define idiopathic hypersomnia
• Look at its incidence rate next to narcolepsy
• List the key characteristics that differentiate it from narcolepsy
• Learn the factors that make it difficult to diagnose
• Highlight the first FDA-approved treatment for the disorder

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!

A recent New York Times article entitled "A Simple Technique to Help You Fall Asleep" by Christina Caron details a technique dubbed cognitive shuffling that took the internet by storm as a treatment for a racing mind at night. In this episode we will:

• Define cognitive reshuffling
• Explore its origins in other 'distracting' techniques including the original--counting sheep
• Discuss the role these techniques play in insomnia
• Dissect the ways in which we discuss these therapies, including how we view them through the lens of research
• What do these therapies teach us about insomnia and lasting solutions

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!

We have all experienced it...you're sitting in bed, nodding off, and suddenly you awaken with a start feeling like you are about to fall down stairs. Hypnic myoclonus is estimated to affect as many as 60-70% of individuals, but what is it? In this episode we will:

• Define hypnic myoclonus, often referred to as "sleep starts" or "hypnagogic jerks"
• Review the symptoms of the phenomenon
• Speculate of the evolutionary cause
• Characterize individuals at the highest risk
• List the causes of hypnic myoclonus
• Discuss diagnostic and treatment options

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!

26 million adult Americans have sleep apnea and 80-90% represent undiagnosed cases. Why have these numbers remained so high when there are easier diagnostic and treatment options than ever? In this episode we will:

• Discuss obstacles to diagnosis
• See how the lack of symptom specificity adds to the problem
• Consider if lack of provider awareness is really an issue
• Look at fear as a factor holding patients back
• Evaluate the difficulty of getting sleep studies

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!

Everyone loves the NCAA basketball tournament...teams colliding in a winner-take-all tournament for basketball supremacy. Haven't you ever dreamed about a similar competition between different pillows? Well dream no longer because that bedding showdown is here. Pillows are so important to our sleep, which is why I have assembled 17 of the finest to square off in a battle the likes of which have never been seen. In this episode we will:

• Explain the first annual Sleep Unplugged Pillow Fight tournament
• Touch upon how important choosing the right pillow is for sleep
• Breakdown the scoring system (25% Committee, 25% my blinded experience, 25% Sleep Specialist input, 10% Crowd/Social Media (Instagram) following, 10% 'Induced Fit', and 5% Packaging and Extras).
• Introduce the 17 competitors: Atluxe, Authenticity50, Bedgear, Cariloha, Casper, Coop, DozyBoy, Lagoon, Layla, Luxome, MVMI, Nest, Pillow Cube, Pluto, Silk & Snow, Tempurpedic, and Twilla

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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

Thanks for listening and sleep well!

As we recover from yet another "spring forward" into Daylight Saving Time again, it seems a good time to revisit the topic we initially covered in episode 18. While that episode sought more to explain the origins of the practice and how to best adjust, this episode is more of a declaration as to why the entire practice should be abolished in favor of permanent standard time. In this episode we will:

• Unpack the support for eliminating the clock change and why many lawmakers have ignored science and pushed for a permanent adoption of daylight saving time (DST)
• List the many entities and groups that support the adoption of permanent standard time
• Briefly touch upon the few "cons" to permanent standard time and how they are both questionable and dwarfed by the available research in favor of permanent standard time
• Explain the circadian and health benefits of permanent standard time
• Explore the school performance benefit of eliminating DST
• Measure the positive environmental impact of adopting standard time all year
• Dive into productivity increases when the standard time is adopted
• Learn why permanent daylight saving time already failed in the 1970s
• Debunk the noting that the practice was started to benefit farmers; not only is this not true, but farmers opposed it because of the reduction in morning light

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!

It has been a while since we have focused our attention on light therapy and sleep. For this Insomnia Monday, I thought a revisiting of light therapy might be in order. In this episode we will:

• Touch on new research that serves to minimize the role that blue light plays in terms of sleep harm
• Look at other colors of light and how that might affect sleep and health
• Evaluate research looking at light therapy and insomnia
• Expand our thinking about insomnia into a place that includes circadian disorders and causes/contributors

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!

In 2024, the Independent published an article entitled, "Experts Issue Warning About Using the Snooze Button." Previously, a sleep specialist said the snooze button was "one of the worst things you can do." Is any of this true? Could there potentially be a benefit? In this episode we will:

• Touch upon the history of the snooze button
• List some theories why it might be harmful to sleep/health
• Characterize the typical snooze button user
• Look at the average time one might snooze
• Provide some insight as to various snooze button motivations
• Learn why snoozing can be a strategy for dealing with sleep inertia
• Review some surprising research about snoozing potentially helping with cognitive abilities

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!