As summer comes to an end, it's a good time to examine how seasonal change tends to affect our sleep. In this episode we will:

• Refresh our memories about circadian factors related to sleep
• Look at seasonal trends in sleep times, bed times and wake times
• Evaluate factors such as light, temperature, and exercise as well as other surprising sleep variables that change with the season
• Examine various sleep stages and how seasons affect their quality and quantity
• Dive into new research suggesting that in addition to seasons affecting sleep characteristics, our sleep characteristics may be intrinsically changing to prepare us for various seasons

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!

For the first installment of the Sleep Unplugged Book Club, we will examine Andrew Spector's new book Navigating Life with Restless Legs Syndrome. This also marks a revisiting of the topic we covered in episode #13 (Restless Legs Syndrome: You Gotta Move). In this episode we will:

• Introduce Dr. Andrew Spector, a Duke University professor of neurology and restless legs expert
• Update and supplement information from episode #13 of this podcast about restless legs syndrome (RLS)
• Explore the role of iron in RLS and how to use ferritin and transferrin levels to guide potential therapies
• Touch upon the idea that despite different causes of RLS, determining the precise reason why you have RLS may not be particularly essential for choosing therapies
• List new treatment options that are not prescription medications
• Reexamine difficulties and downsides to dopamine agonist therapies
• Cautiously look at the use of benzodiazepines and opioids in perhaps a new light
• Touch upon other prescription medications that might be useful in the disorder
• Mention the relationship between insomnia and RLS

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!

There is no topic in sleep more likely to incite a riot between sleep experts than the concept of a sleep debt. Does it really exist? Can a sleep debt ever be repaid? If so, how long? In this episode, we will:

• Define sleep debt
• Examine a new population study on the effects of sleep debt on cardiovascular risk
• Attempt to consolidate the available research into guidelines for dealing effectively with sleep debt
• Differentiate between sleep debt responses in insomnia sufferers and sleep deprived individuals
• Touch on how accurately understanding personal sleep need directly impacts sleep debt

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!