Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter

Creatine has been a staple in the gym bag for decades. But is it just for bodybuilders chasing one more rep, or does it have something to say about sleep, brain energy, and resilience in a sleep deprived world? In this episode we will:

• Break down what creatine actually is and how it works at the cellular level as a rapid energy buffer for muscle and brain
• Explore why athletes swear by it, what the data really shows about strength...

Restless legs syndrome used to feel simple. If the legs were jumping, we reached for a dopamine agonist, the safer alternative to older meds. Over time, we learned that the very medication calming symptoms could make the condition worse. But just as guidelines changed in favor of gabapentin and related medications, new research raised concerns about the medications link to cognitive decline and dementia. So where does that leave pa...

This month’s insomnia episode explores a provocative idea: can certain electronics actually help insomnia rather than harm it? While screens and devices are often blamed for poor sleep, some technologies aim to calm the nervous system, teach self-regulation, or reduce the anxiety that keeps insomnia going. In this episode we will:

• Revisit the parasympathetic nervous system, the vagus nerve, and why the “wandering nerve” has fascin...

This week marks the 9th month we have put out the Top 10 Sleep Threats Power Rankings, and this week, we have a special guest assessor, Dr. Seem Khosla. In this episode we will:

• Find out what Seema thinks are the top threats to your sleep
• Focus on sleep priority failures...both of the patient and the clinician
• Learn why Dr. Khosla's list marks a different view of sleep problems than lists before

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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Recent headlines and viral clips have reignited conversation about Donald Trump appearing to fall asleep during public events. What’s actually going on? Trump has repeatedly said, in his own words and in interviews, that he doesn’t sleep much and doesn’t believe he needs much sleep. In this podcast we will:

• Provide a brief tour of presidential and political history that shows short sleep has been common among leaders, from Thoma...

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) are everywhere—from our phones to our Wi-Fi to the wiring in our homes. But do they actually disrupt sleep… or is this another modern sleep villain that gets more attention than it deserves? In this episode of Sleep Unplugged, we will:

• Define what EMF actually is (ELF vs RF, and why “non-ionizing” matters)
• Learn what research says—and doesn’t say—about EMF and the brain, including why subtle EEG chang...

This week on the Sleep Unplugged podcast, we are looking at sleep resolutions made for the new year and why they often fail. In this episode, we present six insomnia resolutions that don’t ask you to “try harder” — because insomnia isn’t a motivation problem, a discipline problem, or a character flaw. In this episode we will:

• Reframe why New Year’s sleep resolutions fail
• Think about insomnia as a brain trained to stay alert and h...

Once again we come to the end of another year and our 4th Annual Sleep Unplugged "Sleepy" Awards are upon us again. Join me in honoring the best and brightest in sleep in this podcast episode:

The 2025 Sleepy Award winners are:

Social Media Warrior                    Dr. Christopher J Allen (@sleepdrchris)      

Sleep Outsider Award                  The Nap Ministry/Tricia Hershey (@thenapminist...

This week marks the 8th month we have put out the Top 10 Sleep Threats Power Rankings, and this week, we have a special guest assessor, Dr. Roxanne Prichard. In this episode we will:

• Find out what Roxanne thinks are the top threats to your sleep
• Focus on wealth inequality
• Learn why Dr. Prichard's list does not contradict our previous lists, but may very well explain them.

Produced by: Maeve Winter

Music by: Dr. Abhinav Si...

Ever wondered what really happens during a sleep study — and why we still rely on them more than 50 years after their invention? Take a behind-the-scenes look at the overnight sleep study, from its surprisingly quirky origins to its modern-day role in diagnosing sleep apnea, narcolepsy, parasomnias, and more. In this episode we will:

• Learn how the polysomnogram was born — and why it became the gold standard in sleep medicine
• Unde...

You probably saw the headlines out of California as they sent a jolt through the sleep world as well as social media: Do common sleep medications increase your risk of dementia? In this episode we will:

• Review what the UCSF study actually found — and what the headlines got wrong
• Determine which medications are most often implicated (benzodiazepines vs Z-drugs vs trazodone)
• Take a deep dive into the three best studies on sleeping p...

This week marks the 7th month we have put out the Top 10 Sleep Threats Power Rankings, but it's the first time we have devoted an entire episode to the list. This week, we have a special guest assessor, Dr. Jade Wu. In this episode we will:

• Find out what Jade thinks are the top threats to your sleep
• Focus on mental health as a sleep detractor
• Learn more about the concept of FOMO or "fear of missing out" and how rese...

Fear not, the Sleep Unplugged podcast is once again here to solve your holiday shopping dilemmas with some of my favorite sleep product companies. In this episode, we will explore a host of sleep-themed gift ideas and product recommendations. In this episode, we will feature the following products:

• SideSleeperZ slip-proof sleep mask
• Authenticity50 bedding
• Bee Ulmo honey
• BlueAir air purification systems (MiniRestful)
• Dagsmejan sleepw...

The orexin receptor agonists are coming. After years of managing narcolepsy with stimulants, sodium oxybate, and wake-promoting agents, we soon will have medications that target the root cause of the disorder: the loss of orexin signaling. These new drugs—developed by Takeda, Alkermes, and Centessa—aren’t just incremental improvements. They represent a genuine shift in how we understand and treat hypersomnolence disorders. In this ...

At the root of many sleep disorders of sleep fragmentation. It's a big part of sleep medicine that many people don't know much about. In this episode we will:

• Define sleep fragmentation
• Contrast the differences between arousals from sleep and awakenings from sleep
• Understand why sleep fragmentation goes unnoticed by providers and patients alike
• List some common causes of sleep fragmentation
• Review how sleep fragmentation a...

The media can be a fantastic source of information about insomnia, or it can be a lens that distorts and confuses the issue. In this episode we will:

• Contrast to contemporary insomnia articles from popular media
• Understand the difference between causation and relationships
• Learn how the use to percentages can distort the scale of an effect
• Read how media frequently confuses "sleep deprivation" and "insomnia"
• Eval...

For the first time in my career, two team for who I work will meet for the championship, this time it's the Los Angeles Dodgers (my 10th year with the club) and the Toronto Blue Jays (my 3rd year with the club). In this episode we will:

• Discuss my work in MLB
• Talk about how these two teams came to sleep medicine as a performance tool
• Learn how anybody or any organization could benefit from sleep

Produced by: Maeve Winter

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We talk endlessly about caffeine, alcohol, and sleep—but what about plain old water? In this episode, we will:

• Dive deep into the fascinating relationship between hydration and sleep quality
• Explore how dehydration disrupts sleep architecture—raising heart rate, cortisol, and even airway resistance
• Learn how hydration supports thermoregulation, helps maintain slow-wave sleep, and prevents the dry-mouth awakenings familiar to CPAP ...

Whether you’re skiing in Aspen, hiking Kilimanjaro, or just wondering why sleep feels so strange in the mountains, altitude messes with your rest in fascinating ways. In this episode we will:

• Explore the biology of what’s really happening in the brain and body when oxygen thins out
• Find out why your sleep becomes fragmented and restless, and what recent research reveals about the role of hypoxia, periodic breathing, and even oxid...