No holds barred, unscripted discussion on a wide range of sleep topics - from sleep disorders to current research and controversies in the field. No topic is off limits! Dr. Chris Winter is a clinician, a board certified neurologist and double boarded sleep specialist with 30 years of clinical experience. He is the author of The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child, and is a popular consultant and speaker, working for many professional sports teams. He is well known for his unique perspective and ability to demystify sleep, all of which he brings to Sleep Unplugged.
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
#224 - Why Do All Insomnia Therapies “Work”?: Tryin So Hard To Make the Grade
Imagine a sleep study where picturing yourself diving in a submarine boosted deep sleep by 81%, yet nobody slept a minute longer. It's a real result, and it points t
Oct 5 42 min
#223 - Top 10 Sleep Threat Power Rankings: Ain’t Nobody Worried
Dr. Valerie Cacho (@drvalsleepgal) joins me for another countdown of the Top 10 Sleep Threats, and her list asks a question we should all be asking more often: Have we ac
Sep 28 50 min
#222 - How Much Is A Night of Sleep Worth: Break It On Down
A courtroom, an insurance formula, and a supermarket receipt don't usually belong in the same sentence — but together they answer the question this episode is built
Sep 21 36 min
Bonus - The AI Interview Experiment...UNHINGED: Wish I Knew What You Were Looking For
A few days ago, we did an experiment to see how well AI could interview me about sleep. In this bonus episode, I reveal the original attempt which was a bit all over the
Sep 16 32 min
#221 - The AI Interview Experiment: Wish I Knew What You Were Looking For
What happens when the interviewer knows nearly everything you have said publicly and has zero fear of challenging or offending you? In this unusual episode of Sleep Unplu
Sep 14 28 min
#220 - The Lindsay Clancy Tragedy: Insomnia, Overmedication, and the Psychiatric Safety Net
A Massachusetts courtroom just produced something that almost never survives into public record: a near-complete paper trail of one woman's psychiatric care in the t
Sep 7 48 min
#219 - Top 10 Sleep Threat Power Rankings: Trapped Inside Disillusion
Dr. Alison Kole is taking on sleepmaxxing, ChatGPT, and the sleep-industrial complex in her Top 10 Sleep Threat list. In this episode we will:
Explore why patients somet
Aug 31 43 min
#218 - Medication Deprescribing: Get Off This
Nobody blinks when a doctor says you'll be on blood pressure medication for the rest of your life. Say the same sentence about an antidepressant, or Zepbound, and re
Aug 24 43 min
#217 - Modern Night Shift and Circadian Adaptation: Up All Night
Our current gig economy did not just create new jobs, it expanded a whole new category of night worker, from rideshare drivers to online freelancers to overnight fulfillm
Aug 17 31 min
#216 - Nasal Strips and Sleep: Leave Me Breathless
Nasal strips have been a fixture in pharmacy aisles and on athletes' faces for decades, sold on the promise of easier breathing, but the peer-reviewed evidence often
Aug 10 24 min
#215 - Seqoquel and Insomnia: Same Thing From The Same Old Cause
Ten million prescriptions a year, and most of them aren't for what the drug was built to treat. Seroquel started life as an antipsychotic — engineered to quiet psych
Aug 3 41 min
#214 - Top 10 Sleep Threat Power Rankings: They Couldn’t See It
Most "top sleep threats" lists stick to one lane — pediatric or adult, clinical or cultural. Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown's list refuses to. It jumps from kids' airw
Jul 27 40 min
#213 - Research from the 2026 SLEEP Scientific Conference: Something New
Every June, thousands of sleep researchers descend on one city and quietly rewrite what we think we know about a third of our lives. This year it was Baltimore's tur
Jul 20 47 min
#212 - Deep Sleep and REM Sleep: A Deeper Understanding, Lost In A Dream
Deep sleep and REM sleep get lumped together as "good sleep," but they're almost opposite states — one is the quietest your brain gets all night, the other is nearly
Jul 13 41 min
#211 - Insomnia and Sleep Apnea: Just Don’t Know
We tend to think of insomnia and sleep apnea as two completely different sleep disorders. One means you can't sleep. The other means you stop breathing. Simple, righ
Jul 6 37 min
#210 - Top 10 Sleep Threat Power Rankings: Stop Right Now, Thank You Very Much
This week marks the 12th month we have put out the Top 10 Sleep Threats Power Rankings, and this week, we have a special guest assessor, Upneet Chawla, MD (@sleeping.beau
Jun 29 37 min
#209 - Sleep Quantity or Consistency…which is Queen?: Your Future’s At Stake
Sleep duration has always been the headline number in sleep science, but mounting research is pushing the conversation toward something less obvious: how consistent your
Jun 22 35 min
#208 - Menopause and Sleep Update: Outside This Woman's Work
Menopause has always been linked to sleep disruption, but the story has changed dramatically since we last covered it in episode 3. Hot flashes and night sweats still mat
Jun 15 33 min
#207 - Insomnia and Narcolepsy: Tired of the Same Old Story
Narcolepsy is often described as a disorder of excessive daytime sleepiness, but that description only tells part of the story. Many people living with narcolepsy also st
Jun 8 36 min
#206 - Sleep Trackers in the Clinic--Help or Harm?: I Guess I Gotta Buy It
Sleep trackers have become one of the fastest-growing trends in modern health culture. Rings, watches, apps, and mattress sensors now promise to measure everything about
Jun 1 41 min
Chart trend
Position in the Medicine chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#100#199JulAugSepOct
#11
all-time peak
36
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024
Chart positions
Where Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 5, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
Good mix of sleep science and practical suggestions
dot.mac · Mar 2025
Really enjoy the sleep unplugged podcast. So glad I found it. What I appreciate most-it is a thinking person’s approach to solving sleep issues. Requires examining all the factors that could be contributing to a problem. Not the usual superficial canned advice giving podcast & I appreciate that so much! I’m hooked-I’m a devoted listener. Don’t stop what you’re doing.
k!k!m@su · Dec 2024
You don’t have to have a sleep disorder to be hooked. I am glad I accidentally came across this show by searching narcolepsy! I can’t wait to share with my sleep Dr. so he can step up his game. Chris is so down to earth and freaking funny! He truly enjoys helping us all with practical and interesting content. I love that he is schooling us on music that he loves and incorporates it in the title. He makes learning fun. I’m clearly obsessed. My husband might be getting concerned since I may be losing sleep right now trying to binge listen to all the episodes. Can’t get enough! Dr. Winter is legit my new “celebrity” crush😍😂 love him!
Suzzquzz · Jul 2024
Hey Dr. Winter…have really enjoyed listening to your podcast on all things sleep after I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and PLMD by you. I have yet to find a doctor in NYC who takes the time to understand the individual plight of the patient like you do.
I’ve learned a lot of things related to sleep, but largely PLMD as it is a bit harder to treat than OSA.
I think people would love to learn about PLMD, as it is not easily detectable by the patient themself - it often is brought up by a partner who detects these movements. Treatments as well.
I imagine there are many people who have a inkling that sleep may be the cause of some of their symptoms, but are unsure on where to start. It seems to be one of the more common sleep disorders, but often may not cause daytime symptoms if not causing many arousals and thus seems to be overlooked. It caused about 22 arousals/hr for me and I’m sure there are others who are deeply affected by it.
I also think an episode on arousals (often unknown by the patient), due to PLMD, respiratory or spontaneous, would be well-received. Average arousals per night, what it means, how it differs by age group and possible things to alleviate spontaneous arousals (for example you mentioned not using your phone an hour before bed can decrease arousals).
That is enough from me - again, thanks for being a great doctor and for the content you put out here!
gohoos1998 · Jul 2024
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About Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter on Reason.fm
Here you find the Apple Podcasts chart positions of Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter, its latest episodes to listen to directly, and reviews from listeners. Rankings are updated daily for the United States.
