The Snooze Button

Fitbit sleep trackers made the cash register ring 16 million times in 2019, according to one report. But how much of the sleep data is actually usable ? Fitbits seem to have risen as the cream of the sleep tracker crop, especially considering that the crowded field includes ridiculous items like phone-based apps that claim to be able to track your sleep while they're sitting on your night stand ....

Dr. Michael Grandner is back for a wide-ranging discussion on a ton of sleep topics, including why sleep doesn't get a ton of attention in med school, and a new study that explores the link between daytime sleepiness and suicide. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Dr. Jason Ellis is regarded as one of the heavyweights of sleep science, particularly when it comes to his work with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, or CBT-I. In this episode, we talk about Jay's book,  The One Week Insomnia Cure , and how a quick hit of CBT-I worked in 73% of patients with  acute insomnia. It really is a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion that includes everything...

Dr. Ryan Vandrey from Johns Hopkins University is one of the leading authorities on cannabis, CBD and their impact on sleep and insomnia. He joins Neil for an update on the science related to cannabinoids, and whether cannabis and CBD have a measurable, beneficial impact on sleep, or if the claims about their efficacy as treatments for insomnia are merely marketing hype. Among the key takeaways in...

Did you know that The Snooze Button podcast is really just the research phase of a book, made public? Now, we're "leaking" the first three chapters of the manuscript, in audiobook form, read by the author - Neil Hedley. Additionally, Dr. Michael Grandner returns with another weekly update on the latest in sleep science. LINKAPALOOZA: Here's the link to the page to support The Snooze Button book pr...

Known around the world for his WIRED video talking about sleep, Dr. Aric Prather joins the show to talk about his study linking sleep to resistance to the common cold - and how that study can inform our approach to viruses today. But that's just the beginning in a wide-ranging discussion that touches on everything from vaccinations to tweaking the sleep patterns of a 4-year-old. Plus, Dr. Michael...

Dr, Dayna Johnson's review of how sleep is impacted by race is almost a year old; but it has never had more relevance than it does right now. Toward the end of the chat, you'll hear the one piece of data from the review that actually made Neil angry. Plus, we're joined by Dr. Michael Grandner in this first of his weekly visits to update us on the latest in sleep science. Some Key Takeaways: “So wh...

Dr. Seema Khosla is the medical director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep, board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary disease, critical care medicine, and sleep medicine. And yes, she’s the Consumer and Clinical Technology Committee with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. But she’s ALSO the host of Talking Sleep , a brand new podcast from that same American Academy of Sleep Medicine....

Julie Flygare is - if you'll pardon the expression - a tireless advocate for people suffering with narcolepsy. Learn how much you didn't know - including how the movies have made it worse for everyone - and what can be done to help. LINKAPALOOZA: Project Sleep's website Everything else you wanted to know about Julie, you can learn here. This podcast uses the following third-party services for anal...

We welcome Dr. Michael Grandner back to the show - he's the Director of the Sleep & Health Research Program, and the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic, both at the University of Arizona. Michael and Neil cover everything from polyphasic sleep to pandemics and everything in between, but much of the conversation revolves around the myriad things that humans have done to screw up sleep for the entire...

You know meditation teacher Jeff Warren from apps like Calm and Ten Percent Happier - here, he leads an exclusive guided sleep meditation for subscribers to The Snooze Button podcast. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Neil admits to being a bit of a fanboy here - he's been listening to Jeff Warren meditations for years as part of the Ten Percent Happier app; here, they discuss the ways that meditation can help your sleep, how to start a meditation practice, and Jeff even leads a guided 8-minute sleep meditation toward the end of the show. Plus, Neil's got details about a terrific offer for healthcare workers (a...

Ever been lying in bed, trying to sleep, and you just get the urge to move your legs? Or the feeling that if you don't, you're going to jump out of your skin? Meet a man who's devoted an entire career to Restless Legs Syndrome and Periodic Limb Movement - Dr. Richard Allen just received the Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award from the Sleep Research Society, and we get into the weeds about wh...

If the first thing you think of when you hear the word "hypnosis" is a Vegas act making people bark like a dog, this episode is for you. If you've tried just about everything to fix your sleep and are ready to try just about anything, it's for you, too. Neil enters the conversation about hypnosis and sleep from a skeptical perspective. See if Dr. Dyan changes his mind, and maybe yours, too. LINKAP...

Prepare to toss aside much of what you've heard about dreams - Dr. Celyne Bastien walks us through dreams, nightmares, lucid dreaming, somnambulism and the different stages of dreaming. Plus, a ton on sleep apnea, and even bedwetting. LINKAPALOOZA Sleep On It! from the Canadian Sleep Society Dr. Bastien's page at Laval University The CERVO Brain Research Centre This podcast uses the following thir...

The President of the Canadian Sleep Society joins the show this week as part of a critical effort to get Canadians - and the rest of the world - to work on their sleep as a simple part of an effective defense against Coronavirus and COVID-19. LINKAPALOOZA Sleep On It! from the Canadian Sleep Society Dr. Bastien's page at Laval University The CERVO Brain Research Centre This podcast uses the follow...

Dr. Sara Nowakowski is perhaps the country's foremost expert on cognitive behavioral therapy for menopausal insomnia. She joins Neil to talk about a variety of items related to that subject, and sleep issues in general. PLUS: Do we need a sane, adult place to talk about sleep on the Internet? LINKAPALOOZA: Sara's page on the Baylor website Sara on Twitter   This podcast uses the following third-pa...

Dr. Jenni Pottebaum's perspective on the relationship between sleep, exercise and the immune system is a result of her PhD in Neuroscience AND her certification as a personal trainer and Ironman-certified triathlon coaching. As the world struggles to cope with COVID-19, Neil and Dr. Jenni explore simple things you can do to boost your defenses. Plus, we take a listener call from Heidi in Toronto,...

He refers to it as "jet lagging ourselves on purpose." Dr. Michael Grandner is talking about the bizarre practice of Daylight Saving Time. How do you navigate what it does to your sleep? Is there anything you can to in advance to mitigate the damage? Also, Michael talks with Neil about a new survey suggesting that most people only get around 5 and a half hours of sleep, we hear a question for our...

Sharon Handy has been reading boring books to people for about a year and a half, and in that time has amassed more than half a million downloads of her weekly show, from people who love listening to her voice as they fall asleep. Maybe it'll work for you, too! Neil also addresses an interesting new entry into the "changing school start times" arena. It's quite a curve ball. LINKAPALOOZA: Click he...

It's a stupid term - a loaded term that carries a ton of baggage and stigma with it. Instead, let's think about it the same way Wendy Troxel did in her TEDx talk, "Sleep Like Your Relationship Depends On It". This week, she talks with Neil about that and other sleep topics.  Plus, Dr. Guy Leschziner is back to answer a listener voice mail about sleep trackers. LINKAPALOOZA Wendy's TEDx talk about...

Dr. Lynelle Schneeberg is back, Assistant Professor at Yale School of Medicine, and Director of the Behavioral Sleep Program at Connecticut Children's Medical Center with a sleep issue that affects both kids  and adults. Ever wonder why you (or your kids) wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back asleep? Lynelle talks to Neil about sleep onset associations, or sleep crutches...

Jade Wu is one of the heavyweights of the sleep world.  She's a sleep psychologist and clinical scientist at Duke University School of Medicine. She is also the host of the award-winning SAVVY PSYCHOLOGIST podcast. She joins Neil to talk about a variety of sleep topics, including what pregnancy does to your sleep, delayed sleep phases, and the dangers of self-diagnosing and self-medicating. She ev...

Neil is joined again by one of the giants in the sleep world, Behavioral Sleep Medicine specialist Dr. Michael Grandner, the Director of Sleep & Health at the University of Arizona, talking about the impact sleep can have on athletic performance, and a new paper he co-authored that gets into the specifics of performance in a number of sports at a number of levels. Bottom line: You want the team yo...

Major General Melvin Spiese (RET, USMC) has had more to do with how the men and women of the US Marine Corps are trained than perhaps anyone else. Here, he talks with Neil about how training our fighting forces has evolved over the years, how the training has shifted to the area above the neck, and how sleep impacts our soldiers. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: C...