SRS Podcast

Welcome to the Sleep Research Society podcast page. Listen to riveting podcast episodes that feature cutting-edge research from SRS members and leadership or focus on important sleep and circadian rhythm-related research topics relevant to our scientific community.

The SRS Podcast discusses the latest findings in sleep and circadian research, with an emphasis on research published in SLEEP and SLEEP Advances. Episodes will feature discussions between our host, Jesse Cook, MS, and researchers of the most cutting-edge sleep and circadian science. Join us the first Tuesday of every month for new episodes!

Season 1

What makes people more or less susceptible to the deleterious effects of sleep loss? This episode is principally focused on this question and we are grateful to digitally sit down with Dr. Olga Galli as we discuss their recent publication in SLEEP entitled “Predictors of interindividual differences in vulnerability to neurobehavioral consequences of chronic partial sleep restriction.” LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode of the SRS Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Todd Arnedt, who is currently a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Michigan, where he serves as the co-director of the Sleep and Circadian Research Laboratory and Director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program. Dr. Arnedt discusses his paper, Telemedicine versus face-to-face delivery of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: a randomized controlled noninferiority trial, published in SLEEP. LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode of the SRS Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Renske Lok, who is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, where she is investigating the role of 24-hour rhythmicity and light on various processes in the human body, such as temperature, sleep and alertness. Dr. Lok discusses her paper, Physiological correlates of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale reveal different dimensions of daytime sleepiness, published in SLEEP Advances. LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode of the SRS Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Josiane Broussard, who is currently a a clinical and translational scientist interested in the intersection of sleep & circadian rhythms and cardiometabolic health at the whole body as well as tissue-specific level. She received her PhD in Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition from the University of Chicago, and then completed postdoctoral training with Dr. Richard Bergman in Los Angeles, CA studying the effects of diet-induced obesity on insulin sensitivity in a large animal model. Dr. Broussard discusses her paper, Impairments in glycemic control during Eastbound transatlantic travel in healthy adults, published in SLEEP Advances. LISTEN NOW

Just in time for the return to school, we sit down with Dr Lisa Meltzer to discuss two vital papers at the intersect of sleep, school start times, and education modality among pediatrics, adolescents, and teenagers. Lisa Meltzer is a Professor of Pediatrics at National Jewish Health and a Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is a licensed clinical psychologist who is certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine by the American Board of Sleep Medicine, and is a Diplomate of the Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine. Dr. Meltzer’s funded program of research has examined sleep across development, the impact of pediatric chronic illnesses on sleep in children/adolescents and their parents, objective and subjective measures of pediatric sleep, the impact of changing school start times on health outcomes, and socio-ecological factors that contribute to sleep health disparities in toddlers and school-aged children. LISTEN NOW

Today’s episode deviates from the traditional episode approach. Instead of focusing on a specific, scientific investigation or multiple investigations pertaining to a singular topic, our guest, Dr. Diego Mazzotti, is going to review a white paper from a recently performed workshop between experts in translational informatics and sleep research. This workshop was purposed to discuss opportunities and challenges in defining strategies for data harmonization, with an ultimate goal of fueling discussion and fostering innovative approaches for data integration and development of informatics infrastructure supporting multi-site collaboration among sleep researchers. Dr. Diego Mazzotti is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Medical Informatics, Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Mazzotti received his Ph.D. in Psychobiology at the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil and a Certificate in Biomedical Informatics from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. LISTEN NOW

Today’s episode focuses on the investigation Performance of a Multisensor Smart Ring to Evaluate Sleep: In-Lab and Home-Based Evaluation of Generalized and Personalized Algorithms, which was published in June 2022 in the the journal SLEEP . Our guest today, Dr. Michael Grandner, will guide us through the study which evaluated a novel, commercially available sleep tracking device known as the “Happy Ring.” Importantly, this investigation not only evaluated the general capabilities of the Happy Ring, but also assessed whether integrating personalization into the device’s algorithm could improve device performance. It is this key piece of innovation that distinguishes the Happy Ring, as the overwhelming majority of measurement tools still employ a generalized, one-size-fits-all approach that is likely to degrade performance abilities. LISTEN NOW

Today’s episode focuses on a recently published manuscript in the journal SLEEP, entitled Melatonin suppression does not automatically alter sleepiness, vigilance, sensory processing or sleep, that reviews an investigation purposed to address this gap in knowledge. In this episode, our host is joined by the lead author from the manuscript, Dr. Christine Blume, to discuss this investigation, which leveraged a novel technique known as metameric light or silent substitution to isolate the effects of evening light exposure on ipRGCs while controlling the effects on other photoreceptors. LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode Jesse Cook, MS (Host) sits down with Dr. Darlynn Rjo-Wissar, PhD, MPH and Miranda Chappel-Farley, the current and incumbent trainee member at-large (TM@L), respectively, to provide an overview of all things TM@L. Additionally, key upcoming SRS events and opportunities, including the Advances in Sleep & Circadian Science (ASCS) conference in February, Mentor-Mentee Program, and Virtual Seminar Series, will be overviewed. Lastly, the top 5 most downloaded manuscripts in 2022 from both SLEEP and SLEEP Advances are presented along with a brief summary of the conclusions. LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode Jesse Cook, MS (Host) sits down with Dr. Beth Malow, PhD to discuss their recently published paper in the journal SLEEP that serves as a position statement for the Sleep Research Society on the current debate surrounding clock change and adoption of either permanent standard time or daylight saving time. Here is a link to the article. LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode, Jesse Cook, MS (host) sits down with Angus Burns and Dr. Jacqueline Lane, PhD to discuss their recently published paper in the journal SLEEP that unpacks a foundational investigation into the genetic architecture underlying interindividual differences to light sensitivity. Here is a link to the article. LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode, Jesse Cook, MS (host) sits down with Rob Velzeboer and Dr. Wayne Lai, PhD to discuss their recently published paper in the journal SLEEP that overviews a systematic review performed to synthesize the existing literature surrounding the effects of various components, routes of administration, and dosing of cannabis on sleep. Here is a link to the article. LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode, Jesse Cook, MS (host) sits down with Dr. Stephanie Crowley to discuss the recent publication “Extending weeknight sleep of delayed adolescents using weekend morning bright light and evening time management” Here is a link to the article. LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode Jesse Cook (Host) sits down with Dr. Brendan Gabriel to discuss the recently published paper in the journal SLEEP by Dr. Oussama Saidi, Dr. Pascale Duché, Dr. Brendan Gabriel, and colleagues that examined the effect of the timing of high-intensity exercise (afternoon vs. evening) on the sleep, sleepiness, and psychological well-being of adolescent athletes. Additionally, this investigation demonstrated the influential role of circadian type (“chronotype”) on the observed relationships. Here is a link to the article on the SLEEP journal website.

In addition to the interview, this episode also features the 2023 SRS Club Hypnos Data Blitz. An overview of Club Hypnos and the associated data blitz is provided, along with recognition of this year’s participants. To close, the episode includes data blitz-esque overviews of the research presented at the actual data blitz from some of this year’s participants. LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode Jesse Cook (Host) sits down with Drs. Catherine Chu, MD, MA, MSC and Dara Manoach, PhD to discuss the recently published paper in the journal SLEEP by Drs. Hunki Kwon, Catherine Chu, Dara Manoach and colleagues that describes an investigation that identified age- and region-specific normative values for sleep spindles across the first two decades of development. Here is a link to the article on the SLEEP journal website. LISTEN NOW

In this episode, our host is joined by Dr. Cassie Hilditch to discuss the recently published article in the journal SLEEP Advances, entitled “Sex differences in perceptions of sleep inertia following nighttime awakenings”. This investigation aimed to advance the understanding of the relationships between individual traits and sleep inertia, as well as sleep inertia broadly, by investigating the role of biological sex on the subjective experience and objective cognitive manifestation of sleep inertia following nighttime awakenings. LISTEN NOW

In this month’s episode Jesse Cook (Host) sits down with Dr. Hailey Meaklim, PhD, DBSM to discuss the recently published paper in the journal SLEEP by Dr. Meaklim and colleagues that evaluated the implementation of a large-scale roll-out of the Sleep Psychology Workshop, a previously validated, behavioral sleep medicine program, into graduate psychology programs across Victoria, Australia. Here is a link to the article on the SLEEP journal website. LISTEN NOW

In this episode, our host is joined by Dr. Kiran Kumar Guruswamy Ravindran to discuss the recently published article in the journal SLEEP, entitled Contactless and Longitudinal Monitoring of Nocturnal Sleep and Daytime Naps in Older Men and Women: A Digital Health Technology Evaluation Study. This study was aimed to evaluate the nocturnal and daytime nap sleep detection capabilities of two contactless sleep tracking technologies, relative to traditionally relied upon longitudinal sleep tracking approaches, in community-dwelling older adults. Here is a link to the article on the SLEEP journal website. LISTEN NOW

In this episode, our host sits down with Dr. Allan Pack, current Editor-in-Chief of the SLEEP journal, to discuss many topics related to the journal broadly. including elements like its history, scope, mission, recent changes, and future intentions. Additionally, we cover topics related to the editorial ecosystem, the post-submission process from the journal’s perspective, and current challenges with the peer review process, among other things. LISTEN NOW

In this episode, our host sits down with Drs. Cathy Goldstein and Max de Zambotti to discuss the recently published paper in the journal SLEEP titled: State of Science and Recommendations for Using Wearable Technology in Sleep and Circadian Research. LISTEN NOW

Our Host

Jesse Cook, MS, is a clinical psychology doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He established foundational Sleep research experience as an undergraduate research assistant in the late Dr. Richard Bootzin’s Sleep Research Laboratory at the University of Arizona. Since his initial introduction to Sleep research in 2011, Jesse has developed a voracious appetite for all things Sleep and Circadian research. The intersection of his love for Sleep and Circadian research and podcasts fuels his desire to provide engaging, educational, and entertaining episodes purposed to discuss the latest findings in Sleep and Circadian research.

Jesse has been a member of the Sleep Research Society (SRS) since 2013. Since joining the SRS, Jesse has served the SRS as a subcommittee member on the Trainee Education and Advisory Committee (2018-2019), committee member on the Trainee Education and Advisory Committee (2019-2021), Trainee Member At-Large Elect (2019-2020), Trainee Member At-Large (2020-2021), and member of the Board of Directors (2020-2021). Currently, Jesse serves on the Communications Committee.

SRS Podcasts

2020

Episode 082. Novel Light Intervention to Fight Social Jet Lag in Teens.
Interviewee: Jamie Zeitzer, PhD
Description: In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi welcomes Dr. Jamie Zeitzer back to the show. Jamie is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, as well as at the VA Aging Clinical Research Center at Stanford. In their previous interview, they discussed his research on light and timing of biological rhythms. He and his colleagues determined that brief, intermittent flashes of light have a much bigger impact on clock timing than continuous light exposure. This has interesting implications for shift workers, as well as for people who travel across multiple time zones and are subject to jet lag. In theory, you could expose yourself to brief flashes of light while you are asleep and effectively trick your brain into adjusting to a new time zone. But could it also be useful for social jet lag – meaning a chronic misalignment between the biological clock and the time when one is forced to be awake and active? In particular, could it be effective for teenagers who have to get up to go to school at a time when their body is driving them to sleep?
Duration: 27min 40sec
Broadcast: Wed 11 March 2020

Episode 080. How Sleep Loss Impairs Entrepreneurship.
Interviewee: Jeff Gish, PhD
Description:In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi talks with Jeff Gish. Jeff has a Ph.D in Management from the University of Oregon, and is presently a professor of entrepreneurship at UCF. His research focuses on the behavior of entrepreneurs, including the processes through which entrepreneurs decide to found new ventures and make business decisions. Recently, he has begun to explore how these processes are influenced by day-to-day variations in biological dynamics – including sleep.
Duration: 30min 55sec
Broadcast: Tue 4 February 2020

2019

Episode 073. Can We Beat Insomnia by Cooling the Racing Mind?
Interviewee: Eric Nofzinger, MD
Description:In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi talks with Eric Nofzinger. Dr. Nofzinger has spent more than 35 years practicing sleep medicine and studying the neurobiology of insomnia at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. As a researcher at Pittsburgh, Dr. Nofzinger frequently interacted with patients with insomnia. They would often attribute their inability to sleep to a “racing mind.”
Duration: 43min 50sec
Broadcast: Tue 12 November 2019

Episode 071. Sleep Tracking and Sleep Enhancement
Interviewee: Daniel Gartenberg, PhD
Description: In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi talks with professor Daniel Gartenberg. Daniel has a Ph.D in Human Factors and Applied Cognition from George Mason University, and is an adjunct assistant professor at Penn State University. He has conducted grant-funded research from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Aging to develop sound environments that can diagnose and treat sleep disorders, improve sleep quality, and optimize daytime alertness. He has also developed several mobile sleep apps, such as the Sonic Sleep Coach, which provides personalized sleep feedback and sounds that are designed to modulate sleep quality.
Duration: 44min 55sec
Broadcast: Tue 29 October 2019

Episode 063. Sleep and DNA Repair
Interviewee: Lior Appelbaum, PhD
Description: Why do we sleep? This is a question that has bedeviled researchers for decades. But we think one major reason may be to facilitate DNA repair. In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi talks with professor Lior Appelbaum. Dr. Appelbaum and colleagues have performed some elegant studies elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underlie sleep, using zebrafish as a model organism.
Duration: 20min 14sec
Broadcast: Tue 29 August 2019

Episode 055. Research on Smartphones and Sleep
Interviewee: Jeanne Duffy, MBA, PhD
Description: Do smartphones really affect the timing and quality of your sleep? In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi talks with professor Jeanne Duffy from Harvard Medical School on her most recent research investigating this question.
Duration: 28min 28sec
Broadcast: Tue 9 April 2019

2018

Episode 047. Good Sleep Helps Reduce Oxidative Stress
Interviewee: Mimi Shirasu-Hiza, PhD
Description: Why do we need to sleep? One idea is that sleep may function as an antioxidant for the brain, protecting neural tissue from the ravages of oxidative stress. This hypothesis largely fell out of favor, but researchers have recently started to revisit this compelling notion. In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi talks with Mimi Shirasu-Hiza. Mimi is an associate professor of Genetics and Development at Columbia University. Her lab uses circadian mutants of fruit flies to unveil the molecular mechanisms that underlie circadian-regulated physiology.
Duration: 26min 52sec
Broadcast: Tue 9 October 2018

Episode 046. Can Enhancing Slow Wave Sleep Boost Your Brain Function?
Interviewee: Kristine Wilckens, PhD
Description: All of us know that lack of sleep impairs cognitive performance. But we are now realizing that sleep quality, and how long that you spend in deeper restorative sleep, also plays an important role in brain function. In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi talks with Kristine Wilckens. Kristine is an assistant professor in the Sleep and Chronobiology Center in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research has focused on how sleep structure can be altered to enhance cognitive function.
Duration: 31min 11sec
Broadcast: Tue 24 September 2018

Episode 036. The Impact of Sleep on Heart Health 
Interviewee: Kristen Knutson
Description: The number of people experiencing sleep problems has increased in lockstep with the growing prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases. In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi talks with professor Kristen Knutson about why this is unlikely to be a mere coincidence.
Duration: 21min 41sec
Broadcast: Tue 3 May 2018

Episode 055. The Mysterious World of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep
Interviewee: John Peever, PhD
Description: In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi talks with professor John Peever, Director of the Centre for Biology Timing and Cognition at the University of Toronto. Professor Peever’s research focuses on how the brain regulates wakefulness and sleep, and their discussion focuses on REM sleep.
Duration: 28min 14sec
Broadcast: Tue 17 April 2018

2017

010: The Science of Sleep
Interviewee: Sigrid Veasey
Description: In this conversation with University of Pennsylvania sleep researcher Sigrid Veasey, Hurry Slowly host Jocelyn K. Glei explores how getting a good night’s rest sets the tone for your entire waking workday. And how so many shortcomings of performance — and patience — can be traced back to a lack of sleep.
Duration: 36min
Broadcast: Tue 12 Dec 2017

Episode: Known Unknowns finds out about sleep
Interviewee: Sean P.A. Drummond, PhD
Description: Jon Faine is joined by Sean Drummond, President of the Sleep Research Society, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences Sleep Program, School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University.
Duration: 36min 57sec
Broadcast: Wed 5 Jul 2017

Episode 023. The State of the Art in Sleep and Aging 
Interviewee: Bryce Mander, PhD
Description: In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi talks with Bryce Mander, a postdoctoral fellow in the Matthew Walker Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab at UC Berkeley. Bryce and colleagues recently wrote a review that explores how sleep changes as we grow older, and the potential long-term implications of these alterations.
Duration: 41min 24sec
Broadcast: Thur 4 May 2017

2016

Episode 013. New Discovery Could Mean Better, Next-Generation Sleep Drugs
Interviewee: Luis de Lecea, PhD
Description: In this episode of humanOS Radio, Dan Pardi interviews Luis de Lecea, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. Recently, he and his colleagues published a study in the prestigious journal Nature demonstrating that dopamine neuron activity (in the ventral tegmental area of the brain) is necessary in order to be awake.
Duration: 16min 28sec
Broadcast: Fri 16 Dec 2016

Episode 011. A New Product to Significantly Reduce Jet Lag – Interview with Stanford Professor, Jamie Zeitzer
Interviewee: Jamie Zeitzer, PhD
Description: In this episode, Dan Pardi speaks with Dr. Jamie Zeitzer who is an Assistant Professor in Psychiatry & Behavioral Science at Stanford and at the VA Aging Clinical Research Center of Stanford University, about his research on light and the timing of biological rhythms.
Duration: 52min 31sec
Broadcast: Thur 17 Nov 2016

Episode 005. Professor David Samson on bedding, sleep depth, and cognition
Interviewee: David Samson, PhD
Description: In this interview, Dan Pardi interviews evolutionary biologist, Professor David Samson of Duke University. Dr. Samson talks about his work research the sleep platforms (i.e., beds) or great apes in Africa.
Duration: 27min 10sec
Broadcast: Thur 19 May 2016

Episode 004. How Sleep Helps You Learn and Remember – Guest, Prof Marcos Frank 
Interviewee: Marcos Frank, PhD
Description: In this interview, Professor Marcos Frank of Washington State University discusses the state of the science on how sleep helps you learn and remember, and explains how things work.
Duration: 25min 39sec
Broadcast: Thur 19 May 2016

Episode 002. Professor Jerry Siegel, UCLA – Research on Hunter-Gatherer Sleep 
Interviewee: Jerry Siegel, PhD
Description: In this episode, Dan Pardi speaks with Professor Jerry Siegel at UCLA about his ground-breaking study that evaluated three societies living in natural conditions (e.g., modern day hunter-gatherers) to examine their sleep behaviors and physiology.
Duration: 28min 49sec
Broadcast: Thur 19 May 2016