Sleep is My Waking Passion

Why do you fall asleep fine, then wake up at 3 AM with a racing heart and a brain that won’t switch off?
If you’re in your 40s or 50s, you are not imagining it, and it is not “just aging.” Sleep disruption affects up to 60% of women in the menopause transition. For many, it doesn’t go away after menopause.
Dr. Alison Kole sits down with sleep physician and menopause expert Dr. Andrea Matsumura, creator of the D.R.E.A.M. Sleep Method™. They cover what is actually happening to midlife women’s sleep and what works.
In this episode:
Why falling progesterone and swinging estrogen wake you up right as cortisol starts rising
The D.R.E.A.M. Sleep Method: Daily habits, Resting environment, Emotions, Archetype (your circadian rhythm), and Medical conditions
Why a nightly glass of wine “steals” your REM sleep, and why needing it to fall asleep is a red flag
Why women with sleep apnea often don’t snore. They “purr,” and they show up with insomnia, fatigue, headaches, or low mood instead.
Why women don’t present “atypically” with sleep apnea; the screening tools were built on men
What hormone therapy can and can’t do for sleep. In Dr. Matsumura’s practice, a quarter to a third of women on it still struggle.
Melatonin in midlife: what the European data shows, and why US over-the-counter doses miss the mark
Supplements like magnesium, valerian, and lavender: thin evidence, and they won’t fix a medical cause
The two least glamorous habits that move the needle most: a fixed wake time and morning light
About Dr. Andrea Matsumura
Dr. Andrea Matsumura (MD, MS, FACP, FAASM, MSP) is a double board-certified Sleep Medicine physician and a nationally recognized expert in sleep and menopause. She created the D.R.E.A.M. Sleep Method™ and the Sleep Goddess Archetype™, frameworks that help women understand the biological drivers of midlife sleep disruption. She is Chief of Sleep Services for Monarch MD. She has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, and SHAPE, and appears regularly on national TV and podcasts.
Connect with Dr. Matsumura
Website (free resources and the chronotype quiz): andreamatsumuramd.com
Instagram: @drandreamatsumura
TikTok: @andreamatsumuramd
YouTube: @drandreamatsumura
LinkedIn: @andreamatsumuramd
Facebook: @drandreamatsumura
Her book, When Women Stop Sleeping: Solving the Sleep Crisis from Menstruation to Menopause, is coming in 2027.
Share this episode with one woman who is exhausted and has been told it’s normal. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what you’re still wondering about menopause and sleep. We’ll answer it in a future episode.
This episode is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Talk with your own clinician about your sleep.

Afraid that a sleep apnea diagnosis will cost you a promotion, a deployment, or your career? You’re not alone. That fear keeps many service members quiet, tired, and untreated for years.

In this episode of Sleep Is My Waking Passion™, I sit down with Jesse J. James, a retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer with 20 years of service, a respiratory therapist, and Director of Military Healthcare Initiatives at Quality DME. Jesse has seen the system from the inside, both operationally and clinically. His message is clear: the old career-ending rumors about sleep apnea are outdated, and leaving it untreated is the bigger risk.

In this episode:

Why sleep is the first thing sacrificed in high-tempo military life, and what that does to judgment, mood, and safety
What “readiness” actually means, and why chronic fatigue erodes it even when you can still perform
The “barracks lawyer” myths that keep soldiers from getting a sleep study
How referrals, TRICARE handoffs, and PCS moves break the path to diagnosis and treatment
Why “no” from one referral desk often gets repeated as official policy
A better model: home sleep testing at the primary care level, with complex cases sent to sleep clinics
Why getting treated now, not right before you retire, protects your health and your career
Who this is for: active-duty service members, veterans, military families, and clinicians who treat them.

Sleep is not a luxury. For those who serve, it’s infrastructure.

Connect with Jesse J. James: jjames@qualitydme.com
Ask The Sleep MD: askthesleepmd.com/workwithme

This episode is for educational purposes and is not individual medical, legal, or VA benefits advice. Send your questions my way! Leave a comment or send me a DM and I will answer them in socials or a new episode!

Ever feel jet-lagged on a Monday without leaving your house? Or notice that a few night shifts can scramble your sleep for a week?

Now imagine a sunrise every 90 minutes.

That's life on the International Space Station, where astronauts circle the Earth on a loop of 45 minutes of light and 45 minutes of dark. So how does NASA get them to sleep? Not with a gadget. With a bedtime.

On my birthday (yes, really), I sat down with Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans, director of the Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center, who helps keep astronauts rested on everything from the space station to the Artemis missions. Her work reaches far beyond orbit, to pilots, physicians, and every shift worker trying to sleep while the world is awake.

Ever feel jet-lagged on a Monday without leaving your house? Or notice that a few night shifts can scramble your sleep for a week?

Now imagine a sunrise every 90 minutes.

That's life on the International Space Station, where astronauts circle the Earth on a loop of 45 minutes of light and 45 minutes of dark. So how does NASA get them to sleep? Not with a gadget. With a bedtime.

On my birthday (yes, really), I sat down with Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans, director of the Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center, who helps keep astronauts rested on everything from the space station to the Artemis missions. Her work reaches far beyond orbit, to pilots, physicians, and every shift worker trying to sleep while the world is awake.

The takeaway for those of us on Earth: you don't need a supplement or the newest tracker. Keep a regular bedtime and wake time, give yourself a real wind-down routine, and stop treating exhaustion as normal. Sleep is not a luxury. Even NASA builds the mission around it.

Learn more about Dr. Flynn-Evans's lab: https://www.nasa.gov/human-systems-integration-division/human-performance/fatigue-countermeasures-laboratory

Connect with Ask The Sleep MD: [add website + socials]

This episode is for educational purposes and isn't medical advice. If you're struggling with sleep, talk to a board-certified sleep physician.

Doing everything right for your COPD and still exhausted, foggy and short of breath? It might not be your lungs.
In honor of World Oxygen Day (October 2, also my birthday!), I'm joined by fellow pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine physician Dr. Saema Tahir, the NYC Sleep Doctor. We talk about what happens when COPD and obstructive sleep apnea overlap, why it's so often missed, and what you can do about it.
Oxygen therapy is life-changing when you need it. But if sleep apnea is part of the picture, oxygen alone won't fix it.
🔗 Connect with Dr. Saema Tahir
Instagram: @thenycsleepdoctor
Website: drsaematahirmd.com
🔗 Connect with me
Ask The Sleep MD | Sleep Is My Waking Passion™
This episode is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please talk with your own doctor about your care.

Ever been told your exhaustion is "just stress"?

Lindsay Scola spent 20 years at the center of politics and entertainment, advancing events for President Obama and working the Emmys, while secretly fighting to stay awake. It took 19 years, two "normal" sleep studies, and a meltdown in her doctor's office to finally hear the words: narcolepsy type 1.

Dr. Alison Kole and Lindsay talk about the narcolepsy symptoms that hide in plain sight, why home sleep tests can miss what's really going on, how to push for a referral to a sleep specialist, and the everyday strategies that keep Lindsay thriving today.

If you're tired of being tired, this one's for you. You are allowed to ask.

Find Lindsay at lindsayscola.com and watch her TEDx talk on YouTube.
More from Dr. Kole: askthesleepmd.com