In a little bit longer intro to this episode, I talk about what’s going to happen on the pod in 2020, including more detailed show notes so you can get what’s meaningful for you out of every episode, what happened to my 2020 goals and what I hope to see for the “You’re Not Alone” Project. 

The interview is with Dr. Eric Nofzinger sleep scientist & founder of Ebb therapeutics. 

Dr. Nofzinger has spent more than 35 years practicing sleep medicine and studying brain mechanisms of healthy sleep, insomnia, and chronic sleeplessness. He has published several clinical studies related to these topics and authored a book, Neuroimaging of sleep and sleep disorders. He earned his B.A. degrees in Chemistry and Psychology from Miami University, his M.D. degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and performed his Psychiatry training at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. 

Eric determined that an inability to sleep is caused by overactivity in the frontal cortex of the brain, or “racing mind,” and that this overactivity can be reduced by cooling the forehead to naturally trigger a neural network response in the brain, which quiets Racing Mind – those thoughts that keep you awake at night.

In 2019, Dr. Nofzinger launched a drug-free approach to sleeplessness – the product we’re talking about today – a wearable sleep device to help those who suffer from sleeplessness achieve more restorative sleep. The device features a headband containing a fluid that is cooled and maintained at the ideal temperature range over the course of the night, to gently bring your forehead to the perfect temperature and maintain it to help you fall into sleep – and stay there. 

If you’ve listened to past episodes, you know that I struggle with sleep, so I decided to give Ebb a shot, and yes…it works. I put a picture on Instagram & the show notes on my site.

One of my biggest ah-ha moments from the episode was the comparison of how we rest our muscles after physical activity because of the known benefits, yet somehow, when it comes to sleep we refuse to rest and let our mos powerful muscle regenerate. 

We also discuss: 

• Eric’s background, path through clinical psychiatry desire to be of service, and a very special class on dreaming propelled him into the world of sleep. 
• Why sleep could be the #1 thing you can do for your health this year. 
• How we need to stop treating sleep like a nuisance.  
• The difference between a healthy and unhealthy sleeper. 
• The wind-down period, deacceleration process & why it’s important.
• The difference between insomnia & sleeplessness 
• The groundbreaking science behind ebb & the cooling of the frontal cortex. 
• How brain development across the life span can impact our sleep. 
• Plus, we talk about my night time eating and the steps we can take to have a better sleep and well, a better life.
• The lack of safe treatments for sleep & why ebb is a powerful, natural alternative.
• And…at the end Dr. Nofzinger shares a moving story about the impact Ebb had on a customer.

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