Episode 002: Sleep
Time to talk about sleep! How to get some, why it’s so important, and why, for some people, it’s so elusive. We spoke with Dr. Kristen Casey, a clinical psychologist, author, social media contributor, speaker, and consultant about the impact of sleep on our brains and beyond.
In this episode, you will be able to:
Discover the importance of quality sleep for overall well-being.
Learn effective strategies for improving your sleep quality.
Understand the impact of sleep deprivation on daily life.
Implement practical sleep hygiene tips for better rest.
Explore the effects of insomnia and how to manage it.
Music: Deppisch
Design: Perpetualnotion.ca
Mixing/ Mastering: Tony Bao
Support this show: Patreon.com/BraaainsPodcast
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Dr. Kristen Casey was born and raised in New York City and lived in Jersey, Arizona, and Missouri. Her career started as an Emergency Medical Technician for her local first aid squad in New Jersey, where she learned about the tenants of helping those in vulnerable situations, as well as healthcare-related burnout, mental health crises, and the mind and body connection. Her EMS career paved the way for her to want to connect with clients on a deeper level, as she values genuine human connection. She became a mobile crisis counselor, crisis management trainer, behavior specialist, and masters-level clinician. She knew she wanted to pursue a doctorate degree to expand the scope in which she helps people heal.
Like most people in the mental health field, Dr. Casey had her own share of personal experiences with trauma, insomnia, anxiety, and depression. After picking up and leaving her family and friends behind in New Jersey, she decided to live somewhere warm. “Arizona it is!” She left with no job, no plan, but an intention to live a more fulfilling life. She ended up getting an offer at Midwestern University for a PsyD program in Clinical Psychology.
Dr. Casey owns a private practice, Evolve Psychological Services, where she assists people with mostly insomnia, as well as anxiety, depression, gender/sexuality concerns, and interpersonal effectiveness.
FURTHER RESOURCES
The National Sleep Foundation - You can search for whatever issue you are facing and find scientific articles and other resources.
Dawn Health - A coaching app that provides 1-on-1 CBT sleep coaching. Dr. Casey partners with them.
The White Noise Podcast - Hosted by a trio of sleep physicians from the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor VA, it combines interviews with guest physicians with discussions of individual case studies and reviews of the latest clinical information.
Talking sleep Podcast - The American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s recently launched podcast aims to cover the breadth of the sprawling field of sleep medicine and is hosted by Dr. Seema Khosla, medical director at the North Dakota Center for Sleep.
25 FUN facts about sleep (including animal facts)
The Sleepless - a film by Michael DiBiasio-Ornelas starring Nyambi Nyambi (The Good Fight), Rebecca De Ornelas (The Videoblogs), and Ajay Naidu (Office Space) (Watch on Amazon now!)
This episode’s AWESOME things:
Heather uses Headspace to help her sleep. Her favorite is Rain on Rocks, followed closely by Cabin Downpour.
Sarah is obsessed with luxury pajamas. Her favorite recent PJ purchases came from Lunya and Show Me Your Mumu.
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