Psychology In Seattle Podcast Sleep Deprivation (2015 Rerun)
Apr 9, 2026
Kristin McGee, family therapist and sleep researcher who studies chronotypes and interventions, joins the conversation. They explore morning vs evening biological clocks. Topics include teen sleep biology and school start times, practical steps for evening types, naps and sleep debt, tech and tracking, melatonin use, medication risks, and how sleep shapes mood, cognition, and public health.
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How A Son's Sleep Problem Sparked Clinical Focus
- Kristen became interested in sleep after her nine-year-old son developed severe bedtime resistance and academic exhaustion.
- That family case led her into research revealing chronotypes and melatonin timing as the root cause.
Morning People Are Less Common Than We Think
- Many people are evening or neutral chronotypes; true early morning types are rarer than assumed.
- Kristen cites weekend sleep studies showing fewer M types, contradicting cultural bias toward morningness.
Plan Sleep And Caffeine Before Big Cognitive Tasks
- Cognitive performance depends on aligned sleep planning before demanding work.
- Kirk plans sleep and coffee timing before long writing tasks to hit peak cognitive windows during reaccreditation work.