Sleep is My Waking Passion
Sleep is My Waking Passion
Alison Kole
Hosted by Dr. Alison Kole—a triple-boarded pulmonary critical care and sleep medicine physician, reformed chronic insomniac, devoted mom, and unapologetic sleep health creator—this hit podcast takes you on the real, unfiltered journey inside the science and soul of sleep. Each week, with wisdom forged from the trenches of night shifts and the chaos of motherhood, Alison sits down with top-tier experts and ordinary people with extraordinary sleep stories, unraveling how sleep shapes happiness, health, and destiny. If you want the 360° truth—the wins, the setbacks, the breakthroughs—about why every hour of sleep could be the most important hour of your life, this is the show that will change how you see your pillow forever. Sleep isn’t just her passion—it’s the key to waking up to your potential. Hit subscribe and transform your nights, days, and dreams.
On The Fringe:  Sleep Apnea Treatment You Haven’t Heard Of featuring Dr. Audrey Yoon, DDS, MS
What if treating sleep apnea isn’t just about machines, mouthguards, or surgery—but actually changing the structure of your airway? In this eye-opening episode, Dr. Alison Kole sits down with Stanford sleep expert and orthodontist Dr. Audrey Yoon to explore a rapidly emerging—and often overlooked—approach to sleep-disordered breathing: airway expansion. You’ll hear how techniques like MARPE (miniscrew-assisted palatal expansion) are reshaping the future of sleep medicine. From children with s...
May 27
40 min
Can Women Have Sleep Apnea Without Snoring? A Sleep Doctor's Story | REM OSA & Heart Risk
What if a sleep doctor didn't recognize her own sleep apnea? Dr. Valerie Cacho shares her personal journey from diagnosing patients to becoming one—revealing how women's sleep apnea symptoms look nothing like the textbook. In this episode, Dr. Cacho and Dr. Alison Kole dive into why women with "mild" sleep apnea may face serious cardiovascular risks, the unique phenomenon of REM-related sleep apnea in women, and why Asian populations are at higher risk despite normal BMI. Skool community: htt...
May 13
38 min
Talking Women’s Sleep in Atlanta and Beyond: An Interview with Sleep Legend Dr. Nancy Collop
When does “crappy sleep” in women stop being a normal part of aging and start being a dangerous, underdiagnosed sleep apnea? In this episode, living legend Dr. Nancy Collop, MD—former AASM president and former director of the Emory Sleep Center in Atlanta—joins Dr. Alison Kole to unpack how menopause, hormones, and REM‑related apnea uniquely raise women’s cardiovascular risk. You’ll learn why “mild” sleep apnea numbers can be misleading, which red‑flag symptoms should trigger testing, and how...
May 6
27 min
Sleep Apnea Nearly Killed Me: ‘Out of Breath’ Documentary (with NJ Sleep Doctor Dr. Alison Kole & George Nierenberg)
What if the thing quietly stealing your energy, memory, and even your life was happening while you sleep? In this powerful episode of Sleep Is My Waking Passion, Dr. Alison Kole sits down with legendary documentary filmmaker George T. Nierenberg to explore his deeply personal sleep apnea journey and his new film, Out of Breath—the first feature documentary to put the human cost of sleep apnea front and center. You’ll hear raw, intimate stories from patients and families who filmed their own l...
Apr 29
23 min
Is Your Child’s Snoring Dangerous? Red-Flag Signs of Pediatric Sleep Apnea with Sleep Doctor Chris
Every child deserves more than “they’ll grow out of it.” In this comeback episode, Dr. Alison sits down with viral pediatric sleep specialist Sleep Doctor Chris to unpack why so many kids are snoring, melting down at bedtime, and dragging through the day—and when it’s actually a red flag, not “normal kid stuff.” You’ll hear Dr. Chris’s deeply personal journey from exhausted, snoring kid to double board-certified sleep doctor and author of the new children’s book Sweet Dreams, a story that hel...
Apr 22
26 min
Better Questions, Better Sleep: Why Smarter OSA Conversations Could Be the Data We’re Missing featuring Dr. Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg
Starting CPAP, an oral appliance, or an implant but still not feeling heard? In this episode, Dr. Alison Kole and Dr. Fariha Abbasi-Feinberg unpack PLATO—the Patient-reported Longitudinal Assessment Tool for OSA—and the 11 questions your doctor should ask to truly understand how you feel, personalize your treatment, and finally put you back at the center of your sleep apnea care.
Mar 18
25 min
Kratom, Alcohol & Sleep: A Near‑Death Wake‑Up Call featuring Xavier Schumann
In this episode of Sleep Is My Waking Passion, Dr. Alison Kole sits down with 25‑year‑old Xavier Schuman, who went from “just partying,” working night shifts, and using a kratom pill to help him sleep… to turning blue, going into cardiac arrest, and waking up days later in the ICU. Together, they unpack how alcohol, kratom, and untreated sleep apnea collided to create a perfect storm: terrifying gasping and choking during sleep, the moment his dad started CPR, and the real physiology behind h...
Mar 11
28 min
Living With Narcolepsy Type 1: Cataplexy and the Invisible Attacks of Emotion with Sol Briggs
Type 1 narcolepsy isn’t just about falling asleep—it’s about losing control of your body in the middle of laughter, joy, or surprise. In this Patient Spotlight episode of Sleep Is My Waking Passion, Dr. Alison Kole sits down with independent patient advocate, writer, and artist Solomon Briggs (The Narcoplexic). Saul shares his journey from childhood cataplexy episodes to a late‑in‑life diagnosis, and how living with severe cataplexy reshaped his relationships, career, and creative expression....
Mar 4
32 min
Somatic Therapy, EMDR, and DBT for High‑Achiever Insomnia featuring Anthony Fontana
What if your insomnia isn’t “just stress” or bad habits at bedtime—but unprocessed trauma, a fried nervous system, and a body that never got to stand down from the war? In this episode of Sleep Is My Waking Passion, I sit down with holistic psychotherapist Anthony Fontana, MA, AMFT, APCC to unpack the therapies most insomniacs have never been offered: DBT, ACT, narrative therapy, emotionally focused therapy, EMDR, TRE, somatic experiencing, tapping, and more. We go straight into the witching ...
Feb 25
47 min
When Faith Meets Insomnia featuring Dr. Benjamin Long
In this episode of Sleep Is My Waking Passion, Dr. Alison Kole sits down with Dr. Benjamin Long, a dual board‑certified sleep medicine physician and pediatrician, seminary student, and debut author of Sleep Habits Journal: Practices, Prayers, and Devotions to Ease Your Sleepless Nights. They explore how evidence‑based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT‑I) can be thoughtfully integrated with Christian faith, prayer, and Scripture to support patients who are spiritually minded and s...
Feb 18
44 min
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