Sleep is My Waking Passion

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 how these substances can shut down your breathing and destabilize your heart. You’ll hear the story straight from Xavier—what he remembers, what his family saw, and how his follow‑up sleep study and heart testing tell a very different story once the substances are removed.
This conversation is also about hope and what comes after a near‑death experience. Xavier talks honestly about chronic alcoholism in his 20s, the surprising relief in his anxiety and depression after he stopped drinking, and the very real cravings and “little excuses” that still show up months into sobriety. If you recognize yourself or someone you love in this story, please don’t try to white‑knuckle it alone. Reaching out for help—calling an addiction helpline, connecting with a local treatment program, or walking into an AA/NA/SMART Recovery meeting—can be the moment everything starts to change. You are not weak for asking for support; you are choosing to stay alive and give yourself a different ending than the one Xavier narrowly escaped.

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. Learn how people with narcolepsy search for answers about “cataplexy attacks,” “narcolepsy with cataplexy,” and “why I collapse when I laugh,” and hear what it’s really like to walk through life with a condition that silences your smile before it fully forms.

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 hour (2–4 a.m. wakeups), physician burnout, COVID vicarious trauma, people-pleasing, and why Type A high achievers struggle to slow down—even when life finally lets them.
If you’ve tried CBT-I, sleep hygiene, or “just relaxing” and still wake up wired, this episode is your permission slip to heal on a deeper level, get back into your body, and finally let your nervous system rest.

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 struggling with chronic insomnia. You’ll hear about Ben’s “Sleepless Night Rules” (his faith‑infused take on stimulus control), why worldviews like consumerism and strict scientism shape how we respond to sleeplessness, and how a simple spiritual history question can transform the therapeutic relationship. If you’ve ever wondered whether your beliefs belong in the exam room—or if insomnia has become a place of both suffering and spiritual growth—this conversation will give you language, tools, and hope.

Chronic insomnia is not a “bad habit” you fix with lavender spray and blue‑light blocking glasses—it’s a learned pattern of wakefulness in bed that needs to be rewired. In this episode, Dr. Jason Ong, PhD, DBSM, explains why clinical guidelines now recommend cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as the first‑line treatment over sleep medications and how prescription digital CBT-I is changing access to care.
Dr. Ong is a clinical psychologist, Diplomate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine, and Director of Behavioral Sleep Medicine and Clinical Science at Nox Health. Before joining Nox, he was an Associate Professor of Neurology at Northwestern University, where he directed the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program and led NIH‑funded research on insomnia and digital therapeutics. He helped develop Somryst, an FDA‑cleared, prescription digital CBT-I program that delivers structured, six‑session insomnia treatment through your phone or computer.
If you’re searching for “how to fix chronic insomnia,” “CBT-I vs sleeping pills,” or “does digital CBT-I work,” this episode is for you.