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Why Wabash Men Need More Sleep

Wabash welcomed one of the nation’s leading experts on sleep and peak performance on Wednesday, September 13, when Dr. Chris Winter visited campus as part of the President’s Distinguished Speaker Series. 

Dr. Chris Winter spoke on September 13 at Wabash College.Dr. Winter spoke in Salter Concert Hall on Sleep and Peak Athletic Performance, a talk generally geared for the athletically inclined, but everyone was welcome.

He also gave a Chapel Talk on Thursday, September 14, titled “The Importance of Sleep.”

Dr. Winter is a nationally recognized sleep expert who has written and spoken extensively on good sleep habits and peak performance. While his current research focuses on sleep and athletic performance, he has studied sleep medicine and research since 1993 and is the author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It, as well as The Rested Child: Why Your Tired, Wired or Irritable Child May Have a Sleep Disorder – And How to Help. 

His podcast, Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter, is one of the most popular medical podcasts in the country. He works with a wide range of college and professional sports teams in baseball, football, and basketball, including the Indiana Pacers.

Dr. Winter’s visit to Wabash debunked the myth that college students can get by on very little sleep. Ideally, high-performing students need seven-to-nine hours per night, particularly during stressful times – in sports, extracurricular activities, and at key periods during the academic semester like mid-terms and final exams.

Dr. Winter is an Echols Scholar graduate of the University of Virginia and received his medical degree from Emory University.  He completed his neurology residency at the University of Virginia and as Chief Resident, won a national American Academy of Neurology Teaching Award.  He completed his Sleep Medicine fellowship at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. 

The President’s Distinguished Speaker Series is funded by generous alumni and friends, including Larry Landis ’67, with a goal of bringing thought-leaders to campus to inspire conversations far beyond classroom walls. The PDSS will also help bring to campus Vanessa Otero, founder of Ad Fontes Media and the Media Bias Chart, September 19-20, and Dr. Richard Reeves, best-selling author of Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do about It, February 19-20, 2024.