{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Snooze Button","title":"When Anxiety Changes the Sleep Equation — Dr. Aaron Mattfeld","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/b7649d2a\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1857,"description":"Could the same brain structure be associated with better sleep in some young people and worse sleep in others?\nDr. Aaron Mattfeld of Florida International University joins Neil Hedley to discuss research on the pineal gland, anxiety, and objectively measured sleep in early adolescence. The gland is involved in melatonin production, but the study found that the relationship between pineal-gland tissue volume and sleep varied with anxiety severity.\nThey explore why the result was surprising, what researchers can and cannot conclude from it, and how adolescent biology and everyday choices affect sleep.\nAbout the evidence: This is an observational association, not proof that pineal gland size causes sleep problems. Melatonin production was not directly measured.\nResearch: Fuertes F., Lalama M., Dick A. S. et al., Anxiety severity moderates the relation between pineal parenchymal volume and objective sleep problems in peri-adolescent youth, Scientific Reports (2026). Read the study.\nFlorida International University's research overview · Dr. Mattfeld's faculty profile · The Snooze Button.\nNext week: Dr. Jamie Zeitzer on what your sleep tracker can—and cannot—tell you.","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/mJpzpxNbhrKKtJhkuzZf0AlUwxAsOojO2nkUnmzvBTI/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8xZTEx/MWZhZWUxNTVkY2Nm/ZjRiY2RjOTlkZGZi/NGNjOC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}