The Pineal Gland, Anxiety and Sleep — EXPRESS

What happens when a small brain structure associated with melatonin appears to relate to sleep differently in young people experiencing anxiety?

In this nine-minute EXPRESS edition, Neil Hedley shares highlights from his conversation with Florida International University neuroscientist Dr. Aaron Mattfeld about the pineal gland, anxiety, adolescent sleep, and what the findings may mean.

The research found an association, not proof that a larger gland causes sleeplessness; melatonin production was not measured directly.

Want the full conversation? Listen to the complete interview with Dr. Aaron Mattfeld on The Snooze Button.

Research: Scientific Reports study on anxiety, pineal parenchymal volume, and sleep.

Dr. Mattfeld's faculty profile · The Snooze Button website.

Next week: Dr. Jamie Zeitzer on what your sleep tracker can—and cannot—tell you.

What is The Snooze Button EXPRESS?

The Snooze Button EXPRESS is the short-form 9-minute version of The Snooze Button podcast. In North America alone, there are about 100 million people with sleep issues. Maybe you're one of them. Every week, veteran broadcaster Neil Hedley sits down with celebrities, high achievers and the world's top neuroscientists to try and find answers to his own 30-year battle with sleep issues in the hope that he might find an answer that works for you, too.