Show Notes
In this week’s episode of Routes of Healing, Dr. Siri Chand Khalsa sits down with Dr. Audrey Wells, a sleep medicine physician, obesity medicine specialist, and professional mindset coach who helps high performers—and especially clinicians—recover their relationship with sleep without sacrificing comfort, dignity, or sanity.
Together, they explore the real terrain of insomnia and middle-of-the-night awakenings: not just circadian rhythm and sleep drive, but the emotional residue of medical training, the hypervigilance many women physicians carry, and the “inner critic” that gets loud when the house is quiet. Dr. Wells shares how her own biological sleep needs reshaped her career path—from ICU-intense pediatric training to sleep medicine leadership, then into a more human-centered coaching model built around durable skills, not quick fixes.
This episode is an honest conversation about sleep as a biologic need and an emotional experience, why “being awake at 3:00 a.m.” isn’t always pathology, and how learning to name the theme of your nighttime mind can create immediate relief—and long-term change.
If you’re navigating insomnia, burnout, career transition, or that familiar feeling of being “fine” on paper but frayed in your nervous system, this episode offers grounded insight and real permission to evolve.
🔑 Key Topics & Takeaways
- Sleep deprivation in medical training: why the residue lasts longer than residency
- Women, vigilance, and the nighttime mind: scanning, catastrophizing, and the “inner critic”
- Sleep as an emotional experience: emotions that block sleep vs. emotions that invite it
- Why CBT-I can fall short for certain people: what’s missing when feelings are ignored
- Middle-of-the-night awakenings: why they happen, why they persist, and what to do with them
- The “trifecta” framework: not enough, not safe, not congruent as common nocturnal themes
- Brain dump + control scan: a practical intervention that reduces threat and restores agency
- Second sleep + REM: waking at night as historically normal and tied to emotional processing
- Coaching as consciousness management: daytime regulation that supports nighttime repair
- Integrity + career change: what happens when your work starts to cost you sleep
- Durable change takes time: why Dr. Wells uses a ~12-week cadence for lasting skills
- Sleep tech + neuromodulation: what’s emerging, what might accelerate parasympathetic shift
- Dreams, REM, and women’s sleep: what we still don’t understand—and why it matters
- Psychedelics and sleep: early observations, REM effects, and the importance of integration
- Radical acceptance: the turning point that made sleep—and self-trust—possible again
⏱ Chapters
00:00 — Introduction to Holistic Healing and Sleep Medicine
07:30 — Dr. Audrey Wells’ Journey in Medicine
14:36 — The Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Physicians
22:29 — Emotional Aspects of Sleep and Insomnia
29:26 — Transformative Practices for Better Sleep
32:31 — Navigating Career Changes in Medicine
34:38 — Navigating Integrity and Change
35:53 — The Courage to Honor Inner Voices
36:54 — Ayurveda and Sacred Time
39:17 — Coaching and Consciousness Management
41:43 — Understanding Middle of the Night Awakenings
44:43 — Innovative Coaching Models
46:25 — The Journey of Sleep Coaching
49:35 — The Future of Sleep Technology
52:40 — Radical Acceptance and Personal Journeys
56:54 — Exploring Dreams and Sleep Science
01:02:14 — Connecting with Dr. Wells
01:04:44 — Closing
About Today’s Guest
Audrey Wells, MD
Sleep Medicine • Mindset Coaching • Women’s Sleep Health
Dr. Audrey Wells is a seasoned sleep medicine physician and professional mindset coach whose work bridges evidence-based sleep science with behavior change and emotional regulation. She is on a mission to help people with insomnia and sleep apnea get fully treated without sacrificing comfort, dignity, or quality of life.
Dr. Wells brings a whole-person perspective to sleep, grounded in the belief that sleep is both a biological need and an emotional experience and one of the most important investments we can make in brain health. Her work places special emphasis on women’s sleep, recognizing that women sleep differently and are often underdiagnosed, misunderstood, or undertreated in conventional sleep models.
Informed by both her clinical training and her own lived experience with intermittent insomnia and the early stages of sleep apnea, Dr. Wells has developed a comprehensive ecosystem of care. Through SuperSleepMD, she offers a robust library of self-directed educational courses, a group coaching program, a private online community, and free educational resources designed to increase access to high-quality sleep care beyond the traditional clinic.
In addition, Dr. Wells provides private coaching for high-achieving individuals—including physicians and other professionals with “busy brains” who want to improve sleep, energy, and performance while creating sustainable change.
🌐 Find Dr. Wells
- Sleep Education & Programs: https://supersleepmd.com
- Private Coaching: https://awellsmd.com
- Contact: drwells@supersleepmd.com
🌐 Connect with Your Host
Dr. Siri Chand Khalsa, MD MS
Lifestyle & Integrative Medicine Physician • Culinary Medicine • Ayurveda
- Website: drsirichand.com
- Instagram: @doctorsirichand
- Culinary Medicine Blog: drsirichand.com/blog
Community: https://vishuddha.com
Vishuddha: A Media Agency for Conscious Clinicians & Wellness Seekers
Vishuddha is a media and creative agency dedicated to amplifying the voices of integrative and lifestyle medicine clinicians who are transforming how we understand health and healing.
We provide media representation, book development, public speaking coaching, podcast strategy, content creation, and course development—alongside classes and workshops for wellness seekers committed to intentional, conscious living.
Rooted in whole-person healing, Vishuddha helps clinicians translate their wisdom into impact, design offerings that matter, and bring conscious, transformative work into the world.
Ready to share your wisdom? Explore how we can support your vision at Vishuddha.com.
⚠️ Disclaimer
This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider for personalized guidance.
Keywords
sleep coaching, insomnia help, middle of the night awakenings, physician sleep deprivation, women physicians burnout, residency trauma, hypervigilance, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, CBT-I alternatives, emotional regulation and sleep, REM sleep emotional processing, second sleep, sleep apnea support, parasympathetic nervous system, neuromodulation for sleep, sleep technology, Apollo neuro, consciousness management, radical acceptance, integrative sleep medicine, Dr. Audrey Wells, Routes of Healing, Dr. Siri Chand Khalsa
