Season 8 Episode 4: Teen Sleep, Mushing Dogs, and Dr. Alex Dainis on Tasting Every Single Amino Acid

Season 8 Episode 4: Teen Sleep, Mushing Dogs, and Dr. Alex Dainis on Tasting Every Single Amino Acid

From The Science Pawdcast by Jason and Kris Zackowski

March 16, 2026 · 1h 4m · Season 8 · Episode 4

About this episode

The episode discusses teen sleep deprivation, its implications, and features Dr. Alex Dainis on amino acids.

Send us Fan Mail Seventy thousand digits of pi is impressive, but the number that stuck with us is much scarier: about one in four high school students now reports sleeping five hours or less. We dig into the latest teen sleep deprivation data, what it means for learning, mental health, and emotional regulation, and why “just go to bed earlier” ignores adolescent circadian rhythm biology. When melatonin shifts later during puberty, early school start times can become a daily clash between the...

People in this episode

Hosts: Jason Zackowski, Kris Zackowski

Guest: Dr. Alex Dainis

Topics covered

  • teen sleep deprivation
  • adolescent circadian rhythm
  • mental health
  • emotional regulation
  • mushing dogs
  • amino acids

Keywords

  • teen sleep
  • sleep deprivation
  • circadian rhythm
  • mental health
  • amino acids
  • mushing dogs
  • education

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Science Pawdcast

Places: high school

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