WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>Hello everyone, I'm Beth, and this is social Leopards. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you struggle with sleep quality? Are you an insomniac? I'm

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<v Speaker 1>raising my hand and waving it wildly in the air

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<v Speaker 1>as I pose these questions. This is totally me. Today,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sharing some practical and scientifically based ways to start

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<v Speaker 1>enjoying better sleep. I'll also be reflecting on what's been

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<v Speaker 1>working for me lately, at least. Today's featured contributor is

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<v Speaker 1>Tara Parker Pope, who is a substack dot com creator

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<v Speaker 1>and also founder of the New York Times well Section.

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<v Speaker 1>She shares a lot of good information on a wide

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<v Speaker 1>range of wellness topics, and she backs her words with

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<v Speaker 1>multiple sources, and you'll be able to reference a short

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<v Speaker 1>list of links in the show notes. I'll be narrating

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<v Speaker 1>Tara's article as written, but know that these referenced bits

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<v Speaker 1>will be available to you self service. And before I

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<v Speaker 1>start yawning because I am tired today, I'll begin sharing

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<v Speaker 1>this article titled science Backed Secrets for Better Sleep. Two

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<v Speaker 1>gentle workouts for better Sleep. The first time I ever

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<v Speaker 1>wrote about insomnia for The New York Times, I was

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<v Speaker 1>stunned at how fast it moved up the most read list.

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<v Speaker 1>I also noticed that many people were reading it around

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<v Speaker 1>three am. The experience taught me that people with insomnia

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<v Speaker 1>or other sleep problems are desperate for answers. Insomnia, which

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<v Speaker 1>affects thirty to forty percent of the population, can start

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<v Speaker 1>in different ways. For some, it's chronic stress, a medical condition,

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<v Speaker 1>or pain. For others, it's a body clock that's out

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<v Speaker 1>of sync, or a stressful event that conditions the brain

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<v Speaker 1>to link the bed with wakefulness. Over time, these factors

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<v Speaker 1>can feed into each other, creating a cycle of worry

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<v Speaker 1>and performance anxiety that locks people into chronic sleeplessness. Cognitive

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<v Speaker 1>behavioral therapy CBT is still the best treatment for chronic insomnia.

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<v Speaker 1>CBT retrains you to break the cycle of tossing, turning,

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<v Speaker 1>and worrying about sleep and creates healthier sleep habits that stick.

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<v Speaker 1>It really does work, but it can be expensive and

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<v Speaker 1>time consuming, so it might not be the right answer

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<v Speaker 1>for everyone. Sleep medications offer a short term solution, but

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<v Speaker 1>they come with risks and diminishing returns. Drugs don't address

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<v Speaker 1>the root causes of insomnia and may actually reduce restorative sleep.

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<v Speaker 1>In twenty nineteen, the FDA issued a chilling boxed warning

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<v Speaker 1>about popular insomnia drugs like ambient, Lunesta and Sonata, noting

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<v Speaker 1>they can trigger dangerous and bizarre sleep behaviors, including sleep

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<v Speaker 1>driving yik that have led to serious injuries, arrests, and

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<v Speaker 1>even death, sometimes after just one dose. A large new

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<v Speaker 1>study offers some hopeful news for the sleep troubled. Researchers

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<v Speaker 1>analyzed twenty two clinical trials involving more than thirteen hundreds

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<v Speaker 1>insomnia patients to determine whether certain types of exercise could

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<v Speaker 1>make a difference. The results showed that when it comes

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<v Speaker 1>to insomnia, all exercise isn't equal. Yoga and tai chi

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<v Speaker 1>stood out as particularly effective. Yoga was the clear star

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<v Speaker 1>of the study. Compared with people in control groups, those

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<v Speaker 1>who practiced yoga slept about one hundred ten minutes longer

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<v Speaker 1>each night, that's nearly two extra hours. They also fell

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<v Speaker 1>asleep faster and woke up less often. The studies tested

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<v Speaker 1>different yoga traditions, but the common thread was that the

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<v Speaker 1>yoga practice was gentle, not vigorous. Movements were low impact,

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<v Speaker 1>and every trial emphasized prana, yama, regulated breathing, or other

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<v Speaker 1>breath based meditation practices. Tai chi, the gentle, flowing martial art,

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<v Speaker 1>also helped people sleep about fifty minutes longer, and they

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<v Speaker 1>reported fewer nighttime awakenings. Impressively, tai Chi's benefits lasted up

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<v Speaker 1>to two years after the practice ended. Walking or jogging

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<v Speaker 1>had a different benefit. It didn't extend sleep as much,

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<v Speaker 1>but it led to the biggest drop in insomnia's severity scores,

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<v Speaker 1>which means that people felt like their insomnia had improved.

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<v Speaker 1>Feeling like your insomnia is better matters because it reduces stress,

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<v Speaker 1>restores confidence in your ability to sleep, and improves how

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<v Speaker 1>you function during the day. Other forms of exercise, like

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<v Speaker 1>strength training and aerobic workouts helped somewhat, but weren't as

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<v Speaker 1>consistently effective. Why does exercise work at all? Scientists think

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<v Speaker 1>it helps regulate stress hormones, improves mood, and even boosts

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<v Speaker 1>brain chemicals tied to sleep. Yoga and tai chi in particular,

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<v Speaker 1>may calm the nervous system and quiet the anxiety that

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<v Speaker 1>so often drives insomnia. The takeaway being active is linked

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<v Speaker 1>with better rest and gentle, consistent movement seems especially effective,

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<v Speaker 1>So roll out of yoga mat try a beginner chai

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<v Speaker 1>chi class. Or lace up your walking shoes. Speed round

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<v Speaker 1>of sleep tips my favorite sleep trick. When my busy

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<v Speaker 1>mind keeps me from sleeping, I use a method called

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<v Speaker 1>cognitive shuffling. I start with my dog's name Sugar. I

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<v Speaker 1>think of as many S words as I can sun, smile, sofa, sandwich.

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<v Speaker 1>When I run out of s wards, I moved to

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<v Speaker 1>the letter you, umbrella, ukulele, umami. I always fall asleep

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<v Speaker 1>before I get to g Cognitive shuffling distracts your brain

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<v Speaker 1>with random, unrelated words, just enough to pull you out

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<v Speaker 1>of worry loops, but not enough to keep you alert.

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<v Speaker 1>Christina Karen at The New York Times wrote a good

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<v Speaker 1>story about this method. Read more. Go to bed earlier.

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<v Speaker 1>Staying up past one a m takes a toll on

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<v Speaker 1>mental health, no matter if you are a night owl

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<v Speaker 1>or an early bird. In a Stanford Medicine study of

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<v Speaker 1>nearly seventy five thousand adults, late sleepers were up to

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<v Speaker 1>forty percent more likely to develop depression or anxiety. The

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<v Speaker 1>takeaway your brain will thank you for turning out the

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<v Speaker 1>lights earlier. Read more. Try a nappuccino. I learned about

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<v Speaker 1>nappuccino's from one of of my favorite writer's Daniel Pink.

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<v Speaker 1>In his book When the Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing,

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<v Speaker 1>Pink calls naps Zamboni's for the Brain a Napucino. Pairs

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<v Speaker 1>caffeine with a nap. Drink a cup of coffee, then

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<v Speaker 1>immediately lie down for a ten to twenty minute nap.

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<v Speaker 1>By the time you wake, the caffeine is just kicking in,

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<v Speaker 1>leaving you more alert and refreshed. Pink suggests timing naps

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<v Speaker 1>about seven hours after waking, creating a quiet environment, setting

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<v Speaker 1>a twenty five minute timer, and making napping a consistent habit.

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<v Speaker 1>For the best results, check out Daniel Pink on Substack.

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<v Speaker 1>Write tomorrow's to do list at bedtime. A Baylor University

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<v Speaker 1>study found that people who wrote a detailed to do

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<v Speaker 1>list at bedtime fell asleep faster than those who wrote

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<v Speaker 1>about tasks they had already completed. The more specific the list,

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<v Speaker 1>the faster participants drifted off. Writing down tomorrow's tasks helps

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<v Speaker 1>offload mental clutter, reducing rumination and easing the transition to sleep.

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<v Speaker 1>Turn off lights for brain and body health. I have

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<v Speaker 1>always had a tendency to leave haul lights on at night,

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<v Speaker 1>but I've learned that stray light is bad for your brain.

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<v Speaker 1>Even low levels of light at night from a bedside

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<v Speaker 1>lamp or an eReader can suppress melatonin and disrupt circadian rhythms,

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<v Speaker 1>making it harder to fall asleep. Exposure to dim light

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<v Speaker 1>at night has been linked in animal and human studies

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<v Speaker 1>to weight gain, insulin resistance, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression.

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<v Speaker 1>I spoke with Randy Nelson, Professor and chair at Rockefeller

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<v Speaker 1>Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University, who suggests limiting your

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<v Speaker 1>exposure to bright light two hours before you want to

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<v Speaker 1>go to bed. He recommends a palaeolithic lighting regime bright

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<v Speaker 1>days and dark nights to keep the body clock aligned

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<v Speaker 1>and to support better sleep and metabolic health. So at bedtime,

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<v Speaker 1>turn off the lights, pull the shades, and wear a

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<v Speaker 1>sleep mask. When you wake up, take a morning walk

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<v Speaker 1>in the sun, and bask in bright light during the day.

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<v Speaker 1>Doctor Nelson recommends outdoor walks, especially if you're stuck in

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<v Speaker 1>low level office lighting. A walk in the morning, you're

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<v Speaker 1>just going to feel better, he said. And if you're

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<v Speaker 1>working in low level office lights, you're going to be

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<v Speaker 1>in perpetual jet lag. Dogsomnia is totally worth it. One

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<v Speaker 1>of the most popular stories I wrote during my tenure

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<v Speaker 1>at The New York Times was about dogsomnia, which is

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<v Speaker 1>the sleep loss that results from sleeping with your dog.

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<v Speaker 1>It's real, but a male clinic study that tracked the

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<v Speaker 1>sleep of people and their pet dogs found that dogsomnia

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<v Speaker 1>only amounts to about fifteen minutes of lost sleep per night.

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<v Speaker 1>Doglovers will be glad to know that your presence doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>seem to disrupt your dog's sleep at all. The researchers

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<v Speaker 1>found that the dogs slept just find no matter where

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<v Speaker 1>they were, and notably, when the dogs did awake at night,

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<v Speaker 1>they squeezed in about two minutes of playtime before settling

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<v Speaker 1>back down. Read the story the end again. Check out

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<v Speaker 1>the show notes to read the referenced stories, or to

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<v Speaker 1>check out Daniel Pink's substack account. In addition to TERA's

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<v Speaker 1>newsletter One Day Better. Okay, the first statistic that kind

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<v Speaker 1>of shocked me when I first read this article was

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<v Speaker 1>that thirty to forty percent of the population struggles with

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<v Speaker 1>insomnia issues. That was a bit higher than I thought

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<v Speaker 1>it would be, and so it surprises me that the

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<v Speaker 1>medical community isn't more dialed into this issue. More on

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<v Speaker 1>that in a moment. When I say I struggle to

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<v Speaker 1>fall asleep, I'm not exaggerating. I forced myself to lie

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<v Speaker 1>down and be in the dark, but it's often upwards

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<v Speaker 1>of an hour or so before I am finally unconscious.

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<v Speaker 1>I had to stop peeking at the clock because that

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<v Speaker 1>just makes it worse, and to watch that time slip away,

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<v Speaker 1>I think that just makes it even harder to fall asleep.

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<v Speaker 1>My other issue is that, at a very personal level,

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<v Speaker 1>my loving husband can fall asleep in way under five

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<v Speaker 1>minutes with extreme consistency. Even if he falls asleep in

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<v Speaker 1>his easy chair while we're watching TV before going to bed,

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<v Speaker 1>he can still hit the pillow and be out like

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<v Speaker 1>a light in no time flat. And that, to be honest,

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<v Speaker 1>light's a bit of an envious spire for me. Sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>I'm lying there just wishing I was him in certain moments.

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<v Speaker 1>Now he also snores, which impedes my ability to fall

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<v Speaker 1>asleep sometimes, but luckily I found some earplugs that were

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<v Speaker 1>eh about night percent of the time. But I digress.

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<v Speaker 1>I actually started doing the whole cognitive shuffling exercise. While

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<v Speaker 1>it's not quite as effective for me as it is

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<v Speaker 1>for terra. I do find that my mind sort of

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<v Speaker 1>starts to slow down, and I stop churning through random

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<v Speaker 1>thoughts of earlier today or what the plan is for tomorrow,

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<v Speaker 1>and I focus in on this word game of sorts.

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<v Speaker 1>I've always been a fan of word games, so that's

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<v Speaker 1>probably another reason that it appeals to me. I start

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<v Speaker 1>losing focus, and then that leads to falling asleep for me.

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<v Speaker 1>I will notice that my mind starts to drift, and

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<v Speaker 1>then eventually it kind of just drifts away into nothingness.

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<v Speaker 1>And then the next thing I notice is that my

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<v Speaker 1>bladder is full. And that's like three hours later, and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm up for that reason a little over disclosure. But

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<v Speaker 1>I know it's a thing for a lot of people,

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<v Speaker 1>especially once again, people of a certain age. I have

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<v Speaker 1>talked to my or I had to my previous doctor

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<v Speaker 1>about my inability to fall asleep and stay asleep, and

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<v Speaker 1>she kind of blew me off, and she just told

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<v Speaker 1>me it's something a lot of people deal with and

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<v Speaker 1>that it comes with getting older, and that was it.

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<v Speaker 1>Not inconsequentially, I have a new doctor now, and this

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<v Speaker 1>one actually listened to me. She did prescribe something and

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<v Speaker 1>that helped me a little, and then I started a

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<v Speaker 1>bit of a weight loss journey. Yes, folks, I am

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<v Speaker 1>on the GLP one train at the moment, and the

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<v Speaker 1>nurse practitioner working with me as part of that weight

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<v Speaker 1>management program suggested progesterone capsules because the sleeping medication I

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<v Speaker 1>was taking works best on an empty stomach, and if

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<v Speaker 1>you've ever taken a peptide, you know that it slows

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<v Speaker 1>down the digestion rates, so your stomach is rarely empty,

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<v Speaker 1>and so that makes that sleep medication less potent. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>guessing the progesterone. I'm still on the fence about that.

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<v Speaker 1>I need to do some more research before I start

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<v Speaker 1>taking that regularly. I tried it during the summer months

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<v Speaker 1>when I'm a lot more active, and so all of

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<v Speaker 1>a sudden, I went cold turkey again and it wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>as bothersome and I seem to be doing better. As

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<v Speaker 1>Tara noted, maybe the increase inactivity was the factor there. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>what really excited me after reading this article was the

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<v Speaker 1>evidence that yoga and tai chi were so effective. I

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<v Speaker 1>struggle with yoga a little due to an old ankle injury,

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<v Speaker 1>but I have been looking into tai chi and It's

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<v Speaker 1>also highly recommended for people of a certain age, so

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<v Speaker 1>that's at the top of my personal list at the moment.

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<v Speaker 1>I've also been seeing some reels that show some of

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<v Speaker 1>those tai chi movements that appear to be gentle enough

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<v Speaker 1>that I may be able to keep up and actually

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<v Speaker 1>succeed at doing it. Moving on to the topic of

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<v Speaker 1>activity being helpful as it relates to me personally, my

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<v Speaker 1>relationship with vigorous exercise, well, it's not good. I do

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<v Speaker 1>love swimming, and I can get some decent activity in

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<v Speaker 1>the pool, but of course that's only during the warmer months.

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<v Speaker 1>As the summer faded into autumn, and now we're right

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<v Speaker 1>around the corner from winter. Tai Chi looks like my

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<v Speaker 1>best bet to double up on my journey to achieve

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<v Speaker 1>a better night's rest. Wish me luck on that. Two

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<v Speaker 1>more things I've worked on to fall asleep gonna admit

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<v Speaker 1>with some success, but again not a miracle level solution,

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<v Speaker 1>are meditative in nature. I either listen to something on

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<v Speaker 1>the Calm app. That's not an advertisement for Calm. I

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<v Speaker 1>just use the app to help me out on a

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<v Speaker 1>particularly non RESTful night, and also focusing into the sound

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<v Speaker 1>of my own breathing. That helps me the most when

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<v Speaker 1>I'm wearing earplugs, actually, because then I can hear my

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<v Speaker 1>own breathing a lot better. I do find that that

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<v Speaker 1>listening and just trying to focus in and focus on

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<v Speaker 1>nothing but the sound of your breathing, that kind of

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<v Speaker 1>also helps my mind start to drift, and that sort

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<v Speaker 1>of leaves me feeling more relaxed and ready for sleep.

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<v Speaker 1>The last thing I need to work on, I think,

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<v Speaker 1>is getting used to wearing a sleep mask. I haven't

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<v Speaker 1>had a lot of luck with that so far. It's

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<v Speaker 1>distracting for me rather than helpful. I just I don't

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<v Speaker 1>like the feel of it. I don't like the feel

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<v Speaker 1>of my eyelashes against the sleep mask. You know that

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<v Speaker 1>there was the statement in the article that the dark

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<v Speaker 1>room is another key to the deeper sleep. In my bedroom,

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<v Speaker 1>we do have blackout curtains, but there's still a little

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<v Speaker 1>ambient light. There's like this little red light on the

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<v Speaker 1>TV that lights up a section of the room, and

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<v Speaker 1>then there's a clock that I moved over to my

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<v Speaker 1>hubbies' night stand, but that still emits a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>of light, so it's not pitch black in there. I

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<v Speaker 1>did see on Amazon or something. Something came across my

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<v Speaker 1>phone random ad and it had like a special sleep

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<v Speaker 1>mask that gave you more They had little cups around

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<v Speaker 1>your eyes so that you wouldn't feel anything up against

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<v Speaker 1>your eyeballs or eyelids, and so I think I might

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<v Speaker 1>try that anyway. In summary, I suppose I feel hopeful

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<v Speaker 1>that a better and more RESTful sleep is in my future.

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<v Speaker 1>I am encouraged by the variety of options presented in

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<v Speaker 1>this article alongside my personal experiences. I did appreciate that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm totally not an outlier and I'm not alone in

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<v Speaker 1>this journey slash struggle to find the perfect sleep routine.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope that if you're in the same boat as

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<v Speaker 1>I am, you did find at least one helpful suggestion today.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks one last time to Tara Parker Pope for agreeing

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<v Speaker 1>to be today's featured contributor. Okay, time to move on

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<v Speaker 1>to next week. I'll be featuring Skip Concannon. He writes

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<v Speaker 1>about how a move from Boston to rural Oregon changed

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<v Speaker 1>a lot about how he views life. It was actually

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<v Speaker 1>hard to choose which of his stories to share. You

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<v Speaker 1>don't have to be someone who has migrated from one

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<v Speaker 1>end of the country to another, to find relatable wisdom

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<v Speaker 1>in what he has to share about how he use

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<v Speaker 1>life and how he discovers things about himself as he

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<v Speaker 1>relates to his community. I'm looking really forward to sharing

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<v Speaker 1>it with you until next week. Take care,