WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:03.960 A special shout out to our soul sponsor, Safa Mattress, 2 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:06.000 So this is coming to you without a bunch of ads, 3 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:09.039 just sponsored by Sofa. Safa sponsored our series on dreaming, 4 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:11.519 the Onorology episodes, which are so good. And since this 5 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:14.199 one is also about sleep and I sleep on a sofa, 6 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.679 I also read books on Asafa and lay around and 7 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:18.960 look at my phone on Asafa. But the sleeping part's 8 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.120 are the best. Asafa is like getting a first class 9 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:23.440 ticket to Slumberland for the price of a middle seat 10 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:26.679 and coach. They're that good and they're also that affordable. 11 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:29.519 Since I have gotten Asafa, several of my friends and 12 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:32.000 my niece have one too. It's been the most comfortable, 13 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:34.280 the easiest to purchase. So if you are in the 14 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:36.399 market for a new mattress, get the one I have, 15 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:39.799 Get the one I love. Safa see for yourself at 16 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:45.399 Safa dot com slash ologies. That's s Double atva dot 17 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:50.399 com slash ologies. Thanks Safa, we love you. Oh hey, 18 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:53.679 it's your little step brother who tries to trade you 19 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:56.759 their calcified banana flavor now and later is for your 20 00:00:56.759 --> 00:00:59.840 Mini Reese's peanut butter cups, And you're like little dude, 21 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:03.159 step all the way off. That's not how life works. Ali, 22 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:07.159 board back for another episode of ologies. So let's get 23 00:01:07.239 --> 00:01:11.079 deep into something that happens usually in the dead of night. 24 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:16.079 If you're lucky sleep, you do it every day or night. Probably, Okay, 25 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:20.480 Somenology very much a thing. It's the study of how 26 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:23.239 we sleep. And I looked up the etymology of it 27 00:01:23.879 --> 00:01:26.560 just after I wrote that intro and Holly smokes you guys. 28 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:30.719 Somness is the Roman god of sleep and yes, the 29 00:01:30.760 --> 00:01:33.079 brother of death. I had no idea when I wrote 30 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:35.079 that a few minutes ago, So there you go. Also, 31 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:39.480 Somnos probably a remake of the Greek myth of Hypnos, 32 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:42.280 who was the Greek god of sleep, also the half 33 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:46.560 brother of Thanatos death. So Hypnos lived in a dark 34 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:50.439 grotto in the underworld. What a bachelor, but was kind 35 00:01:50.519 --> 00:01:53.560 of a helper of humans. He was a good dude. 36 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:57.439 His dad was Darkness and his mother was nix or night, 37 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:00.920 and even Zeus was afraid of her. But that and 38 00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:04.760 so somenology is the study of the god that comes 39 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:08.080 in darkness to recharge us, and it seems to vex 40 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:12.439 us more and more. I'm determined to help fix your 41 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:15.639 sleep and may your I mean, are I appall my 42 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:19.840 own friends physicians, I appall my own fitbit with my 43 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:23.199 poor sleep habits, and as a result, I sometimes forget 44 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.400 which month it is, and I have eaten more stickers 45 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:29.199 on produce than you need to know about. So you're 46 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:32.120 going to learn the difference between deep sleep, light sleep, 47 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:36.039 rem sleep, What aspects of sleep hygiene are important, how 48 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:40.159 much sleep you really need? Sleep information specifically about kiddos. 49 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:43.120 From the author of the book The Rested Child. Why 50 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:47.199 you're tired, wired, or irritable child may have a sleep disorder, 51 00:02:47.240 --> 00:02:50.439 and how to help and how to help the molecular 52 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:53.960 janitors that live in your skull. This guest has been 53 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:58.240 called the sleep Whisperer and works with professional athletes and 54 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:01.719 normies alike to per form better and to remedy their 55 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.639 sleep issues. He has literally written the book on sleep. 56 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:07.919 So get cozy, zip up your onesies, and get ready. 57 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:21.919 From neurologist and psomnologist doctor William Chris Winter Knowledgious Algy. 58 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:35.520 Algy knows you are a neurologist, but you're also a somnologist. Correct, 59 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:38.840 because you study sleep. Correct. Now tell me a little 60 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:41.280 bit about what is sleep? I mean, that's like the 61 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:43.960 golden question, because it does seem crazy that for eight 62 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.240 hours of the day we're so vulnerable to predation, we 63 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:51.759 just clock out, Like, what what is sleep? Exactly? Yeah, 64 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:53.000 I don't think people really know. 65 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:56.199 I mean, there's all kinds of theories in terms of 66 00:03:56.280 --> 00:04:01.000 sleep being something important for energy balance. There's a metabolic 67 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:04.840 sort of pathway that sleeps very important for. So I 68 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:07.199 don't know that we necessarily know exactly what it is, 69 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:09.120 but it's a very important thing for sort of re 70 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:14.240 establishing balance within our body throughout organ systems, and you know, 71 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:17.720 every organism does it. They do it differently. In some 72 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:20.879 fish that have to continue to always swim, they'll sleep 73 00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:23.319 one half their brain and then the other at other times, 74 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:27.000 and really fascinating things like that. But this very preserved 75 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:29.879 process that you know, kind of allows us to sort 76 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:32.160 of reset and go forward about our day. But to 77 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:35.319 answer that definitively, I don't think anybody really can, which 78 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:38.519 is shocking is something, like you said, so basic that 79 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:39.959 we don't really know why we do it. 80 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:44.560 We don't know is this true? I fact checked it, 81 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:47.959 and yes, pretty much all legit scientific papers start with 82 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:51.759 even though how and why we sleep is a mystery 83 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:55.240 for real, but we do know that there are different 84 00:04:55.279 --> 00:04:58.439 stages of sleep. Can you go through the different stages 85 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:02.160 of sleep really quick and sure they happen to nightly 86 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:03.000 or the day. 87 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:04.920 So it's easy to think about sleep and sort of 88 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:07.839 in terms of three stages. There's light sleep, deep sleep, 89 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:08.639 and dream sleep. 90 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:12.759 Again, those three stages were light sleep, deep sleep, and 91 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:13.600 dream sleep. 92 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:16.040 So a lot of people think dream sleep and deep 93 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:18.079 sleep are kind of the same thing. They're not so 94 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:20.879 very distinct. So we spent about half of our night 95 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:22.839 in light sleep, half. 96 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:26.120 In light sleep. Is normal, that just blew me away, and. 97 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:27.959 That's sort of the sleep that sort of moves us 98 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.439 through all the different stages. So we're awake and we 99 00:05:30.519 --> 00:05:32.839 fall into light sleep, and from there we might dream, 100 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:34.519 and then we'll go back to light sleep, and then 101 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:36.360 we might have deep sleep, back to light sleep, maybe 102 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:38.560 wake up and go to the bathroom. So light sleep 103 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:41.279 is not only the sort of the foundation of our sleep, 104 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:45.399 but it's also the portal through which we move to 105 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:50.600 the different stages. About ninety minutes after we fall asleep, 106 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:54.160 if we're on a schedule and relatively well rested, we'll 107 00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:57.879 have dream or REM sleep. So REM sleep rapid eye 108 00:05:57.879 --> 00:05:59.720 move and sleep and dream sleep are the same thing. 109 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.319 Generally that nine minutes after you fall asleep, I have 110 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:05.480 your first dream. It's a very short dream, typically very fragile. 111 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:08.120 So if you're in an uncomfortable situation and a lot 112 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:10.600 of anxiety in your life, you're sleeping in a bad hotel, 113 00:06:11.079 --> 00:06:14.079 you may drop that first cycle quite a bit, and 114 00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:15.959 then every hour to hour and a half we'll have 115 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:19.800 another cycle of dreaming, usually last somewhere between twenty five 116 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:22.560 to forty five minutes, and those get longer and longer 117 00:06:22.680 --> 00:06:23.360 the night goes on. 118 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:26.959 So light sleep starts as a stage called N one 119 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:29.279 as you're starting to drift off, and you might have 120 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:31.920 like a quick funky dream that kind of like yay, 121 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:34.480 I'm falling asleep, nothing is real feeling, and then your 122 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:37.120 brain waves slow down and then a little deeper light 123 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:39.839 sleep is called END two, when your breath and your 124 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:42.720 heart rates slow down. Almost half of your night is 125 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:46.560 spent in end two, but it's not terribly restorative. Now, 126 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:48.480 what is with this N one? End Two's what are 127 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:52.120 the ends? They're short for non rem sleep, So all 128 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:55.199 stages of sleep that aren't rem are called non rem 129 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:58.680 which is like if you had four kids and you 130 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:01.800 just named the best, most interesting one, Jeremy, and then 131 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:04.399 all the rest were just like non Jeremy one, non 132 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:08.399 Jeremy two, that one's non Jeremy three. Like, sure, they 133 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:11.120 all have their place in this family. Your life wouldn't 134 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:13.600 be the same without them, you know, but they're not 135 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.319 as interesting as Jeremy. Now let's totally switch metaphors. So 136 00:07:17.480 --> 00:07:20.399 think of light sleep as your day to day's shoe. 137 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:23.680 Nothing fancy, but it works. Now another kind of shoe 138 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:27.160 in your sleep closet. Let's say the ug of the 139 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:31.879 shoes is deep sleep, now also called slow waves sleep 140 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:35.839 or delta sleep or M three not REM three. This 141 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:39.120 stage of deep sleep happens more at the beginning of 142 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:42.800 the night, and during this deep sleep stage, our bodies 143 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:46.959 repair and they heal themselves. We release human growth hormone, 144 00:07:47.079 --> 00:07:50.480 which is dope for free. And the more of this 145 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:53.720 deep sleep we get those first few hours in bed, 146 00:07:53.879 --> 00:07:56.240 usually around twenty five percent of the night, the more 147 00:07:56.360 --> 00:08:01.680 chipper and refreshed and not sleepy or grow or crawling 148 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:04.120 toward a triple espresso we feel and. 149 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:08.079 Then remsleep has a lot more to do with focus, concentration, mood, 150 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.519 even pain perception, So it's a little bit more of 151 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:14.000 a finesse sort of situation, which is probably why it's 152 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:16.560 second in the night. Your brain really needs the deep 153 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:18.439 sleep to make the motor go to find the food 154 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:20.680 to get through your day. The second half the night, 155 00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:22.279 it's a little bit more detail oriented. 156 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:25.439 So if light sleep is like an everyday sneaker and 157 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:29.439 deep sleep is a comfortable ug, rem sleep is like 158 00:08:29.560 --> 00:08:34.879 the shimmering dress shoe, just full of dreams, increased breathing 159 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:37.759 and heart rates, more blood in your brain, and our 160 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:42.159 eyes are just like darting around like kittens under our eyelids. 161 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:46.120 So in this state our brain is as active as 162 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:48.840 when we're awake and remsleep they think is supposed to 163 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:53.039 help with memory and concentration and also mood. So the 164 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:56.360 dress shoes takes care of memory and mood, and it 165 00:08:56.399 --> 00:08:59.279 happens for about twenty five percent of the night. Now 166 00:08:59.320 --> 00:09:02.039 the cushy come the ug deep sleep or N three 167 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:05.159 also twenty five percent of the night repairs your bod 168 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:09.000 and keeps you from feeling sleepy. So yes, that light 169 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:11.879 sleep is the majority of the night. If fifty percent, 170 00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:15.399 but like what does it do? And then what is 171 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:16.600 happening during light sleep? 172 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:20.360 So light sleep is important again, like I said, it's 173 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:22.840 sort of the foundation of sleep. There are a lot 174 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:27.039 of processes going on, not you know, it's I don't 175 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:29.360 want to use the word filler, but it's a lot 176 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:32.039 of sort of just the general rest of our body, 177 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:34.000 our bodies being inactive for a period of time. And 178 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:37.360 interesting about light sleep is for a lot of individuals 179 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:41.440 who struggle with their sleep, they will misperceive light sleep 180 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:42.679 as being wakefulness. 181 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:44.840 And I know this is still I feel like this 182 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:47.279 is still such a basic question. But what is the 183 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:50.840 big difference like in brain waves or whatever when we 184 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:54.240 are awake and talking and functioning and like dodging things 185 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:57.799 coming at our heads. But then the difference between that 186 00:09:57.840 --> 00:10:00.919 when we were stone cold out does that sometimes happen 187 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:02.679 in the literally the blink of a night. 188 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:04.759 One of the things I always tell people is that 189 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:08.960 sleep always wins. I mean, if you push yourself hard 190 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:12.120 enough and get yourself sleepy enough. It's not something that 191 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:15.639 you really have a lot of control over. So sleep 192 00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:18.759 can sleep, sleep happens. We're not in danger of not sleeping. 193 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:21.799 I think that for a lot of when you look 194 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:24.159 at sleep in terms of the wavelings like you're talking about. 195 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:27.919 What's interesting is when you look at somebody's brain activity 196 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:31.320 when they're awake, it looks very different from somebody who's 197 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:33.960 in deep sleep. Deep sleep, you can see the sort 198 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:36.440 of the consciousness part of your brain taking a back 199 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:38.720 seat to the more primitive parts of the brain we share, 200 00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:39.279 like with an. 201 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:41.080 Earthworm a worm. 202 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:44.240 But when you look at rem sleep, it's almost impossible 203 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:48.840 to discern the brain activity of somebody dreaming versus the 204 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:52.320 brain activity of somebody who's awake. Really, yes, which is 205 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:54.480 why it's really interesting. People say, you know, it's remsleep 206 00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:57.360 or deep sleep. They could not be more different. In fact, 207 00:10:57.399 --> 00:10:59.519 one of the only ways you can tell that somebody's 208 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:02.080 dreaming if you're just looking at their brain is to 209 00:11:02.120 --> 00:11:05.840 look at their muscle tone. Because when we dream, we're paralyzed, 210 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:08.639 so it's obvious from looking at a videotape, Oh, she's 211 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:12.960 dreaming and she's awake, that's pretty obvious. But to purely 212 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:16.639 look at the brain's activity, it's very difficult to discern, 213 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:19.080 and not to mention there's eye movements, so these very 214 00:11:19.159 --> 00:11:23.159 unusual bold eye movements that happen when we're dreaming that 215 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:25.360 we don't see when we're awake. But really that muscle 216 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:29.200 tone is the biggest way we differentiate somebody electrographically is 217 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:31.159 to whether or not they're sleeping or they're awake, which 218 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:33.600 is fascinating. So when you dream you're sitting there taking 219 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:36.559 a test or whatever, you're being chased by wolves or 220 00:11:36.600 --> 00:11:39.559 whatever you like to dream about, you actually can't move 221 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:41.919 when those things are happening, nor can we really regulate 222 00:11:41.960 --> 00:11:44.440 our body temperature, which is kind of interesting too. One 223 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:46.240 thing that's fun to think about is sleep is not 224 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:48.600 a light switch, so we're not awake, and then the 225 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:50.879 light switch goes off and when we're asleep like it's 226 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:54.799 a state on off. It's really sleep is a mechanism 227 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:58.240 in our brain. But then vigilance or wakefulness is too, 228 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:00.279 so it's really too switches. So when you're a and 229 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:03.000 we're sitting here talking, our wake switches turned on, our 230 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:06.759 sweet sleep switch is turned off, and we sleep vice versa. 231 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:10.440 Now sleep broalysis is the wake and the sleep switch 232 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:12.000 being turned on at the same time. 233 00:12:12.039 --> 00:12:15.159 Oh my god, that is are these switches kind of 234 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:19.080 like instead of binary switches. There are more like levers 235 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:21.600 that go kind of absolutely down. 236 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:24.960 Like absolutely and they're affecting each other. So as the 237 00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:27.919 sleep switch gets turned on, it's like the I don't 238 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:29.759 know if you've ever been like like a water park, 239 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:32.759 Like an indoor water park often has this massive bucket 240 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:35.840 in the middle of it. It's constantly getting filled with water, 241 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:38.440 and every you know, seven minutes, it just dumps it 242 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:41.440 on everybody. So that's kind of how sleep, you know, 243 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:44.039 sleeping wakefulness. As we are awake and talking, we're culating 244 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:47.879 chemicals that are making that sleep bucket wanting to tip 245 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:50.360 over more and more, which is why we are a 246 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:53.000 lot sleepier at eleven PM than maybe eleven am. 247 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:55.960 And so what happens in sleep that is kind of 248 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:58.879 like a janitorial system. Like I read something about how 249 00:12:59.399 --> 00:13:03.159 with all signs and other brain diseases that your brain 250 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:06.120 kind of like rinses off plaques. Perhaps I don't know 251 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:08.600 absolutely what kind of things are we cleaning. And I'm 252 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.559 also asking you this as a way to get myself 253 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:12.279 to sleep more. 254 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:16.159 So, Yes, when I was in medical school back in 255 00:13:16.200 --> 00:13:21.039 the late nineties, I remember the lecture on the lymphatic 256 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:25.440 system with an l lymphatic, which is the cleaning janitorius 257 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.840 A great word, janitorial system of our body. It's getting 258 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:31.759 rid of waste products, kind of flushing it out. And 259 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:35.159 I remember our lectures saying, but interestingly, the brain doesn't 260 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:37.639 have one. And then we went on to the next topic, 261 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:40.279 and I remember sitting there thinking, wait a minute, the 262 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:43.639 most important organ of our brain, our body does not 263 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:46.399 have this genitori system. So it turns out that he 264 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:51.279 and science was wrong. This fantastic researcher in Maryland, she 265 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:54.720 discovered it. And I'm blanking on her name right now. Netterguard, 266 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:55.480 I believe was her. 267 00:13:55.440 --> 00:14:01.120 Name, Danish neuroscientist, doctor Mikan Nettergard in twenty for anyone 268 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:03.600 who just wants to get a tattoo of a new 269 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:04.279 science hero. 270 00:14:04.919 --> 00:14:07.080 So she not only discovered it, she named it the 271 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:13.039 glimpatic system with a G and realized very quickly that 272 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:15.519 not only is it pumping out waste products, but it's 273 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:18.320 ten times more active when we sleep at night, the 274 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:19.000 more we're awake. 275 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:22.679 Now, what exactly what other things are we cleaning out 276 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:25.840 other than the plaques? Like what how does that affect 277 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:28.759 our memory and our motor coordination? And like our ability 278 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:32.080 to think quickly by having a clure breeze. 279 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:35.399 Yeah, so all those things you mentioned are true, and 280 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:37.440 you can look at science in one of two ways. 281 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:41.080 You look at the science that either deprived or restricted sleep, 282 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:43.759 or you can look at sort of newer science where 283 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:47.120 you force people to sleep longer and even just rest longer. 284 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:50.240 But even if you just restrict sleep, those things, to 285 00:14:50.279 --> 00:14:52.559 me are much more meaningful. I think most people believe 286 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:54.039 that if you stay up all night, you don't work 287 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:56.000 that well the next day. But what if you got 288 00:14:56.039 --> 00:14:58.320 four or five hours of sleep for several days in 289 00:14:58.320 --> 00:14:58.720 a row. 290 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:01.200 So I use a fitbit, and this was actually me 291 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:05.399 all last week averaged four hours a night for an 292 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:10.039 entire week. I was so foggy that I confused my itinerary. 293 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:13.279 I missed my first flight in ten years, and then 294 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:16.120 I cried in an airport bathroom out of frustration at myself, 295 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:19.559 like a big, weepy, cranky baby. So does lack of 296 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:21.879 sleep make me a weak person? 297 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:22.200 Though? 298 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:24.519 Well physically yes. 299 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:27.440 It's been shown that you bench press drops by thirty 300 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:30.639 you know, twenty to thirty pounds. We make three times 301 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:36.200 more attention attention errors. We have a much more impaired 302 00:15:36.279 --> 00:15:40.480 ability to read the emotions and cues of others. Now, 303 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:42.320 the flip side is what if you do sleep, What 304 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:44.120 if you do spend more time in bed? What if 305 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:46.919 you're forced to spend ten hours in bed? No matter what, 306 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.440 sleeping or resting. And it shows that people run faster, 307 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:56.559 they swim faster, they react to things quicker, their accuracy 308 00:15:56.600 --> 00:16:00.240 in terms of aspects of their life improve, They're happier, 309 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:03.039 they have better ideas. It's just amazing. 310 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.200 And yes, so you may know doctor Winter's first book, 311 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:09.519 The Sleep Solution, but he since published another called The 312 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:13.080 Rested Child. And I asked him if kids sleep tends 313 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:16.200 to be an overlooked issue, and he said yes and 314 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:19.039 sent me back an excerpt from The Rested Child, which 315 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:20.720 he said I can read to you. So it says 316 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:24.360 sleep disorders in children are on the rise, and all 317 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:28.639 too often these disorders are undiagnosed. And it's been estimated 318 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:32.360 that ten percent of children have a diagnosable sleep disorder. 319 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:35.440 But more than half of all the children who display 320 00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:38.399 signs of a sleep issue are not diagnosed properly. And 321 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:43.080 every year children are treated for diseases like diabetes, learning disorders, 322 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:46.399 and chronic pain when the root cause of their ailment 323 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:49.279 may actually be a sleep disorder for which they're not 324 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:52.559 being treated, and he writes, even if a child happens 325 00:16:52.600 --> 00:16:56.480 to be lucky enough to receive a proper diagnosis, only 326 00:16:56.600 --> 00:17:00.279 five percent of those with a recognized sleep problem or 327 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:04.480 disorder received any therapy for their condition. According to one study, 328 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.880 for children struggling with mental health issues, the percentage of 329 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:10.640 those dealing with sleep disorders balloons up to as much 330 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:14.039 as seventy five percent, and often the sleep disorder is 331 00:17:14.119 --> 00:17:19.200 contributing to or masquerading as the psychiatric problem. He continues, 332 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:23.039 The Nation's Sleep Foundation estimates that two out of every 333 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:26.720 three children in the United States will experience some type 334 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:30.519 of sleep problem before they reach adulthood. So again, that 335 00:17:30.680 --> 00:17:33.359 was an excerpt from his book The Rested Child, which 336 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:35.559 I'll link in the show notes in cases of interest. 337 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:40.079 And we recorded the main interview from this episode in 338 00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:45.119 twenty eighteen, and since it aired it's now five years later. 339 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:48.640 I've completely changed my relationship to sleep. I used to 340 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:50.920 fall asleep on the couch with the lights on four 341 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.400 or five times a week because I had no sleep hygiene. 342 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:57.000 I never thought I deserved rest and so I just 343 00:17:57.160 --> 00:17:59.839 dozed off in the middle of working late. But now 344 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:03.200 bedtime is honestly my favorite time of day. I get 345 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:07.160 great sleep. I've completely changed this really big problem in 346 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:10.720 my life because of this episode and Doctor Winter. So 347 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:14.599 what are better sleep habits? The CDC has some hot tips. 348 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:18.599 Centers for Disease Control, who apparently considers not sleeping enough 349 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:21.440 kind of a disease, says, be consistent. Go to bed 350 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:24.359 at the same time each night, including weekends. If you 351 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:27.839 can make sure that your bedroom is quiet, dark, and 352 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:32.240 relaxing and at a comfortable temperature. We've learned colder is better. 353 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:37.279 Who knew? Remove TVs, computers, smartphones from the bedroom. The 354 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:41.160 CDC says to throw them into the simmering caldera of 355 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:45.680 a volcano if you have one. Also, avoid big meals 356 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:48.599 and caffeine before bedtime. We all kind of know that 357 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:51.319 we're supposed to do those things. I'm trying to shift 358 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:53.680 the way I'm thinking about sleep to thinking of it 359 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:56.240 as a free thing you can do to make your 360 00:18:56.279 --> 00:19:00.759 brain sharper and your skin glowier and your future less 361 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:04.519 addled with disease. So if sleep hygiene were a thing 362 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:07.559 you could buy and just not do. We would all 363 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:10.640 be so pumped for it, but really it's just a behavior, 364 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:13.599 so we have to see value in the behavior. How 365 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:17.400 much does sleep hygiene affect how much you actually sleep? 366 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.440 I would say that in terms of its ability to 367 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:24.960 solve a problem, twenty percent. So I would say of 368 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:27.319 the people out there who are struggling with their sleep, 369 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:31.400 that twenty percent of people, if they did something related 370 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:34.200 to sleep hygiene, could make their problem, you know, much 371 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:37.279 better or solve it. So I think sleep hygiene is important. 372 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:39.880 We want to set the stage for good sleep. We 373 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:42.759 want to have positive thoughts about sleep. So I think 374 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:45.680 that we need to cultivate that attitude, but understand that 375 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:46.880 it has its limitations. 376 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:50.759 And now, how dark and quiet should your room be? 377 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:55.119 Though? You know again, I think that if you're struggling 378 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:58.759 with your sleep, really dark and really quiet. 379 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:01.599 And what if you're in a cool, dark, quiet room 380 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:05.160 and you still can't catch an easys, well, your grandpad 381 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:09.319 ma can help. But what's my mom's big insomnia trick? 382 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:09.680 Here? 383 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:14.119 It is? I feel like it deserves a soft drum roll. Okay, good, 384 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:18.279 We're gonna call it the sleepy fancy nancy technique. My 385 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:21.079 mom does this thing she taught me that works like 386 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:24.440 a charm where you think of a category like fruits, 387 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:28.000 or boys' names or electronics, and then you go, what's 388 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:31.640 something that starts with a? Okay, apple, b BlackBerry? See, 389 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:34.359 and then you go down and I never make it 390 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.440 past like l I'm out. But do you have anything 391 00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:38.960 else like that? 392 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:41.160 I think that's awesome. 393 00:20:41.319 --> 00:20:44.400 Some sample categories you can use for this alphabet game, 394 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:50.519 types of fruit, boys names, girls' names, gender neutral names, cities, snacks, 395 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:55.920 vacation activities, clothing brands, cereals, items you would keep in 396 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.880 a purse, animals, really anything. 397 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:01.960 You've struck upon. Some it's very important give yourself a 398 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:04.640 task that's not trying to sleep saying like well, I'm 399 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:06.880 going to leave now, And it doesn't mean you don't 400 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:08.440 love them or want to be with them. And ohife 401 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:11.880