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Friday, March 29, 2024

Sleep Expert Debunks Common Sleep Myths

Credit: WIRED
Duration: 11:39s 0 shares 1 views

Sleep Expert Debunks Common Sleep Myths
Sleep Expert Debunks Common Sleep Myths

Dr. Ravi Aysola helps debunk (and confirm!) some common myths about how we sleep.

Do we only ever sleep with our eyes closed?

Does everyone need to sleep 7 hours a night?

Can you catch up on lost sleep?

Is insomnia all in your head?

Dr. Ravi Aysola is a Professor of Clinical Sleep Medicine at UCLA.

- Everybody sleeps,but not all of us knowhow important sleep is.Hi, I'm Ravi Aysola,and I'm a professor of clinicalsleep medicine at UCLA.Today I'm gonna debunksome myths about sleep,so we can all work on gettinga better night's sleep.[dramatic music]Our limbs are paralyzed during REM sleep.That is not a myth, that is true.There's circuitry within the brain,especially during REM sleep,that actually inhibitsour skeletal muscle tone.This is so we don't act outwhat we're dreaming about,and accidentally hurt ourselves.REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep,which is about 20% ofthe total time we sleep,is a unique neurologicand physiologic state.Our eyes are movingrapidly during that time,while the rest of our body's musclesare almost in paralyzed state,except for the breathing and eye muscles.It's when we tend to dream,it's also when our brains are very active.You may have woken upsometimes from a nap,or if you were particularlysleep-deprived,feeling like your mind is awake,but you can't move your body,that's sleep paralysis.It can be really scary,but it's not dangerous.It can happen in peoplewho've just beenchronically sleep-deprived,or it may be a sign of a sleep disorder.Some disorders of sleep,especially REM sleep,can result in inappropriatemuscle inhibition and paralysis.During wakefulness,people with narcolepsy,which is a disorder of sleep-wakeregulation in the brain,can actually experience whatwe refer to as "cataplexy."This can occur when they're surprised,excited,or laughing,and can result in themcollapsing to the ground even,in its extreme cases.We have animals that do this as well.Certain breeds of dogsexperience cataplexy,and when they get excited,they may actually collapse.We only sleep with our eyes shut.That's actually a myth.Some people may have their eyespartially open during sleep.This can happen in people whoare experiencing eye problems,or other medical problemsthat affect the eye.It can also happen in peoplewho are really sleep-deprived.Our brains have the abilityto have microsleeps,when we go to sleep forvery brief periods of time,and aren't even aware of it.This especially happensif we're sleep-deprived,and can happen with our eyes open.Having hemispheric sleep isadaptive for an aquatic mammal,because it makes surethat they still are able to goup to the surface to breathe,as well as be aware of predators.There's some data that suggeststhat humans may experience regional sleep.This may be times where our eyes are open,but we're not reallyregistering what's going on,because parts of ourbrain are not fully awake,especially if we're sleep-deprived.Everyone needs seven hours of sleep.That's a myth.The reason you often hearthat seven hours of sleepis the magic number ofhours of sleep we need,is based on a large number of studiesthat have looked at populations,and doesn't necessarily meanthat every individualneeds exactly seven hours.Some people need less.Some people may need more.The important thing isnot just how much sleep,but it's the quality of sleep,and how you feel after you've slept.Chronic insufficient sleep,less than seven hours a night,and especially lessthan six hours a night,is associated with anincreased risk of obesity,diabetes,cardiovascular disease,and mood disorders likedepression and anxiety.How much we sleep,and when we sleep,changes over our lifespan.Parents often complainabout their lazy teenagers,that they can't get up in themorning and get to school.During adolescence, thisis physiologic and normal.Now that we've recognizedthat wanting to stay up laterand wake up later, is normal for teens,a number of states haveimplemented policiesto delay school start times for teens.You can catch up on lost sleep.That's true,but it's really important whenyou catch up on that sleep,and how you catch up on that sleep.Sleep deprivation is bad for you,both in the short term and the long term.Acute sleep deprivationcan have negative effectson everything from your mood,your appetite,as well as your cognitive performance.Sleep debt is not getting enough sleepthat our bodies and brains needover a long period of time.We can pay that debt back, to a degree.What's critical is when wepay that sleep debt back.One way to do this is to take a power nap.I think the best time to take a napis in the early afternoon,sometime between one andfour, for most people.It's a natural dip inour circadian rhythms,when we tend to be alittle bit more sleepyduring the 24-hour day.Circadian rhythms are24-hour biologic rhythmsthat we have developed over time.Our planet goes throughphases of light and dark,and day and night.And so our behavior adjusts accordingly.Some people have areally hard time napping,especially when the sun is out.We like to mimic the environmentthat we sleep in at night.So keep it dark,or put some dark sunglasses on,anything that helps your body feellike it's time to take a nap.Can you learn somethingnew while you sleep?The answer is much more complicatedthan a simple yes or no.You're not gonna learn a languagejust by playing languagetapes while you're sleeping.If you've been working onsomething during the dayand trying to learn something new,auditory cues during the nightto help reinforce thatknowledge, may help.The key is we don't wanna disrupt sleepwhile we're trying to do that.More time in bed does not mean more sleep.If you're lying in bedawake, looking around,and especially if you're lying in bedgetting frustrated thatyou're not sleeping,and worrying about howyou're gonna do the next day,or when you're gonnafinally get some sleep,or how many hours you're gonna sleep.It's not helping the problem.There are things we cando to optimize our sleep.Having a comfortable mattress,making sure that your body'snot experiencing stress points,or that your muscles and jointsare not misaligned during sleep,can help improve thequality of your sleep.Some people find thatusing a weighted blankethelps them feel more secure during sleep,and that weight on their body,as well as potentiallynear their forehead,helps calm them.Though we're warm-blooded animals,our body temperature is notthe same throughout the day.The lowest point of our body temperatureis when we're in deep sleep.In some cases, cooling our headsas we're trying to fall asleepmay actually help us fall asleep.Some people have tried to do thingsas simple as putting a coolcompress on their head,as they're trying to fall asleep.A lot of people claim a hot orwarm bath before sleep helps.It actually may help cool the body,because the blood flow isgoing out to the surface,cooling our core a little bit more,and that may help us fall asleep.We also don't want tonecessarily be productivewhen we can't sleep,because the goal is to calmour nervous systems down.Better off getting up and doing somethingthat I would say is dull,boring, in a dim light.We want to try to avoid bright light,and especially blue light,'cause that can get us activated again,make it even moredifficult to fall asleep.Melatonin supplements help you sleep.That's true.Melatonin is actually a hormone,made in a part of the braincalled the pineal gland.Melatonin helps our bodyregulate our sleep-wake cycles naturally.Supplements that containmelatonin may not be good for you.The problem with supplementsis they're not all the same,and the dose of melatonin,the timing of it,and how much actually getsinto our body, can vary a lot,depending on the typeof supplement we take.The timing and the dose ofmelatonin are important,because our bodies react to melatoninat different times during the day.Depending on what we're trying to achieve,we may wanna give a low dose of melatoninseveral hours before we go to sleep,or a higher dose right before bedtime.Melatonin supplementsand melatonin treatmentmay be appropriatefor people with certaintypes of sleep disorders.Taking a high-quality melatonin supplementto help fall asleepwhen you're dealing with anunusual situation like jet lag,or shift work,may be appropriate,but taking melatoninsupplements all the timemay be covering up a problemthat needs to be looked into.Insomnia is all in your head.Insomnia's when people mayhave trouble falling asleep,staying asleep, or wakingup before they intend to.Insomnia can be relatedto both issues relating toour minds, and our bodies.Sleep disorders and mood disordersare really interconnected,and both can affect each other.If we're having difficultycoping with our feelings and emotionsthat can certainly impactour sleep, and vice versa.If we're not sleeping well,we often have a tough timeregulating our emotions as well.Trouble falling asleepcan be related to the way wedeal with stress or anxiety,or if we have troubleshutting off our brains,as we try to get to sleep.Trouble staying asleep may be a problemwith the way we're breathing during sleep,or movements during sleep.If you've done your best toimprove your sleep environment,and your sleep hygiene and habits,and still suffer from disrupted sleep,and waking up frequently at night,that may be a sign of a sleep disorder,and that may be a timeto get advice from a medical specialist.Snoring is harmless.That's definitely a myth.When we sleep, our muscles relax,including the muscles inthe back of the throat.Depending on the size and shapeof the soft tissues inthe back of the throat,the tonsils,the uvula, which hangsfrom the roof of the mouth,and the tongue,as well as the size of our jaw,the position that we sleep in,medications we may be taking,all these factors may interactto cause some people topartially, or completely,collapse the airway during sleep.Partial collapse andvibration of that tissuecauses a snore sound.So, can snoring be harmful?If the snoring is actuallymore than just snoringand interfering with our breathing,and causing oxygen levels to drop,then we call it sleep apnea.Sleep apneais when our bodies experiencerepetitive collapseof the airway during sleep,causing disruption in sleepand drops in oxygen levels.If this goes on for a longperiod of time untreated,it can result in symptoms of insomnia,frequent nighttime awakenings,waking up tired or foggy-headed,and daytime sleepiness.Over the long term,it can increase the chancesof other health problems,like high blood pressure,and mood disorders.In the US, about a thirdof people with sleep apneaare not overweight.Sleep apnea is morecommon in men than women,but women can develop sleep apnea too,especially after menopause.If someone tells you you snore,or you know that you snore,and especially if someone has commentedthat they've seen youstop breathing at night,that may be a sign of sleep apnea,and you should probably getthat checked out by a doctor.We eat eight spiders ayear while we're sleeping.That is definitely a myth.We eat only five spidersa night when we're asleep.Just kidding.When we sleep,we may inhale or microaspiratestuff that's in our mouth.This is usually not a big problem.We don't swallow orchew when we're sleepingas much as we would while we're awake.Thanks for tuning in.I hope this information todaywill help you get a better night's sleep,and better health.Sweet dreams.

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