1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,680 Speaker 1: So most people think they should be getting into bed 2 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: at the same time every day, and the exact opposite 3 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: is true. What you should be doing is getting up 4 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 1: out of bed in the morning at the same time 5 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,039 Speaker 1: every day, with very little fluctuation, maybe an extra half 6 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 1: hour on the weekends. 7 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 2: Hey, Hurdler's Emily Abadi here, bringing you another installment of 8 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:32,879 Speaker 2: Hurdle Moment from Hurdle. This week, I am chatting with 9 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:36,919 Speaker 2: doctor Brittany Blair all about sleep. It's one of her 10 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 2: specialties sleep and sex actually, but we're keeping things p 11 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 2: G for Hurdle Moment. I brought doctor Blair all of 12 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 2: your top questions on sleep, and we wrap about everything. 13 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 2: If there is an ideal time to get to bed 14 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 2: at night, to if it's problematic, if you're waking up 15 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 2: in the middle of the night, what the crazy dreams 16 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 2: you might be having right now? Mean and fun fact 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 2: I learned today some of your sleep habits are actually genetic, 18 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 2: which is kind of crazy. And now I have my 19 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 2: mom to thank I thank for being an early morning person. 20 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 2: Not going to make this intro super lengthy today, but 21 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 2: I do want to say if you have yet to 22 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 2: rate and review Hurdle in the iTunes store. Now is 23 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:25,000 Speaker 2: the perfect time to do it. It takes just a 24 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 2: few seconds. The link is in the description to this episode, 25 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 2: and it would mean the world to me if you'll 26 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 2: support what's happening here as always at Emily Abadi at 27 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:36,920 Speaker 2: Hurdle Podcast and if you have a hurdle moment of 28 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 2: your own to share or just want to say hi, 29 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 2: always available for you over email. It's Emily at Hurdle 30 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 2: dot us. And with that, let's get to hurdling. Today, 31 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 2: I am chatting with doctor Brittany Blair. She's a licensed 32 00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 2: clinical psychologist also board certified in both sleep and sexual medicine. 33 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 2: How are you doing today? I'm doing well. Thank you. 34 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 2: So I can't tell you how much I've been looking 35 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 2: forward to this conversation. I have been hunting up for 36 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 2: the right sleep expert to chat with me for a 37 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 2: while now, and you came highly recommended from my friends 38 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,239 Speaker 2: at Headspace. So thank you so much for making the time. 39 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: And yeah, I'm more than happy to It's my favorite topic. 40 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 2: My favorite topic, So tell me a little bit of 41 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 2: your backstory. I mean, it's so funny because when people 42 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 2: come on the show, my first question for them is 43 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 2: usually have you always had a vested interest and health 44 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 2: and wellness. So when you were growing up, did you have, 45 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 2: you know, any special interests in sleep and the mind. 46 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: I've always been interested in the mind, so I knew 47 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: from very early on that I wanted to become a psychologist, 48 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,519 Speaker 1: but I actually had no interest in sleep other than 49 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: you know, getting sleep myself. I always like to say 50 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: my two favorite favorite things sleep and sex. I ended 51 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: up specializing in both because I did not realize that 52 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: people have such a problem in both areas. So during 53 00:02:57,720 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: my very first year of grad school, I took a 54 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: workshop sexual health and learned that one in two women 55 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: and one in three men have a sexual problem, and 56 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: also learned how effective the solutions were and decided, okay, 57 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: this is going to be my life's work. And then 58 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: in my third year of graduate school, I was kind 59 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: of forced you don't really choose your training. In graduate school. 60 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: I was forced to do a rotation and a sleep clinic, 61 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: and I was like, why why sleep? You know, how 62 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: do you sleep? You just lay your head on the 63 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: pillow and you fall asleep. And realized how many people 64 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,079 Speaker 1: you know, anywhere between thirty to fifty percent of people 65 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: have trouble falling or staying asleep, and then also learned 66 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,839 Speaker 1: about the treatments for sleep and how effective they are. 67 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,279 Speaker 1: Started treating patients in that clinic and I was just transfixed. 68 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: I was immediately hooked. So I ended up doing a 69 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: double year long training. I did it one year long 70 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: training in Couples in Sex Therapy at UCLA and did 71 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: my post docket Stanford specializing in behavioral sleep medicine. So 72 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: now spend about half my time doing sleep and half 73 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: my time doing sexual health. And there's a lot of 74 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: themes that kind of underlie both mechanisms physiologically, psychologically, and 75 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: actually inter personally. 76 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 2: So interesting, so so interesting. So I'll let you in 77 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 2: on another secret. I filled in the hurdlers that I 78 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 2: was going to be chatting with a sleep expert. And 79 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 2: I don't know if I've ever had so many questions 80 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,160 Speaker 2: and thoughts and I want to know this tidbits poor 81 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:22,880 Speaker 2: in so they're excited to hear from you, and I 82 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 2: think first things first, I mean we can both agree 83 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 2: that right now, with everything that's going on, it is 84 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,360 Speaker 2: a time in that our anxiety levels are up, We're 85 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 2: feeling a little bit anxious, We're out of our normal routines, 86 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,239 Speaker 2: although by now maybe we have a new quote unquote 87 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 2: normal routine. So why is it that these stressful times 88 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 2: can contribute to wonkiness when it comes to our sleep patterns. Yeah, 89 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 2: it's a great question, you know. 90 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:53,720 Speaker 1: Prior to the pandemic, we saw a prevalence of insomnia, 91 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,480 Speaker 1: which is a clinically significant diagnosis. 92 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 2: Right. 93 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: This means that it consistently takes you difficult, consistently takes 94 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: a lo long time for you to fall asleep, You 95 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: have difficulty falling asleep, or you wake up in the 96 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: middle of the night can't go back to sleep, or you 97 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: wake up in those early morning hours and can't go 98 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,679 Speaker 1: back to sleep. All of those things are symptoms of insomnia, 99 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: and roughly thirty percent of the population experienced these symptoms 100 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: prior to them pandemic. During the pandemic, we saw those 101 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: prevalence rates increase up to seventy percent. So for all 102 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,599 Speaker 1: of us we had some some impact. I mean, the 103 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: pandemic impacted all of us and for many many of us, 104 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: it impacted our ability to sleep. Many reasons for that. Right, Obviously, 105 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: stress impact our ability to sleep. An active mind is 106 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: not conducive to sleep and active or stressful or worried 107 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: or stressed out. Our worried mind is not conducive to 108 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,559 Speaker 1: healthy sleep. And then also a lot of our sleep 109 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:44,080 Speaker 1: schedules got wacky, right because we didn't have a normal 110 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,599 Speaker 1: We weren't getting up but our normal on our normal time, 111 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:49,160 Speaker 1: normal routine. Kids weren't going to school, and so with 112 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:54,039 Speaker 1: an irregular sleep schedule, the sleep was significantly impacted and 113 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,359 Speaker 1: them pile on top of that, people being exposed to 114 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: massive amounts of negative news and media and tons of 115 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,040 Speaker 1: uncertainty about what's going to happen, what's happening now, what's 116 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: going to happen, what is the future going to look like? 117 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: Which led to a lot of bizarre dreaming. You're getting 118 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: less stimulus during the day because you're stuck in the house, 119 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:13,720 Speaker 1: and what you are getting is just full of bad 120 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: news or anxiety provoking news, and so people really notice 121 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: an uptick in bizarre, bizarre dreams or even nightmares. 122 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 2: Interesting. I'd love to dive into that bizarre dream tibit 123 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,160 Speaker 2: because I think that's one of the questions that came 124 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 2: in the most is why is it that my dreams 125 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 2: are a increasing and be literally just totally wacky. 126 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a lot of people are experiencing this. So 127 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: there are a couple of reasons. One is with an 128 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:41,479 Speaker 1: erratic sleep schedule. If you're sleep, if you're not falling 129 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: asleep at the same time and getting up at the 130 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: same time, the timing of your rem sleep rapidi movement sleep, 131 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:51,599 Speaker 1: which most of our dreaming occurs, is disregulated, and so 132 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: what happens is you will be waking up more frequently 133 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: in the night, so you may remember your dreams more. 134 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 1: And also you're not getting as much normally. When we 135 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: go out into the world every day, we have a 136 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: barrage of different forms of stimuli, right from like walking 137 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: down the street or driving down the street, engaging with 138 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: different people. More were trapped in our house, the mind 139 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: is actually trying to come up with stuff to stimulate itself, right, 140 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 1: So part of the reason, I think is lack of 141 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,480 Speaker 1: external stimuli in the environment because we're trapped inside or 142 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: we're trapped inside. And then also the elevated stress levels. 143 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: The media that we're consuming is quite stressful, and the 144 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: brain during dream sleep is trying to make sense of 145 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 1: the external world around us in order to ensure survival. Right, 146 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: sleep is actually a very primitive. Primitive part of the 147 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: brain regulates sleep. It's a very primal process, and so 148 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: the sleep part, the sleep part of your brain doesn't 149 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: really recognize that this is not a very well and 150 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: it has been for many people a very real threat 151 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 1: to your life, but doesn't recognize that this is in 152 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:54,880 Speaker 1: a very real threat right now, that's something you need 153 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: to do something about. So doing dreams, the brain is 154 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: kind of digesting what you feel is relevant information for 155 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: our survival. So if there is someone lis saying to 156 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: this who is determined to try to get some of 157 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: those old sleep good feelings back, is there anything that 158 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 1: they can do to ease into a more RESTful and 159 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: less maybe sometimes scary sleep pattern. Yes. Absolutely, And it's 160 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: actually opposite of what most people think. So most people 161 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 1: think they should be getting into bed at the same 162 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: time every day, and the exact opposite is true. What 163 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: you should be doing is getting up out of bed 164 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: in the morning at the same time every day with 165 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 1: very little fluctuation, maybe an extra half hour on the weekends. 166 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: By getting out of bed at the same time every day, 167 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: your body is going to get sleepy at the same 168 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 1: time every night. So the first tip would be get 169 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 1: out of bed at the same time every day. It's 170 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 1: incredibly important. It's the single most important thing you can 171 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,199 Speaker 1: do for healthy sleep and healthy sleep. A good, strong, 172 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: healthy sleep system is going to result in a decrease 173 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: in bizarre dreams if not only because your sleep will 174 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 1: be healthier, but because you'll be waking up less frequently 175 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: in the night. Still have dreams, especially until you can 176 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: get outside and your brain can have access to more 177 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 1: different forms of stimulation. But get not waking up in 178 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:08,880 Speaker 1: the middle of the night is going to help a ton, 179 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 1: and getting out of the getting out of bed the 180 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: same time every day is the best thing you can 181 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: do for kind of ensuring good quality sleep. And then 182 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: the other thing in this I know everybody has heard 183 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: this and I'll just iterate it here. But the other 184 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: thing is really reducing screen time and what you're exposing 185 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,840 Speaker 1: yourself to in the evenings. I like to say all 186 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 1: of us should be able to carve out nine to 187 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: nine and a half hours a day. In nine into 188 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: nine and a half hours, we are sleeping, maybe we're 189 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: having some form of sexual activity or relaxing activity, but 190 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: we're not looking at media, We're not looking at social media, 191 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,560 Speaker 1: we're not consuming news, we're not looking at our screens. 192 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:45,439 Speaker 1: Maybe we're reading a good old fashioned paper book or magazine. 193 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: So carving out a nine and a half wind hour 194 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,040 Speaker 1: window every day where you can just either be sleeping 195 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: or relaxing. The average adult needs seven to nine hours 196 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:55,079 Speaker 1: of sleep a night, so the odds that you need 197 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: nine and a half hours of sleep are very low. 198 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: But by carving out that time, you have maybe an 199 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: hour to an hour and a half of just wind 200 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,160 Speaker 1: down time in the evenings when you can kind of 201 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: prepare your brain and your body for healthy sleep. 202 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 2: And I think some of the things you just said 203 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 2: will probably be applicable to this next question that came in, 204 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 2: which is are there any tips to falling asleep faster? 205 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: Right? And so the counterintuitive thing there is the best 206 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,199 Speaker 1: tip to falling asleep faster is to get out of 207 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 1: bed at the same time in the morning. 208 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 2: Right. 209 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:26,839 Speaker 1: When people sleep schedule fluctuates, it compromises their ability to 210 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: fall asleep. And then also recognizing that sleep our brain 211 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 1: is not like a flip switch, right, It's more like 212 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: a volume knob or a dimmer switch, and so it 213 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:38,560 Speaker 1: takes our brain a while to wind down into sleep 214 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 1: and actually to wind up out of sleep. So most 215 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: people in the morning we call it sleep inertia for 216 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: the first kind of thirty minutes to an hour in 217 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: the morning are a little bit groggy. It takes them 218 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:51,160 Speaker 1: a while to wind up and be into complete alertness 219 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: and being kind of their brain online and ready to 220 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:55,440 Speaker 1: go for the day. And the same thing is true 221 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: in the evenings. And so that can best be done 222 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: by again, you know, roughly hour to hour and a 223 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: half prior to bed, really discontinuing any activity that is 224 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: productive or is too activating. So you want to be 225 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 1: doing things that are calming for the mind and relaxing 226 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,560 Speaker 1: for the body, and that ninety minutes before you'd like 227 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: to find you before you'd like to be falling into sleep. 228 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: But the other thing that people underestimate is the impact 229 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,680 Speaker 1: of light. And so now we have all these small 230 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: smart bulbs, so training your bulbs or setting your bulbs 231 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: that they actually get dim so you're in a very 232 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 1: dimly lit home in those hours before bed can work 233 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 1: wonders in terms of your brain producing it's natural melotonin 234 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 1: and you're being able to fall asleep. Right. 235 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 2: So two follow ups to that, the first one is 236 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 2: we keep bringing up that there's an ideal, you know, 237 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 2: kind of waking up at the same time every morning. 238 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,120 Speaker 2: One of the questions that came in my way was 239 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,560 Speaker 2: is there an ideal time to go to bed at night? 240 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:52,199 Speaker 1: No, so the ideal time to go to bed is 241 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: when you're feeling sleepy. So what I would what I 242 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: would recommend for people is carving out your whatever your 243 00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: sleep schedule is going to be. And this is largely 244 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: obviously it's impacted by the requirements of what you need 245 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,839 Speaker 1: to do during the day. But some of us are 246 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:09,240 Speaker 1: what we call neutral sleepers, meaning we get sleepy on 247 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,080 Speaker 1: average around eleven pm at night and we'll wake up 248 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:15,320 Speaker 1: around seven am. Others of us are night owls, meaning 249 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 1: we don't actually naturally get sleepy until much later one, 250 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: maybe even two am. We find our evening hours the 251 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 1: most productive time of our day, the most creative time 252 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:25,840 Speaker 1: of our day, and you don't want to talk to 253 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 1: us in the morning, right We're quite grouchy in the 254 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: morning and have a very difficult time waking up before 255 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,320 Speaker 1: eight or nine am. And then other people are morning 256 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 1: larks or what we call advance to sleep phase, where 257 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: they are not your party animals. These people are the 258 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,920 Speaker 1: folks that are really super duper sleepy by nine thirty 259 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 1: ten pm and are bright eyed and bushy tailed by 260 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,320 Speaker 1: five am. That is me, Oh, yeah, you're a morning lark, okay, 261 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: And that timing is genetic. Actually, so one or both 262 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: of your parents we're morning larks. And so the best 263 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: quality sleep is actually sleeping consistently with your biological clock. 264 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:00,560 Speaker 1: So if you're a morning lark, you're going to get 265 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:02,560 Speaker 1: your best sleep if you go ahead and stay consistent 266 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 1: with that morning lark schedule. And the same thing with 267 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: someone who's a night owl. And so there's not a 268 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:11,079 Speaker 1: specific time at night that is ideal. Everybody should be 269 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:13,920 Speaker 1: sleeping by midnight. It's much more about getting up in 270 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: the morning at the same time, not a specific time, 271 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:18,680 Speaker 1: but at the same time for you, whatever is the 272 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: best time, and that'll lead to feeling sleepy in the 273 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 1: evening and again carving out that ninety minutes prior to 274 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: your desired bedtime to really allow the mind to wind 275 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: down and prepare for sleep. 276 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 2: Now you're saying that a lot of this has to 277 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:33,800 Speaker 2: do with genetics, but I think one of the most 278 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:37,960 Speaker 2: popular questions I get all year round. Is someone who 279 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:40,880 Speaker 2: watches on social media, they see that I am a 280 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:44,480 Speaker 2: morning person, and they ask, how can I also become 281 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,520 Speaker 2: a morning person? If someone is predisposed to being a 282 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,360 Speaker 2: night owl, is it possible for them to switch the 283 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 2: patterns here? 284 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:56,080 Speaker 1: It is, but it's extremely difficult. It's kind of like saying, 285 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:58,480 Speaker 1: what's a little bit more difficult actually than getting your 286 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: hair dyed? If you're a blonde and you really want 287 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:02,160 Speaker 1: to be a brunette, you could be a brunette, but 288 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 1: you're going to have to be extremely consistent in the 289 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: salon every seven weeks, right, otherwise your natural hair color 290 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 1: is going to come out. And the same thing with 291 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,560 Speaker 1: your chronotype or your biological clock. You could certainly train 292 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 1: yourself to be a morning lark by setting your alarm, 293 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:18,040 Speaker 1: getting up early in the morning, exposing yourself to bright 294 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 1: light first thing in the morning. You can micro dose 295 00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: smel atonin three to four hours. In micro dose, I 296 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: mean three hundred micrograms three to four hours prior to 297 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:29,720 Speaker 1: your desired sleep time. Make sure you have really dim light, 298 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: relaxed setting and see if your body will fall asleep earlier. 299 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: But in order to maintain that earlier schedule, that is 300 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: counter to your biology. You will have to be extremely 301 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: consistent because going on vacation, taking time off work, anything 302 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 1: that you do is going to gradually pull you back 303 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 1: to your default, your biological default. So that's the important 304 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 1: thing for people to keep in mind. 305 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:54,040 Speaker 2: You said a really big buzzword here, melotonin. Now, I 306 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 2: have dabbled with melotonin for years in and out. At 307 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 2: the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a few 308 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 2: different studies that I read talking about positive correlations right 309 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 2: now in this time by taking melatonin and going to bed. 310 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 2: So I thought to myself, why not let's do it. 311 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 2: So give me some insight onto melotonin. Firstly, what does 312 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 2: it do by taking extra then the body is already producing? 313 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 2: And secondly, is there such a thing as having too 314 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:22,479 Speaker 2: much or using it too regularly? 315 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 1: Yes, so lots of thoughts on this. First of all, 316 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 1: there are the studies that we have looking at melatonin 317 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:31,240 Speaker 1: and its efficacy on sleep on set suggests that it 318 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: is a placebo effect. So people who take a milligram 319 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,240 Speaker 1: to miligram through miligram of melatonin, they may very well 320 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 1: perceive that they fall asleep more quickly or more readily, 321 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 1: and that is due to placebo, not to any active 322 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 1: agent in the melatonin, So that's one thing. Secondly, melatonin 323 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 1: is produced naturally by the brain. So anytime we have 324 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: an endogenous production or natural production of something, putting a 325 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: supplement in our body of the same thing can be 326 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: problematic affect our own natural melotone in production. And then thirdly, 327 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:02,520 Speaker 1: melatonin is not Supplements in the United States are not regulated. 328 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:05,440 Speaker 1: It's not a regulated industry, so we have no way 329 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 1: of knowing if what you're taking in that melatonin pill 330 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:10,640 Speaker 1: is a melatonin or if it is wheat or sand 331 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:12,920 Speaker 1: or dirt for that matter, or hey, you know, there's 332 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: just no way for us to know what's actually in 333 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: that supplement in that individual pill. And in studies that 334 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,160 Speaker 1: have been done looking at the contents of melatonin within 335 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,160 Speaker 1: one bottle of melatonin, we have found there's seventy percent 336 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 1: less than what stated on the bottle and four hundred 337 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 1: percent more and that's just in one bottle when looking 338 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 1: at the actual, yeah, what it actually contains. So with 339 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 1: that said, there is some benefits to taking micro doose melatonin, 340 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,960 Speaker 1: which is three hundred micrograms. You can't even find it 341 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,040 Speaker 1: at a normal drug store. So it's a little bit 342 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: difficult to find three hundred micrograms for jetlag and for 343 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 1: shifting your biological clock. So, for example, if you're a 344 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: morning lark, taking three hundred micrograms in those early morning 345 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: hours can help gradually overtime shift your biological clock later. 346 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 1: If you're a night owl, taking melatonin three to four 347 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,119 Speaker 1: hours prior to your desired sleep time can shift your 348 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:08,720 Speaker 1: biological clock earlier, if that makes sense. 349 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:11,800 Speaker 2: So three to four hours seems like a decent amount 350 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:13,960 Speaker 2: of lead time there. It is. 351 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: So what it does is when you take a teeny 352 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: teeny dose of it is it almost acts like an inoculation, right. 353 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 1: It causes your body's natural melatonin production to ramp up. 354 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:24,680 Speaker 1: So it gets that little tiny hit of melotone and 355 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,040 Speaker 1: the body says, oh, whoa, it's time to start producing melatonin. 356 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:29,080 Speaker 1: And that's what makes you fall asleep earlier. 357 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 2: Interesting, And so there's a difference between reaching for that 358 00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 2: hard to find microdose and taking what some of the 359 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:40,120 Speaker 2: more readily available amounts would be, say, from your local 360 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:41,160 Speaker 2: drug store. 361 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: Right, So most people will take one to three miligrams 362 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:46,560 Speaker 1: of melotonin at night when they want to fall asleep 363 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:49,320 Speaker 1: and again, it can be quite effective for some people, 364 00:17:49,320 --> 00:17:52,680 Speaker 1: but the effect is dutible. Ciba, the active agent melotone, 365 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 1: can also create grogginess the next morning because what's happening 366 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:59,479 Speaker 1: is your body naturally produces melos starts producing melotonin. When 367 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,159 Speaker 1: it starts to get dark outside, right, the melatonin production 368 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:05,680 Speaker 1: goes up. When light hits the optic nerve, the melatonin 369 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:08,119 Speaker 1: production stops. It sends a message to the neogland to 370 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:11,240 Speaker 1: stop producing melotonin. So the body kind of naturally has 371 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,840 Speaker 1: an on set melotonin production and offset molotonin production. So 372 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:18,440 Speaker 1: by giving you something synthetic, you're screwing with messing with 373 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,720 Speaker 1: the timing of your body's natural melatonin. So unless you're 374 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: doing that very strategically, it's not a good idea generally. 375 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,920 Speaker 2: And if there are individuals listening who are regularly taking 376 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:32,600 Speaker 2: melatonin but aren't experiencing some of the negative effects are 377 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:36,240 Speaker 2: possible negative effects that you are talking about, is their 378 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:38,840 Speaker 2: reason for them to stop or what would you advise 379 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:39,480 Speaker 2: to them? 380 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: I mean, I always advise that people sleep clean, in 381 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:45,360 Speaker 1: other words, not take anything for sleep if they can, 382 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 1: if they can, if they're really not able to sleep, 383 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:50,360 Speaker 1: or believe that they're not able to sleep without it. Then, 384 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: of the things that you take that impact sleep, melatonin 385 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:55,200 Speaker 1: is certainly among the less harmful. 386 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:56,879 Speaker 2: But you know, sleep is. 387 00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:00,240 Speaker 1: A natural passive process, just like breathing, and if we 388 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:02,280 Speaker 1: can get to the place where we can avoid taking 389 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:04,840 Speaker 1: stuff to actually impact the sleep, I think we're better off. 390 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,399 Speaker 2: Got it? Okay, shifting gears a little bit. We have 391 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,479 Speaker 2: a lot of different awesome stellar athletes that listen to 392 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 2: the show and one of the questions that came in 393 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 2: is should I be increasing the amount of sleep that 394 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 2: I am getting during a training cycle so someone who 395 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 2: might be taking on a little bit more activity than usual. 396 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:27,239 Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, Actually, there was an interesting study done at 397 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:30,919 Speaker 1: Stanford with Stanford's basketball varsity basketball team and what we 398 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,000 Speaker 1: did with them is we actually, very very very gradually 399 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:36,680 Speaker 1: increase their total time in bed so that they were 400 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:39,280 Speaker 1: actually sleeping more. That was the only thing that changed 401 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,399 Speaker 1: about their training program. So all of the other their diet, 402 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 1: the drills, they were doing, everything else did the same 403 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: except me slowly, over two weeks increase their time in bed, 404 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:51,679 Speaker 1: and what we found is shooting accuracy and sprinting speed 405 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: went up. So any professional athlete knows that sleep is 406 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:59,159 Speaker 1: actually imperative to performance. So if one can again not 407 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:01,280 Speaker 1: giving yourself in side by getting into bed, not being 408 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,640 Speaker 1: able to sleep and trying to force sleep, but if 409 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 1: you can very gradually increase your time in bed by 410 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,880 Speaker 1: fifteen minute increments every few days, and that is increasing 411 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 1: your total sleep time, that is one of the best 412 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 1: things you can do to increase athletic performance for sure, 413 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:17,200 Speaker 1: and to enhance recovery. Right. 414 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:17,919 Speaker 2: Deep sleep. 415 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 1: One of the only things that we know really increases 416 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: the amount of deep sleep naturally that the brain gets 417 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,639 Speaker 1: is by training, like intense exercise during the day, and 418 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:29,920 Speaker 1: so the brain and the body need that deep sleep 419 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,119 Speaker 1: in order to repair muscle repair, like all of the 420 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,960 Speaker 1: process the body goes through to repair and prepare for 421 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:36,160 Speaker 1: performance the next day. 422 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,720 Speaker 2: Let's talk a little bit about that kind of angry 423 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 2: feeling you get when you cannot fall asleep and then 424 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 2: it kind of starts building up in your mind and 425 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 2: then you're frustrated and you're wondering if I have insomnia, 426 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 2: and it just spirals out of control. So for someone 427 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:55,880 Speaker 2: who feels like they experience that dreaded spiral on the regular, 428 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 2: so to speak, what kind of advice would you offer 429 00:20:58,680 --> 00:20:59,040 Speaker 2: to them. 430 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:02,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, Well, the first thing I would say is, look, 431 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: you're not alone. This has experienced many people, if not 432 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 1: most people haven't had at least some point in their life, 433 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 1: you know, stressed about a test the following day, or 434 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: argument with a partner, something that causes an increase in 435 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: what we call hyper arousal, which makes the sleep more difficult. 436 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:19,480 Speaker 1: So the way I think about it is sleep is 437 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 1: a passive process. The more we make it active, the 438 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 1: less well things are going to go. Same with sex. Actually, 439 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:26,239 Speaker 1: if I were to hold a gun to your head 440 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: and tell you to clap your hands and stomp your feet, 441 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:29,680 Speaker 1: you could do it all day long. If I were 442 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: to hold a gun to your head and tell you 443 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:33,199 Speaker 1: to fall asleep and or get an erection and or 444 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 1: have an orgasm, it's never going to happen these Sleep 445 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:40,840 Speaker 1: is a passive process, right, meaning the less attention that's 446 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 1: placed on it, the more likely it is to happen. 447 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,399 Speaker 1: This is why lots of folks who suffer with chronic 448 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:47,720 Speaker 1: insomnia will be sitting on the couch in front of 449 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: the television and fall sound asleep, and then they get 450 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: up and go into bed, and immediately their mind is 451 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,120 Speaker 1: active and they're not able to sleep right. And that's 452 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:57,880 Speaker 1: because by getting up and walking into bed a place 453 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,560 Speaker 1: where the sleep has been very painful and difficult, all 454 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:02,920 Speaker 1: of a sudden the sleep becomes active. Oh my gosh, 455 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:04,440 Speaker 1: I've got a fall asleep. I'm not going to be 456 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:06,200 Speaker 1: able to function tomorrow. I'm not getting to sleep. It's 457 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 1: taken me too long to fall asleep, and now something 458 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,600 Speaker 1: that should be very passive has become active. Pressure has 459 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:13,879 Speaker 1: been put on the sleep performance pressure, and it's not 460 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:15,200 Speaker 1: going to work. It's never going to happen. 461 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 2: That could be Madnate, Please, I have been there, and 462 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:21,439 Speaker 2: I actually personally what I did when I started to 463 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:24,280 Speaker 2: experience a string of these things was actually lean into 464 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:27,919 Speaker 2: the Headspace sleep casts and it was like it worked. 465 00:22:28,119 --> 00:22:30,560 Speaker 2: I think, maybe not on the first evening that this 466 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:32,480 Speaker 2: happened to me, but the second evening that this happened 467 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:34,399 Speaker 2: to me, it worked. And so then I had a 468 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 2: positive association with like, oh, this is going to be 469 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 2: my magic thing that I can do when I'm up 470 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 2: in the night. My head is racing, and so I'll 471 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 2: just ask Alexa to play one of those sleep casts 472 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 2: and it was so so helpful for me, and I 473 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:49,200 Speaker 2: didn't have to leave my bed and I was able 474 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:51,160 Speaker 2: to get back to a calm place. And so I mean, 475 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,520 Speaker 2: obviously not everyone's going to turn on headspace and it's 476 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 2: going to be the immediate fix. But for me, again 477 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 2: that positive association, it was like an easy thing that 478 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:01,440 Speaker 2: I could do and I could ease my way back 479 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 2: into sleep. 480 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: That can be a great tip or technique, and I'll 481 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: give you like the positive negatives of that. So the 482 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 1: reason that Headspace sleep cast works and I was involved 483 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:13,600 Speaker 1: in working on their sleep programs, so I'm a huge 484 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:15,919 Speaker 1: fan of headspace. But the reason that that works is 485 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 1: because it's focusing your mind. So a focused mind is 486 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 1: a calm mind, and in order for sleep to happen, 487 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,639 Speaker 1: the mind has to be calm. If you think about it, 488 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: our bodies are most vulnerable during sleep and sex, so 489 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,120 Speaker 1: if the mind is active in any way, things are 490 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:31,480 Speaker 1: not going to go well. So it's just kind of 491 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: intuitive when you think about it. So if the mind 492 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 1: is focused on a sleep cast, on a story, or 493 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:38,480 Speaker 1: what's going on inside of your body, then the mind 494 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: is calm and sleep is likely to happen. The moment 495 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:44,959 Speaker 1: that the mind gets activated, sleep becomes more challenging. So 496 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,479 Speaker 1: the downside with headspace is if you then create an 497 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: association between I have to have my sleep cast in 498 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,119 Speaker 1: order for me to sleep, it's going to backfire on 499 00:23:55,200 --> 00:23:59,200 Speaker 1: you because again, most sleep naturally occurs when it's just 500 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: when we're not thinking about it. There's no performance pressure. 501 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: So anything external that you use, I'm not saying this 502 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:07,480 Speaker 1: head cast or bad, or the sleep cast or bad. 503 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,000 Speaker 1: I'm just saying becoming dependent on anything external to your 504 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: own mind eventually can become problematic. 505 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,560 Speaker 2: So then another example of possibly way that someone who 506 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:18,960 Speaker 2: wakes up in the middle of the night wants to 507 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,200 Speaker 2: go back to bed is having some trouble. What's another 508 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 2: example or a tip that you would offer them to 509 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 2: get back to sleep? 510 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: So it you know, I'd like to think of that 511 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 1: arousal or kind of the activation around sleep on a 512 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 1: scale of zero to five. So zero being that that 513 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,160 Speaker 1: stage where you know, right as you're drifting into sleep, 514 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,159 Speaker 1: your body's totally relaxed, your mind is calm, and you 515 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 1: kind of go over the waterfall into sleep, and five 516 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: being a full blown panic attack. Right, so five you're 517 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: very activated. There's no way you know your mind is 518 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:50,159 Speaker 1: in a state of fire or flight, there's no way 519 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 1: you're going to go to sleep. So if you're a 520 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,920 Speaker 1: two or three or under right, so you're feeling fairly calm, 521 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,439 Speaker 1: you're certainly not activated or anxious in any way, but 522 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,479 Speaker 1: the sleep isn't really coming. Several things you can do. 523 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: One you certainly can use your head cast or your headspace. 524 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:09,920 Speaker 1: You can also use internal ways of meditating or focusing 525 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:12,760 Speaker 1: the mind, so focusing on the breath. You can do 526 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: a body scan where you're trying to focus all of 527 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:16,840 Speaker 1: your attention on your toes and kind of work your 528 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,919 Speaker 1: way upward. For people who are more cerebral and less sensory, 529 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:25,040 Speaker 1: you can do something like cereal sevens, or you start 530 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,720 Speaker 1: at one hundred and count backward by seven. Just enough 531 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:33,600 Speaker 1: concentration to focus the mind. That will help calm the 532 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:35,600 Speaker 1: mind and help the sleep come more readily. 533 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:36,679 Speaker 2: So anything like that. 534 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:39,240 Speaker 1: If you're feeling activated, so let's say on that scale 535 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:41,480 Speaker 1: of zero to five, you're more in that three range, 536 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,480 Speaker 1: You're not panicking, but you're definitely kind of feeling wide awake, 537 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:46,720 Speaker 1: then there's no point in doing any of those things. 538 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: Then what you want to do is sit up in 539 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 1: bed and read something not on a digital device, but 540 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 1: read something only until the mind starts to calm again 541 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 1: and you start to fill those heavy eyelids. Then you 542 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,120 Speaker 1: can put the reading material down, lay back down and sleep. 543 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,400 Speaker 1: See if sleep is ready to come back. If you're 544 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,440 Speaker 1: at a four or a five on that scale, get 545 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: out of bed. There's just no point. You're activated. You 546 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:08,160 Speaker 1: might as well go take a shower, go turn something 547 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: on TV. You're really too activated, and you want to 548 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: get out of bed, just until you feel yourself calming 549 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,720 Speaker 1: and relax down to that three to two to three range, 550 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:18,160 Speaker 1: and then you can get back into bed and see 551 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,480 Speaker 1: if sleep wants to come. But the idea is you 552 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:22,680 Speaker 1: want to with all of your effort, all your ability 553 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,959 Speaker 1: not chase the sleep. You can chase having a calm 554 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: mind and a relaxed body and then allow the sleep 555 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: to come to you. 556 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 2: I love that tip. That's super super helpful. Okay, So 557 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,960 Speaker 2: then as we wind down here, two more questions. First question, 558 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,120 Speaker 2: talk to me about sleep temperature. Is there one ideal 559 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,760 Speaker 2: temperature or just like the time you go to bed, 560 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:44,000 Speaker 2: does that vary from person to person? 561 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,399 Speaker 1: So your temperature fluctuates across the night depending on the 562 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,440 Speaker 1: sleep stage. That you're in. But ideally you keep your 563 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:54,199 Speaker 1: sleep environment very cool, and by cool I mean sixty 564 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,040 Speaker 1: three to sixty five degrees kind of cold. The cooler 565 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:00,440 Speaker 1: your sleep environment, the sleep context you're the ambient I'm mature, 566 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: the more quickly your body is going to go into 567 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,840 Speaker 1: deep sleep. So you don't want your sleep sleep. You 568 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: don't want your room to be too warm. If it's 569 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:10,960 Speaker 1: too warm, your body's going to stay in light stage sleep. 570 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 1: So the cooler, you know, really around that sixty three 571 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 1: to sixty five degrees. 572 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:18,120 Speaker 2: Okay, So that leads me in to the last question 573 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 2: we're going to have here. I'm earnning an air conditioner 574 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 2: now at night, I've got some definite white noise in 575 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 2: the room. Is white noise a good thing to have 576 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:28,879 Speaker 2: in your environment when you're going to sleep? And why 577 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:29,360 Speaker 2: is that? 578 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,159 Speaker 1: So if you think about anytime you want to think 579 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 1: about sleep, you can think about it. How we're sleeping 580 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:35,040 Speaker 1: if we were in a cave. 581 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:35,440 Speaker 2: Right. 582 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:40,240 Speaker 1: The ideal state or context for sleep is a cool 583 00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:44,680 Speaker 1: a very cold or cool dark quiet environment. So during 584 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,680 Speaker 1: light stage sleep, the brain is still processing external stimuli. 585 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: So if you have noises in the environment that you 586 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:54,239 Speaker 1: can hear during light stage sleep. Your brain is going 587 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:57,120 Speaker 1: to be processing those noises preventing you from falling into 588 00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 1: deep sleep. So white noise could be a great hack 589 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:02,280 Speaker 1: to prevent you from hearing, especially most of us that 590 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: are living in cities and out external noise, or you 591 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,280 Speaker 1: have maybe roommates or housemates, so white noise can be 592 00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:13,600 Speaker 1: brilliant to help mask those environmental sounds or noises that 593 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:17,480 Speaker 1: will impact your bodies of ability to fall into deep sleep. 594 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 1: So white noise can be a great tool. We don't 595 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:22,920 Speaker 1: recommend using white noise too close to the too close 596 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: to the bed, and certainly not too close to a 597 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 1: child's crib as it can affect hearing. But yes, generally 598 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:31,439 Speaker 1: having white noise is a great thing because it masks 599 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:33,600 Speaker 1: environmental noises that could disrupt the sleep. 600 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:36,399 Speaker 2: I do have one last question that popped into my 601 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:39,320 Speaker 2: head as we were on as you were talking about 602 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,080 Speaker 2: ideal sleep scenarios. I remember when I was younger getting 603 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 2: personal here, I used to have this dream about going 604 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 2: to the department store and playing with a certain set 605 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 2: of dolls or something, and I would always want to 606 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:54,600 Speaker 2: have this same dream over and over, and so I 607 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 2: would try to think about things before I went to 608 00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 2: bed that would make me have this dream, and sometimes, honestly, 609 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:04,320 Speaker 2: I felt like I was successful. So if someone is 610 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:07,280 Speaker 2: having or wants to have a specific dream, or like 611 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:11,040 Speaker 2: has had a series of recurring dreams, is that because 612 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,680 Speaker 2: maybe their mind is back in the same place time 613 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:14,320 Speaker 2: and time again. 614 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,400 Speaker 1: Yes, it could be so roughly ten to twenty percent 615 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,160 Speaker 1: of people, or what we call lucid dreamers, meaning they 616 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:23,200 Speaker 1: can actually control when and what they dream while they're 617 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:26,880 Speaker 1: dreaming it, and they're aware that they're dreaming. So you 618 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:30,120 Speaker 1: can develop the skill for lucid dreaming. It's absolutely something 619 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:32,760 Speaker 1: you can practice. And what you just described is exactly 620 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:35,400 Speaker 1: the way what we recommend to people is right before 621 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: you go to bed, try to bring to life as 622 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,720 Speaker 1: visibly as you can. I recommend people using their five senses. Right, So, 623 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:44,440 Speaker 1: if you're in the department store playing with toys or dolls, 624 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:46,720 Speaker 1: bringing to trying to bring to mind, what does it 625 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: smell like in there, what do they feel like as 626 00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:51,560 Speaker 1: you're touching them, How heavy are they as the fabric 627 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:53,840 Speaker 1: soft those kinds of things. What do you see in 628 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:56,960 Speaker 1: the environment, what do you hear? Really bringing to light 629 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,240 Speaker 1: that you're using your five senses as best you're able 630 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,840 Speaker 1: to try to bring that visual into your is as 631 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:05,680 Speaker 1: much as you can into your mind and then drifting 632 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 1: off to sleep kind of meditating on that visual. And 633 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,200 Speaker 1: this is increases the odds that you can you could 634 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:13,480 Speaker 1: lucid dream or decide what and when you're gonna dream. 635 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:16,440 Speaker 2: So you're saying that everyone listening to the podcast right 636 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,479 Speaker 2: now can think about being in Hawaii and buy some 637 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,320 Speaker 2: palm trees and smelling pinacoladas and maybe it'll work, and 638 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:24,320 Speaker 2: that's what we'll think about. 639 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly, Yeah, try to bring that image to life. 640 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:29,920 Speaker 1: What does that sound feel like? What does that piniccolada 641 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,840 Speaker 1: sand feel like the sound of the ocean, the pinacolada 642 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 1: on your tongue. Yes, focus on that and say, if 643 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:36,760 Speaker 1: you can't put yourself on the beach in Hawaii, that 644 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 1: sounds like come on right now and. 645 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 2: I'm going to hold you to that. Doctor Blair, thank 646 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,600 Speaker 2: you so much for your time today. If the hurdlers 647 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:44,200 Speaker 2: want to keep up with you, they want to learn 648 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 2: more from you, how can they find you online on 649 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:48,680 Speaker 2: social media? Give me all of the info. 650 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, you can, you can find me online. My clinic 651 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 1: is the clinicca dot org or you can just google 652 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:58,360 Speaker 1: doctor Britney Blair b R t n E y b 653 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:01,480 Speaker 1: l a I R and you will find me awesome. 654 00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 2: Well, thank you so so much. I am at Emily 655 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,600 Speaker 2: Body at Hurdle Podcast, Another hurdle conquered. Catch you guys 656 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:09,040 Speaker 2: next time