1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey you welcome to Stuff to Blow 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: your Mind. My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Julie Douglas. Julie, 4 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,439 Speaker 1: how much sleep did you get last night? Seven and 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: a half hours. It's pretty good. Yeah, it wasn't bad. 6 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: I mean, eight is the that's the ballpark, that's clean 7 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: living right there at eight. Right, that's what I aspire to. 8 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: But I need that. What about you? Um, let's see twelve, two, three, four. 9 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: I tend to get around like generally at my idea, 10 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: it's like it's seven, but I feel much better when 11 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: I get eight. Well, and it makes a huge difference, right, 12 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: Sometimes I get six. In the past, I found that 13 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: like I can sort of I can pull like one, 14 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: like one night a week. I can stay up a 15 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: little late, but then I need to make it out 16 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: like I don't know, I used to it. It was different. 17 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: You're younger, but well yeah, but but these days, yeah, 18 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: I find myself getting seven, but eight would be gravy. Well, okay, 19 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 1: so there's this idea out there that eight hours is 20 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: the ideal, or actually between six and eight hours sort 21 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: of depends. Everybody is wired a little bit differently, and 22 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,680 Speaker 1: certainly melotonin levels are different depending on depends how much 23 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: sleeping you're getting done on the train later on in 24 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: the day, or or under your desk in a secret 25 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: compartment that you've built that nobody can see that looks 26 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: like cubicle but it's not. Yeah yeah, yeah, um, but yeah, 27 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: there's this idea that um that there's are these are standards. 28 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,480 Speaker 1: They even call the this sleep hygiene these days. But 29 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: there's a really fascinating New York Times article, um actually 30 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: New York Times magazine. It is called the sleep industrial Complex. 31 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: And we'll talk a little bit more about this in 32 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: a second, but sleep industrial complex, the sleep industrial complex, 33 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: about this idea of sleep is being this you know, 34 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: god given right of eight hours and this is the 35 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: normalcy in this is sleep hygiene, and we should all 36 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: order these two thou dollar beds so that we can 37 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: sleep better because we spend half our lives sleeping. But 38 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: before we go into that, I wanted to mention that 39 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: we are of course talking about sleep, um this idea 40 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:19,519 Speaker 1: about whether or not in the future and the near 41 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 1: future we will need as much of it and the 42 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 1: reasons why. But before we go into the reasons why 43 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: we may or may not need sleep. Let's talk about 44 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:33,239 Speaker 1: the old days, the olden days of sleep. Well, sleep 45 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: was invented and when no, it wasn't, and we've always 46 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:38,119 Speaker 1: we've always slept. So I mean that's the thing when 47 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:39,959 Speaker 1: when you when you first brought this up, like, what 48 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: was what it sleep used to be? Like? My thought was, well, 49 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: it was probably like it was now. You got tired 50 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: in the evenings, maybe a little earlier, especially especially and 51 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: say if you're you feel like an agrarian kind of 52 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: environment going on, there's only so much you can do 53 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: at night. You need to get early, so when it's 54 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: too dark to work, you go to sleep. Or in 55 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: like saying medieval city settings where you would have certain 56 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: like curfews in place, you're not even you know, you 57 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: can only live it up so much at night, so 58 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: you might as well go to bed, right, Well, you 59 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 1: don't have electricity, right, so, yeah, there's not a ton 60 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: to do. Video games were primitive. There's a stick and 61 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 1: dirt and then your candle run out anyway, so eventually 62 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: you're tired of fighting the lights and you just go 63 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: to sleep and you could get eight hours I would guess, right, well, 64 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 1: what they're saying though, is that, um, you know, depending 65 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: on the time of the year, you could have ten 66 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 1: hours of sunlight in fourteen hours of darkness. And um. 67 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: In this article that I talked about that just talked 68 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: about the sleep industrial complex, Roger Ekra, professor of history 69 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: at Virginia Tech, says that for many centuries, and perhaps 70 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: back to Homer, Western society slept in two shifts because 71 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: there was so much darkness right there, fourteen hours and 72 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: you didn't have electricity. And he says that people went 73 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: to sleep, got up in the middle of the night 74 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: for an hour or so, and then went to sleep again. Thus, 75 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: night quoting here divided into a first sleep in a 76 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: second sleep, um. And this is where they have this intermission. 77 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: And he says that there was an extraordinary level of 78 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: activity during this intermission period. So it's not just like 79 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: I woke up, I stumbled into the bathroom, or I 80 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: stumbled into the kitchen and ate a chicken wing and 81 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: then I went to sleep. No, it's like you're getting up, 82 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: you're hitting the town for a couple of hours. Yeah. Yeah, 83 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: He's just that people would get up and they tend 84 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: to their animals, or they would do housekeeping, or they'd 85 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: have sex, or they just lay in bed thinking, um, 86 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: smoking a pipe. Pieces valid options, gossiping with bedfellows, because 87 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 1: I remember this is back in the day, like you 88 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 1: might be sleeping in a bed with six other people, 89 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:45,599 Speaker 1: not necessarily that that far away in some society. Like 90 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: when I read Black Robe, which I'm sure I've mentioned 91 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:52,559 Speaker 1: here before, the awesome novel had to do with the 92 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: Native American populations in the US, particularly hur On people, 93 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 1: and then also Jess Wits. But but there are a 94 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,839 Speaker 1: lot of descriptions of the of the group's sleeping environments 95 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: among the Hurran and and and and certainly, Yeah, it's 96 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: like it's a communal experience and if people were waking up, 97 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: you'd be able to chat a little, well, do it 98 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: or smoke? You would just spoke. Or if you're Benjamin Franklin, 99 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,480 Speaker 1: you would take a cold air bath, which means that 100 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: he would read naked in a chair and he'd call 101 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: it his cold air bath in the middle of the night. Yeah, 102 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: you can kind of see that really well, right, Like 103 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: for some reason then that's something that's easy to imagine. 104 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 1: I always imagine him now as the version that we 105 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: saw in the John Adams HBO mini series, played by 106 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:40,200 Speaker 1: that great actor whose name eludes me at the moment. Yeah, 107 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: that guy. But anyway, they kind of they play up 108 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,159 Speaker 1: his his bodiness a little, not to like comic degrees, 109 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,160 Speaker 1: but to but to what feels like a more realistic degree. 110 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: So I can imagine that Ben Franklin enjoying his cool 111 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: air bath during That's exactly what I thought of a 112 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: corpulent Ben Franklin. I have to say. Um So, anyway, 113 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: that the idea here is that um sleep has not 114 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: always done an unbroken block of six to eight hours, 115 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:10,720 Speaker 1: and that people have always sort of done different things 116 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:13,719 Speaker 1: with it. In fact, uh, there's no conclusive evidence, but 117 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: it's thought that Leonardo da Vinci practice something called polyphasic sleep, 118 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: and that's taking twenty to thirty minute naps every couple 119 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: of hours throughout the day and the night, which you 120 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: can actually see the advantages to that, right, because you 121 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: kind of get refreshed at at intervals. Well, I mean, 122 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: if you like. I've never tried it, but certainly if 123 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: I were to look at my own schedule, I would say, yeah, 124 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: when I wake up, those first six hours are are 125 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:42,480 Speaker 1: optimal for me. That's when I'm gonna get my best 126 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: writing done. That's when if I'm podcasting, that's when I 127 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:48,080 Speaker 1: need a podcast and am not in the PM, and 128 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: then by the afternoon I'm having increasing difficulty stringing words 129 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,799 Speaker 1: together or remembering where I kept things. So it would 130 00:06:55,880 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 1: it would seem logical that if I just increase my 131 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: waking periods, I would increase my optimal thinking periods as well, 132 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,160 Speaker 1: if you had a balance of the two. Sure. Yeah, Well, 133 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: it turns out, according to Eckerach, that slip disorders could 134 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: be especially the ones that in which you wake up 135 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: in the middle of the night and you have a 136 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: hard time getting back to sleep. Um that this may 137 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 1: actually not necessarily be a sign of being not being 138 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: able to fall asleep again, but could be rooted in 139 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: the more traditional pattern that we just spoke of, in 140 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: which there are ten hours of daylight fourteen hours of 141 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: darkness and people had those intermissions. M Now, I believe 142 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: there was a sign felt episode where Cramer was going 143 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: after Dilniana our DaVinci model and it ended up not 144 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: working for him. Not to say that that is a 145 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: clinical trial of of said sleep pattern, but but a 146 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: number of viewers probably make that connection. Oh and by 147 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: the way, Tom Wilkinson, the actor okay, okay, great well 148 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: and aeravetic medicine to there. There's different um dosia's they 149 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: call them, that rule different parts of the day. So 150 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: there's this idea that certain does you would fall asleep 151 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,680 Speaker 1: easily and then you would wake up, and that there 152 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: are some people who actually follow this. So these are 153 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: like four hour blocks of time. So if this certain 154 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: do show, which was more amenable to sleep, were to 155 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: occur during the day, and then you would sleep during 156 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: that time period. So they are all there are many 157 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 1: different ideas of sleep and how to accomplish it. Yeah, 158 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 1: I mean certainly, just in anyone's friend group, you can 159 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: probably think of various people who are you know, night work. 160 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: Like my sister for instance, she does she bakes beads 161 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: for jewelry. Uh and uh she does that like exclusively 162 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: in the wee hours of the morning and then sleeps 163 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: late and uh and we are stays up at night 164 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,200 Speaker 1: and works on it and then sleeps rather late. Whereas 165 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 1: I'm just the opposite of I'm gonna do something creative 166 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: um or or an involve spot. It's going to have 167 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 1: to happen in the a m SO, and you see 168 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: people with drastic differences in that. I can't think of anyone. 169 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 1: I've never met anyone who's like, yeah, middle of the day, Yeah, 170 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 1: right off at eat a sandwich about three o'clock. That's 171 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: when I was really yeah yeah. Um, alright, let's talk 172 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: about why we need sleep. We've talked about this a 173 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:10,640 Speaker 1: little bit before previous podcasts, but let's just sort of 174 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: have a refresher. That newborn sleep up to twenty hours 175 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: a day, um, and of course they need that because 176 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: they're secreting growth hormones and all sorts of crazy things 177 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: that are going on to help them grow. Um. And 178 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: then us adults log between six to eight hours of sleep, 179 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:29,080 Speaker 1: and it is essential to mammals. Yeah. Sleep, just just 180 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,199 Speaker 1: a few bullet points here. Sleep gives the body a 181 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,959 Speaker 1: chance to repair muscles and other tissues to replace aging 182 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: or dead cells. So it's the it's maintenance time in 183 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,440 Speaker 1: the old body. Sleep gives the brain a chance to 184 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,800 Speaker 1: organize in our archived memories, dreams or thought by some 185 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: to be part of this process. We've discussed that before. 186 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: The idea of the of dream that our dream cycle 187 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 1: is a is a problem solving um space that happens 188 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: at a at a subconscious level. Sleep lowers our energy consumption, 189 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: so we need three meals a day rather than four 190 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:02,439 Speaker 1: or five. And since we don't do anything you know, 191 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:04,160 Speaker 1: in the dark anyway, we might as well turn off 192 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 1: and save energy. That's, of course, going rolling back on 193 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:10,200 Speaker 1: older models of we're we're not nocturnal creatures. We can't 194 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 1: see anything, so we're gonna as well shut down also 195 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:17,680 Speaker 1: um as um as as the the Wigham child points 196 00:10:17,679 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: out in the Simpsons, sleep is where you're viking, So 197 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: there's that. That's that's right, sleep perchance to dream. Um. So, yeah, 198 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: a lot of the points back to the fact that 199 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: we have this three pound a little you know, operating 200 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:31,319 Speaker 1: system that does take a lot of energy. And as 201 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: you say, if we can turn off, then we can 202 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: conserve that and we don't have to keep feeding that. 203 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: So what happens when we we can't go to sleep, right, 204 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:41,439 Speaker 1: That's that's that's always been the problem. Because you can 205 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,120 Speaker 1: force yourself to stay up, be it out of sheer terror, 206 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 1: out of by the use of natural or illicit um substances, 207 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: or just sheer you know, intensity of thought. You you 208 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:58,439 Speaker 1: may be able to keep yourself to some degree awake 209 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: and not also various medical conditions. Of course we'll do 210 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,440 Speaker 1: this as well. UM, but you met this one night 211 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: of sleep, it's not going to kill you. You're generally 212 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,560 Speaker 1: gonna be irritable the next day. UH may slow you down. 213 00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: You become tired easily. Um. Or it's also if possibly 214 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: would be totally wired because of adrenaline. Um, you're still 215 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: just you know, pumping through it. Say you're running for 216 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,559 Speaker 1: your life from you know, monsters all night and then 217 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: into the next day. UM. All right, if you missed 218 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: two nights asleep, though, then it starts really kissing up 219 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 1: catching up with you. Concentration becomes difficult, attention span falls, UM, 220 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: Mistakes increase, like silly mistakes, even things that you do 221 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:41,040 Speaker 1: every day. You know, try download the dishwasher. You're gonna 222 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: break glasses left and right, that kind of thing. After 223 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 1: three days, though, that's when you start to hallucinate. Um, 224 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 1: and clear thinking becomes impossible. Um. And with contin you know, 225 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: you may start seeing spiders in the corners that aren't there. 226 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 1: You know, I actually have experienced that before when my 227 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: daughter is a newborn and being up in the middle 228 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: of the night with her so much, and at some 229 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,840 Speaker 1: point I remember hallucinating that the room was getting really 230 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: tiny big, and that's when I was like, Okay, this 231 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 1: is you know, these are the effects of not being 232 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,440 Speaker 1: able to sleep, and it is not. I mean, this 233 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,079 Speaker 1: is one of those things that that a large percentage 234 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: of Americans, um, and the rest of the world too, 235 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 1: really uh actually happened to them as well. I mean, 236 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 1: Americans get less than the generally recommended eight hours of 237 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 1: sleep per night and then they suffer some type of 238 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,559 Speaker 1: sleep deprivation symptom. What's worth pointing out about the three 239 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: days plus thing. Um, you were hallucinating a little bit, 240 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: but you were still ground in reality. You were like 241 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: I knew something was that you were like, the room 242 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: is not really moving, or you might realize there aren't 243 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,680 Speaker 1: really ghost spiders crawling in the corners of my vision. 244 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,520 Speaker 1: But it can reach the point where you actually lose 245 00:12:49,559 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: grasp of reality. Um. And we've we've had we've conducted 246 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 1: experiments where rats forced to stay awake continuously eventually die. Yeah, 247 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 1: they can live up to three years. But you're right, 248 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: if you were to take two or three weeks and 249 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: continuously deprive them of sleep, they would die. So we 250 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 1: know obviously that this is something that we cannot go without, 251 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: or can we That's the thing, because inevitably, I mean 252 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:15,679 Speaker 1: we we've all had that point be it. You know, 253 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,040 Speaker 1: especially if you if you've been in a college scenario, 254 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:20,679 Speaker 1: or you found yourself like dealing with a newborn or 255 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,840 Speaker 1: any kind of stressful, time consuming portion of your life 256 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: feel or or maybe you just through the video game 257 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: you want to play and you never have time for it, 258 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:30,760 Speaker 1: or hobby you want to pursue, or that book you 259 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: want to write, and you find yourself sleepy and out 260 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 1: of out of energy when you could work on it. 261 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: You may think yourself, Man, if I, if I could 262 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,080 Speaker 1: just get rid of this sleep thing, then that would 263 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:44,320 Speaker 1: totally open up my day. I'd have half my life back, 264 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:48,000 Speaker 1: and I could use that to go after these various 265 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:53,319 Speaker 1: UH endeavors. Or certainly in military and scenarios, we've had 266 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 1: situations where all right, we need to win this thing. 267 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:58,720 Speaker 1: We need these pilots to come in, fallow the planes 268 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:00,719 Speaker 1: and then go out again. But we need them to 269 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 1: be able to fly the plane. We need them to 270 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:07,719 Speaker 1: have UH, to have that alertness and inability that is 271 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:09,320 Speaker 1: there when they first wake up in the morning. How 272 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: can we sustain that. Yeah, let's talk more about the 273 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: history of soldiers and stimulants, because that's a great example. 274 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:18,439 Speaker 1: You have people who are in high stakes situations there 275 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 1: in different time zones, most of the time, they're in 276 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: a different climate, they're under extreme stress, and sleep is 277 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: a fleeting thing, right. There are times that you want 278 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 1: to turn it on and there are times that you 279 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: want to turn it off. Um And this I thought 280 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 1: was really interesting. The number currently of writtle and adderal 281 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: prescriptions written for active duty service members increased by nearly 282 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 1: one thousand percent in five years from that's from thirty 283 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,880 Speaker 1: to UM. But so it decreased or has increased from 284 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:50,520 Speaker 1: three thousand to thirty two thousand and try Care Management Activity, 285 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 1: which is an arm of the Department of Defense, says 286 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: that this is because there have been increased diagnosis of 287 00:14:56,200 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 1: a d h D. But then we know the military 288 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,440 Speaker 1: where he has had a long history of using stimulants 289 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: to help keep troops alert and awake. And certainly, I 290 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: mean you're dealing with military environments. You know, combat environments. 291 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: It's it's ultimately a matter of life and death. So 292 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 1: it's it's alright, it's hard to argue against the use 293 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: of those those substances in these circumstances. I mean, if 294 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,360 Speaker 1: if you're looking at this this individual, is this individual 295 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 1: is going out back into combats, going back out into 296 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: a situation where he or she may be shot at 297 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,560 Speaker 1: or shot down, etcetera, then then how do you make 298 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,520 Speaker 1: the argument against giving them that chemical edge, or giving 299 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,160 Speaker 1: them the chemical edge to actually sleep and rest when 300 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 1: they return with all of these thoughts still ringing in 301 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: their head and all these fears and apprehensions. UM. I 302 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,680 Speaker 1: wanted to point out to that during the Vietnam War 303 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: that US troops, troops were given amphetamines, and amphetamines worked 304 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: throughout the braining to boost levels UM a range of neurotransmitters, 305 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: and it's it's it's pretty much speed, right, which would 306 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: keep you very active and alert. And Nazis also gave 307 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 1: it to their troops in the form of something called 308 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: privatin okay the German infantry. Yeah, and um A provocil 309 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: and motor finel our centrals, nervous system stimulants and those 310 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 1: have been used by military pilots and special forces during missions. UM. 311 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: The problem, of course, with all of this are the 312 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 1: side effects. Provacil has side effects that include nervousness, insomnia, excitation, irritability, tremors, dizziness, 313 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: and headaches. Uh So it's not the perfect drug here, 314 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: and certainly it is a solution to some of the 315 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:40,960 Speaker 1: problems that exist in this environment. But when you know 316 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 1: at what cost? Yeah, I mean because so certainly I 317 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: think pilots that's a great example of this, because especially 318 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,000 Speaker 1: if you're dealing with flying along very long distance on 319 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 1: a combat mission or what have you, you want them 320 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:57,120 Speaker 1: to have optimal performance for the entire time. But even 321 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: with these these chemicals, you it's going to get increasingly 322 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 1: shaky the more you push it out. It's like holding 323 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:05,879 Speaker 1: them a hold in yoga. That's how far removed him 324 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,479 Speaker 1: from combat scenarios, I guess. But but you know, it's 325 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:10,119 Speaker 1: like the longer you hold it the shaker, it's going 326 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: to get to the point where no amount of chemical 327 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: um aid is going to help you. Or so we thought, right, 328 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:22,080 Speaker 1: and we won't go into some of the instances, but 329 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 1: there there have been some um some of the use 330 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 1: of provocol and motor phenel in which some unfortunate instances 331 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: have happened and people have wondered whether or not it's 332 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 1: the side effects from the drug that that we're um 333 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 1: you know, causing people to not think clearly or or 334 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 1: having impaired thinking. So, uh, let's talk about In two 335 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 1: thousand and seven, h DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, 336 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,120 Speaker 1: which comes up with some really cool things. Um. Yeah, 337 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:56,359 Speaker 1: everything from from from driverless cars to out I mean 338 00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:00,600 Speaker 1: it really runs the gamut. Yeah. Uh, they in conjunction 339 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,800 Speaker 1: with UM with Department of Defense and Jerome Signal, professor 340 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: of psychiatry at U c l A, came up with 341 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:11,919 Speaker 1: a nasal spray that would help create a sense of 342 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:16,359 Speaker 1: wakefulness and alertness without many side effects, which is this 343 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 1: is a huge breakthrough. Yeah, I mean, the the idea 344 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 1: is is pretty great. I mean they refer to it 345 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:26,719 Speaker 1: as a sleep replacement drug, which just sounds crazy. That's 346 00:18:27,119 --> 00:18:30,199 Speaker 1: I mean, it's sleep replacement. I mean it tends to 347 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:33,159 Speaker 1: go against everything that we've we've discussed so far, the 348 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: idea that that's sleep is inevitable, sleep is mandatory. But 349 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: if you could actually replace it with a drug, then 350 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: what couldn't we do in the space of twenty four 351 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: hours or forty eight hours or even longer. Alright, so 352 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: check this out. There was a study of monkeys who 353 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,480 Speaker 1: were deprived of sleep for thirty the thirty six hours, 354 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,359 Speaker 1: and I wonder how they did that by the way, 355 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 1: to like to just play loud music or like, you know, 356 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 1: given the first five seasons of breaking bad. Uh yeah, yeah, 357 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 1: well that'll do it right there. Um. And then those 358 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 1: monkeys were given either orex in A or a sailine 359 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: placebo before taking standard cognitive tests. And what they found 360 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 1: is that the monkeys who are given arex in A 361 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:16,720 Speaker 1: in a nasal spray scored about the same as alert 362 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:22,159 Speaker 1: monkeys on cognitive tests, while the sailine control group was 363 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:25,760 Speaker 1: severely impaired. And so this is a study that was 364 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:29,800 Speaker 1: published in the December twenty six, two seven edition of 365 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:32,200 Speaker 1: the Journal of Neuroscience. It was found that O rex 366 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 1: and A not only restored their cognitive abilities, but it 367 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,120 Speaker 1: made and this is huge, and made their brains look 368 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: awake and pet scans as well. So there's evidence that 369 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: it's not just that there's a certain level of alertness, 370 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,199 Speaker 1: but that they could have been firing on all cylinders. 371 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,280 Speaker 1: All right, Well, let's let's take a quick break and 372 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:54,720 Speaker 1: when we come back we'll keep rolling. We will stay alert, 373 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: stay awake, and keep talking about the death of sleep 374 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: here possibly all right, we're back, and we were talking 375 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: about rex and a, this promising sleep replacement drug candidate, 376 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:16,439 Speaker 1: which do not go to your your pharmacy, Do not 377 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 1: go to your doctor and ask for rex and a, 378 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: becaun't buy it online. I'm sure something is available that 379 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 1: is calling itself our x and a. UM. It's also 380 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:29,280 Speaker 1: called hypocretin. It's a neuropeptide hormone and it's produced in 381 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: the hypothalamus, and it's what allows us to remain awake 382 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 1: for a continuous chunk of time because our body basically 383 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,160 Speaker 1: releases our x and A throughout the day. So this 384 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: is the interesting part is that UM. The reason that 385 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,440 Speaker 1: O x in A was discovered to help manipulate these 386 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:51,200 Speaker 1: different sleep states and wakeful states is because they noticed 387 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:56,240 Speaker 1: researchers noticed that people who have narcolepsy have trouble falling asleep. UH. 388 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,480 Speaker 1: And the reason they are having trouble falling sleep is 389 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 1: because they lack O rex in A. This this wakefulness hormone. 390 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: So rexin A is the finger of the brain poking 391 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,439 Speaker 1: you and keeping you awake during that meeting or that 392 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:16,240 Speaker 1: church sermon and uh, and people with narcolepsy don't have 393 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: that finger to poke them in the shoulder. And it's 394 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: interesting because previously researchers were trying to treat sleep disorders 395 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 1: by really inducing sleep at the right time, rather than 396 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 1: tinkering with wakefulness. So sort of they took the opposite 397 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:31,879 Speaker 1: tact here, instead of like we're going to knock you 398 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:35,960 Speaker 1: out at thirty pm, let's actually look at what's going 399 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:38,359 Speaker 1: on in the brain. Yeah, yeah, so if so, the 400 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,240 Speaker 1: idea here is that if the deficit of ox and 401 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: a makes people sleepy, adding it back into the brain 402 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:47,119 Speaker 1: would reduce its effects. So that's where you see something 403 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 1: like the nasal spray becoming really effective because you're getting 404 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: a shot of this orexin a, you are vanquishing the 405 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:58,920 Speaker 1: sleepies um with wakefulness, and so it becomes a really 406 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,960 Speaker 1: effective drug for or not politics as well, right, because 407 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: it's inducing wakefulness. Now at the other end of the spectrum, 408 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:09,199 Speaker 1: you have something called sero veccent, and this is a 409 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 1: drug from Mark and it's still in trials, but what 410 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: it's trying to do is block the receptors for rexin. 411 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:18,879 Speaker 1: So now they're saying okay, well let's not let o 412 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:23,200 Speaker 1: rexin attached to the receptors so that we can induce 413 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:30,320 Speaker 1: the sleepiness. Um, and you're essentially taking out the wakeful component. Yeah. Um. 414 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 1: And this is the the huge thing about it is 415 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: it doesn't appear to have the hangover side effects that 416 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:39,120 Speaker 1: some sleep aid medications are reported to have. But it's 417 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,160 Speaker 1: still in trials and um, there's the idea that more 418 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 1: research needs to to go on, obviously to make sure 419 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,919 Speaker 1: that the drug wouldn't inadvertently cause sleep state disassociations for 420 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:52,199 Speaker 1: your body later on the idea of being here that 421 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: you're you're taking one pill to wake you up, one 422 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: pill to put you down, and eventually everything's going to 423 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,639 Speaker 1: be out of whack. Yeah, that your body. It's like, okay, well, 424 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: now that I have been manipulated with with my receptors 425 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 1: have been blocked here on the rex in a and 426 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: sleepiness is has been induced later on in the days, 427 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:13,480 Speaker 1: my body going to try to make up for it. 428 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:16,359 Speaker 1: Is there a possibility so far with the drug trials 429 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: that doesn't seem to be the case, but you still 430 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 1: would want to know what the long term effects would 431 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:24,160 Speaker 1: be for both the super accent which would help you sleep, 432 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:28,639 Speaker 1: and for the nasal spray um, which would inhibit sleep 433 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: and create wingfulness. You know, that's the question that it 434 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 1: comes down to, Um, how will this be used for 435 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:38,679 Speaker 1: the general public? The nasal spray um? You know? Well 436 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:44,920 Speaker 1: gamers just the sniffing it for hours a day? Right, Well, 437 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:49,480 Speaker 1: party yours really because that the people people are partying 438 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 1: on nine anyway. But and if this improves one's optimal 439 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,440 Speaker 1: partying ability, then then yeah, it becomes you can see 440 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:58,119 Speaker 1: that becoming a hot thing. But I mean it sounds 441 00:23:58,119 --> 00:24:01,400 Speaker 1: like sniffable red bull to me. Yeah, and to say 442 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:03,960 Speaker 1: nothing about the potential complications of combining this with any 443 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:09,040 Speaker 1: other a number of stimulants or or or other medications. 444 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,440 Speaker 1: So so yeah, the jury is definitely out, but it 445 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:13,960 Speaker 1: is what we'll do with it and then what the 446 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,680 Speaker 1: various complications could be. It's a fascinating question though, about 447 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:21,080 Speaker 1: whether or not you could restore your cognitive functions to 448 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,919 Speaker 1: a to the wakeful state that you naturally would have 449 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:28,119 Speaker 1: and be able to avoid sleep. I mean, you're not 450 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:31,320 Speaker 1: going to get the cell uh rejuvenation that you would 451 00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: in a deep sleep. Yeah. Also, I mean you need 452 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:37,399 Speaker 1: your muscle repair to take place, aging dead cells to 453 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:40,639 Speaker 1: be tended to. So yeah, it seems like all, I mean, 454 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:42,040 Speaker 1: all that is going to catch up with you. You 455 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 1: wouldn't be able to use this to stay awake indefinitely 456 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 1: or not without severe consequences. But again, I find it 457 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,960 Speaker 1: fascinating from the perspective of being able to manipulate our 458 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,280 Speaker 1: our wakeful states and our sleep states. And you know 459 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,520 Speaker 1: is they're going to be a drug that is the 460 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 1: on the other end of the spectrum that makes you 461 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 1: go to sleep so that you can manipulate, uh, that 462 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:12,960 Speaker 1: you know, your sleep activities and your wakefless activities whenever 463 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: you want. Yeah, I mean I wonder if we could 464 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 1: reach the point where I like I've also I also remember, 465 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:19,639 Speaker 1: in addition to having thoughts of what if I didn't 466 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:21,480 Speaker 1: have to sleep, wouldn't life be easier? You wouldn't have 467 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:23,480 Speaker 1: to buy a bed, you know, do this, that and 468 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,120 Speaker 1: the other. But I've also had those times where I thought, 469 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:28,720 Speaker 1: wouldn't it be nice if I could just stockpile some sleep, 470 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,440 Speaker 1: stay up for a certain period of time, or I 471 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:33,000 Speaker 1: could stay up for four days and just sleep the 472 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,639 Speaker 1: weekend away into a certain extent. That's how it works 473 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: in terms of having to pay back what you take 474 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 1: away from your sleep cycle. But if you could actually 475 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:44,240 Speaker 1: do this at a chemical level with and you know, 476 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:47,600 Speaker 1: and and at a hormone level with these substances, then 477 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:49,840 Speaker 1: perhaps we would reach the point where someone is taking 478 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,520 Speaker 1: a X and A to stay awake for say four 479 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:57,160 Speaker 1: days of work during the week, and then counter countering 480 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 1: that with with other medications to sleep it out for 481 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,080 Speaker 1: the weekend. Or if you're just having a commute and 482 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:08,760 Speaker 1: you artificially, um, make yourself fall into a sleep pattern. 483 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 1: So if you're like commuting on Marta for instance, on 484 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:15,919 Speaker 1: the train system and you can catch minutes, yeah you can. 485 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: And then if you don't have any cash on you 486 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:22,160 Speaker 1: when you wake up, well there you have it, um, 487 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 1: something to sleep on, something to sleep on or not 488 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:30,159 Speaker 1: sleep on, as it may work out. Um. It reminded me, 489 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 1: of course we got this title from from death. Uh. 490 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 1: There's a there's a great parton Makebath where Matbeth says, 491 00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:38,600 Speaker 1: methought I heard a voice cry, sleep no more. Macbeth 492 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,840 Speaker 1: does murder sleep, the innocent sleep, sleep that knits up, 493 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 1: the raveled sleeve of care, the death of each day's life, 494 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 1: sore Labour's bath, balm of hurts, minds, great Nature's second course, 495 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 1: chef nourisher in Life's Feast, And Lady Macbeth says, what 496 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 1: do you mean? And Thenbeth says, still it cried sleep 497 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,960 Speaker 1: no more to all the house. Glamis hath murdered sleep 498 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: been there for cart Or shall sleep no more? Macbeth 499 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,320 Speaker 1: shall sleep no more. So, of course Macbeth is rather 500 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 1: stressed out during most of this, and that's what's what's 501 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: keeping him awake, all these worries about what he's done 502 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:14,840 Speaker 1: and what he's gonna have to do and uh and 503 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,200 Speaker 1: and what the toll is going to be at the end. 504 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:21,520 Speaker 1: But but yeah, the the idea that Macbeth, you know, 505 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:24,840 Speaker 1: as as usual, Shakespeare manages a word at best, but 506 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:27,639 Speaker 1: it's talking about sleep. Is this the sleep that knits 507 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: up the raveled sleeve of care? I really like that. 508 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,360 Speaker 1: So what happens when we when we banish it, when 509 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:36,520 Speaker 1: we murder sleep? When we stay unraveled? So I am 510 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,920 Speaker 1: sure you guys and gals have some some sleep related 511 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:44,800 Speaker 1: tidbits to share with us about either about legitimate problems 512 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 1: we've had with with sleep, or times when you've really 513 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,200 Speaker 1: pushed yourself to stay awake for an extended period of time, 514 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,920 Speaker 1: and pent or or Ben pushed to stay away for 515 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,600 Speaker 1: extended period of time. Uh, what was that like? What 516 00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: were the what strengths did you find yourself flowing with? 517 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:04,000 Speaker 1: What what negative impact did it have on your wakeful state? 518 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:06,439 Speaker 1: We'd love to hear about all of that. And certainly, 519 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:09,520 Speaker 1: what are your thoughts about the potential of being able 520 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:12,120 Speaker 1: to take a sleep replacement truck? How do you think 521 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,000 Speaker 1: that would change your life? How do you think it 522 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:17,200 Speaker 1: would change cultures as we know it would it? I 523 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:21,679 Speaker 1: don't know would you banish sleep to get half your 524 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:23,399 Speaker 1: life back or do you feel like you'd be losing 525 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 1: the best half of your of your life because let's 526 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,360 Speaker 1: face it, sleep is awesome? And would you take air 527 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:32,159 Speaker 1: baths a lot? Do you take newd air baths in 528 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 1: the in the night? Let us know about that as well. Uh, 529 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: let's call over the road of it real quick and 530 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:41,000 Speaker 1: just do one quick listener mail. All right, here's one 531 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 1: from Don Don Wrightson and says, Hello, Robert and Julie, 532 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,760 Speaker 1: thank you for taking on breastfeeding as a scientific topic. 533 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:48,040 Speaker 1: I would imagine that this topic will generate lots of 534 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:50,320 Speaker 1: mail for you on both sides of the issue. It's 535 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: amazing to me how something so natural and so logical, frankly, 536 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: is rebuked by so many. Just yesterday, I was excited 537 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 1: to see that a shopping mall had designated nursing rooms, 538 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,200 Speaker 1: even uh if the sign for the room featured an 539 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 1: illustration of the baby bottle half full of milk. I 540 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 1: was amazed to learn that some men are able to breastfeed. 541 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:09,480 Speaker 1: Imagine if this were the norm, I would be interested 542 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 1: to see this develop, especially since men strutted around shirtless 543 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,760 Speaker 1: in public so shamelessly. And this is something that when 544 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,440 Speaker 1: I was talking to my wife about about about some 545 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:19,080 Speaker 1: of this, and she was like, yeah, it's like, you'll, 546 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 1: you know, the woman takes her has her top off, 547 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:23,840 Speaker 1: and it's you know, it's a scandal. But you'll see 548 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 1: the most grotesque men walking around with their shirts off 549 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,440 Speaker 1: and it's no big deal. Yeah, it does kind of 550 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:34,360 Speaker 1: buggle the mind. And then Don continues on the topic 551 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,840 Speaker 1: of performance art, which was another episode we did. I 552 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,360 Speaker 1: wanted to draw your attention to a performance artist named 553 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:41,680 Speaker 1: Chris Burden, if you haven't already heard of him. I 554 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,520 Speaker 1: saw one of installation of these installations in college. Apparently 555 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,080 Speaker 1: he crucified himself to the hood of a Volkswagen Beetle, 556 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:49,600 Speaker 1: had someone shoot him in the arm, and also had 557 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: a piece where he stood backstage and attempted to breathe 558 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,680 Speaker 1: water pretty five minutes. Interesting stuff. He bought the great 559 00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:58,600 Speaker 1: work done. We'll have to check that out. Yeah, I've 560 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 1: heard of the the bull sucking beetle thing rings a bell, 561 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: but I know I've seen some stuff about the shooting 562 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 1: as art Chris Burden all right, well, um, yeah, so 563 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 1: let us know your thoughts on sleep replacement drugs, on 564 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:17,880 Speaker 1: breastfeeding in public, which, by the way, we have received 565 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:19,840 Speaker 1: a lot of comments from there, and I have to 566 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 1: say that all of them have been really positive. I mean, 567 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:26,240 Speaker 1: nobody's very insightful, very insightful. Yeah. Uh. And if you 568 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,400 Speaker 1: have any thoughts, obviously about performance art, let us know. 569 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:32,480 Speaker 1: You can find us on Facebook and Tumbler, where we 570 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:34,080 Speaker 1: are stuff to blow your mind on both of those, 571 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,440 Speaker 1: and on Twitter we are we are blow the mind 572 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 1: and you can always drop us a line and blow 573 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 1: the mind at Discovery dot com for more on this 574 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:50,880 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics. Is it how Stuff Works 575 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 1: dot Com