In the second part of our podcast episode on sleep, consultant and founder of Nurture2Sleep, Julie Mallon, speaks to Tell Me Why podcast host Maria Botros about the importance of ‘sleep hygiene’, also known as sleep health.
Human beings wake up on average 33 times throughout the night.
Cherries naturally contain melatonin and can help support your sleep when consumed.
Meditation and deep breathing massively support our sleep.
Your chronotype determines whether you are a morning or night person.
Full fat Greek yogurt is the best type of yogurt for sleep.
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#UAEnews #sleep #podcast
Human beings wake up on average 33 times throughout the night.
Cherries naturally contain melatonin and can help support your sleep when consumed.
Meditation and deep breathing massively support our sleep.
Your chronotype determines whether you are a morning or night person.
Full fat Greek yogurt is the best type of yogurt for sleep.
See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos
Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km
Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV
#UAEnews #sleep #podcast
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NewsTranscript
00:00Every single human being wakes, on average, 33 times a night.
00:06Just like, on average, we move 13 times every hour.
00:11Sleep is not a straight line. Sleep is very dynamic.
00:14And the physiology of our sleep changes throughout the night.
00:23Not all devices are the same in terms of the blue light that they're emitting.
00:28So a TV screen, that has the least intensity.
00:33It's still really unhelpful for our sleep, but the least intensity.
00:37That's interesting.
00:38Yeah. The next, slightly less, but definitely more than the TV, that would be the tablet.
00:47Okay.
00:48And then the worst offender is...
00:51Of course.
00:52...the mobile. The worst offender.
00:54The one and only cell phone and mobile phone.
00:56Wow. Okay. So we spoke about the circadian rhythm.
01:02We spoke about how many hours of sleep are ideal and the quality of sleep.
01:06I want to dive into the REM cycle, or the R-E-M.
01:10It stands for Rapid Eye Movement, if I'm not mistaken.
01:14Yes.
01:15Okay. So I want to get into that because I did, for a long period of time,
01:20work in an industry where I had to wake up at 3 a.m.
01:24My shift ended at 1 p.m.
01:26I could not nap in the afternoon.
01:28I slept really late.
01:29And it was an ongoing cycle.
01:31And so many people were like,
01:32oh, you should just monitor your REM cycle.
01:35Wake up when you're done with a cycle and sleep when you're about to begin a cycle.
01:41And I just, I was so confused.
01:42It never worked.
01:43I never knew how to do it.
01:45And I was always exhausted.
01:46It would never work because none of us know when we're in our REM cycle.
01:50Right.
01:50Or our stage one cycle or stage...
01:52None of us.
01:53Okay.
01:53There's an incredible neuroscientist called Professor Russell Foster at Oxford.
02:01And that's almost like looking at trackers.
02:07Okay.
02:07And that's more of an answer to your question.
02:10So we think that if we wear the tracker,
02:13that will tell us how much REM sleep we've had, how much deep sleep we've had.
02:18It's impossible.
02:19We're being sold a really good line.
02:21It's not actually possible.
02:23Then even if you did know how much REM sleep you're going to get,
02:26or how much you had, or how much deep sleep,
02:30how are you going to improve on any of that?
02:33Because that's not possible for us.
02:35You can't have your REM sleep unless you've had stage one, two, three, four, and five.
02:40You can't.
02:41So without these other phases within that one sleep cycle, which is 90 minutes,
02:47you can't reach your REM cycle.
02:50Right.
02:50If you haven't had the foundations first.
02:53The only other thing I would say, which is really interesting is that,
02:56or I think it is,
02:58you were saying before about, you know, you wake at night and then you go back to sleep.
03:02Right.
03:02And how every single human being wakes on average 33 times a night.
03:10Oh.
03:11Just like on average, we move 13 times every hour.
03:16Oh, interesting.
03:17Now, sleep is not a straight line.
03:20Sleep is very dynamic.
03:21And the physiology of our sleep changes throughout the night.
03:24So for the first half of our sleep, and this is very much with our children as well,
03:29but for the first half of our sleep, that is that really important human growth hormone.
03:33Okay.
03:33So that's our deep, deep, deep sleep.
03:35That's where we restore and repair.
03:38So if we've, you know, done exercise during the day, which is really positive,
03:41then the brain has been signaled to sleep better in order to do the job that it's supposed to be doing.
03:48So that's why if we're not doing, you know, exercise efficiently,
03:52then that's impacting whether we sleep as well.
03:55So exercise is really important.
03:57Although, depending on the timing of the exercise, that's factors.
04:01But there's another factor here, our chronotype.
04:04So the genetics of our sleep.
04:06So if our chronotype does not support the timing of our exercise,
04:12then that's not helping either.
04:13But just going back to, you know,
04:16you're looking at the REM and the rapid eye movement and our deep sleep.
04:21We need to recognize that say you are waking up.
04:26Now, when you wake up and you can't go back to sleep, but you do eventually go back to sleep.
04:31If you have woken up in stage two of your sleep,
04:35when you go back to sleep, you don't then carry on in stage three,
04:38four and your rapid eye movement.
04:41You actually go back to stage one.
04:43You restart.
04:44You restart.
04:45So therefore, we have to be looking at the overall quality of our sleep.
04:51So recognizing that the first half of our sleep is deep sleep
04:54and the second half is your rapid eye movement.
04:57So when you say I can't nap, you can learn to nap.
05:01We all can sleep.
05:05I know it feels like we can't, but we can when we can teach ourselves how to sleep.
05:09You know, we're all vitamin D.
05:11Most here are vitamin D really, really low deficient.
05:15And that's because, of course, we put so much sunscreen on.
05:19But actually, we need to expose our skin for that vitamin D for 10 to 15 minutes
05:24early in the morning, late afternoon.
05:26Yes.
05:27And that's going to boost our vitamin D, which also has a direct correlation on our sleep.
05:33Yes.
05:33So if we're not getting enough vitamin D, if we haven't got enough magnesium,
05:38our sleep is going to be impacted.
05:39So can you see how nothing is in isolation?
05:43Of course, yeah.
05:44I know the research is there.
05:45It's really clear that by exposing all of us to 10 to 15 minutes early in the morning
05:51and the same in the afternoon, by getting that natural vitamin D,
05:56that is so much better than any kind of supplement.
05:58Of course.
05:59Because that supplement is synthetic.
06:00And when that supplement goes to your liver, the liver doesn't recognize it.
06:04So it only absorbs a small amount.
06:06So it's also about recognizing that if your vitamin D is low,
06:11taking a supplement is not going to improve your vitamin D particularly.
06:16It's just going to maintain it.
06:18Yes.
06:18And if you've got a low vitamin D, that's not going to help by taking the supplement.
06:24So absolutely about going outside 10 to 15 minutes.
06:28And then, of course, then you put your sunscreen on.
06:31But the other thing here is the skin has got, it's the largest organ in our body.
06:37It has many, many, many time receptors.
06:41So that's one of the clocks of the 37.
06:43Of the 37.
06:44And so if you're outside, the light is bouncing off your skin,
06:48which is relaying that information to your supercosmetic nuclei and saying what time it is.
06:55So honestly, it's like a Swiss clock.
06:57It is keeping it on time when everything else is pulling it back.
07:02Technology pulling it back.
07:04Stress pulling it back.
07:06Eating meals late, pulling it back.
07:10So you mentioned the daylight savings being one of the main factors of like,
07:14you know, affecting people's sleep and causing other medical implications.
07:18It just got me thinking about jet lag.
07:20It just got me thinking about like going when I go to the U.S.
07:24and going to the U.S. is not so much of a struggle as coming back.
07:29Unfortunately, I don't know why.
07:31But when I'm back here in Dubai, it takes me way longer to get back to sleep.
07:36And it's always distorted.
07:38And it's just it's so difficult to get back in that routine.
07:42And I did look up like ways to improve, you know, sleep when you're jet lagged.
07:47And it was like it was the things that I mentioned.
07:50Cool your room.
07:51Make sure your phone is away.
07:52Drink something warm or and all these things.
07:55But is there anything else?
07:56Like, is there any other remedy for jet lag specifically?
08:00So nobody has asked me to mention this, but there is a really good app called the Time Shifter.
08:07Okay.
08:08Now, this app was created by the people from NASA.
08:14Okay.
08:15And because, of course, there was such a need when, you know, astronauts are up in space,
08:19we need them to sleep the best quality sleep.
08:22And of course, they haven't got any melatonin release because there's no light and day.
08:26So this is the time shift.
08:28So it is so evidence based.
08:30And with this app, it will I mean, there's other apps out there.
08:33But this is the one that I feel to be the most evidence and research based.
08:37And the one that I feel I can trust more than anything.
08:39But there are other ones out there.
08:42But it will tell you when to eat, when to drink, when to look at your screen.
08:47If you have to look at your screen, you know, when you want to watch a film.
08:50And if you put all your information, this absolutely enables you to be able to go to
08:58Australia, go to LA and without having the usual huge impact of jet lag.
09:05Now, so that's really helpful.
09:07But jet lag basically is your clock, your internal clock being completely thrown out.
09:14And so say you were to go to Australia.
09:18Well, your clock is still back in Dubai.
09:20Your brain is still back, your body's still back in Dubai.
09:23And it will, you know, shift forward or back if we provide that correct environment.
09:31But even like cherries, cherries actually are the one food, the food, the fruit.
09:40That is the one food that actually naturally contains melatonin.
09:44Oh, so interesting.
09:46That is going to help boost your melatonin.
09:49And so to, again, support your sleep.
09:53Amazing.
09:54Foods, food, salmon.
09:56Salmon's a fantastic food for helping with sleep because of its omega-3 and its tryptophan.
10:02So there is lots of things that we can do.
10:05Bring it all together.
10:06And that's what's going to really help collectively with our sleep and, of course, mindset.
10:11OK, before we dive into the listeners questions, because there are so many,
10:15so many and so many people are waiting for the answers.
10:19You mentioned chronotypes.
10:20Yes.
10:20Can you just briefly, like, explain that to us and the different chronotypes?
10:25And then we can get into the questions.
10:27So chronotype comes very much from an evolutionary perspective.
10:31OK.
10:31And that is we are either owls or larks.
10:34We're either morning people or we're night people.
10:37Exactly.
10:37Now, they think the reason why we have this is, you know, back in the day when we had
10:43the cavemen, if everyone was on the same schedule, then when we sleep, it leaves us vulnerable.
10:51Right.
10:52So you have the people who are able to stay awake and keep everyone safe and watch out.
10:57And then they would go to sleep and then the larks would take over and keep.
11:01So that's where, from an evolutionary perspective, an anthropology perspective,
11:07that's where the lark and the owl comes from.
11:10So it is to do with our genetics.
11:12But it's worth noting that genetics only make up 30%.
11:16Right.
11:16So the rest we can change.
11:18Oh, I was hoping you wouldn't say that because I'm not a morning person.
11:22And my husband finds it weird.
11:24He's like, there's no such thing as not being a morning person.
11:27And I kept convincing him that there is.
11:30So I wish you hadn't said that.
11:31Now he's going to hold it against me.
11:34But 30%, you know, if all your life, that's what you have been set by.
11:39Yeah.
11:39And we do know from a research perspective again.
11:43So for example, if somebody who is a lark and they participate in exercise at eight o'clock at night,
11:54their body is not going to work at its most efficient.
11:57It's almost, there is no point in, it's not there's no point,
11:59but you are going to get very little benefit.
12:02Of course.
12:02Equally, if an owl does exercise at six in the morning,
12:07the benefits are going to be far less greater.
12:11Now, we also do know that depending on your chronotype,
12:14that is going to impact how your body metabolizes, not only food, but medicine.
12:20You know, the studies are there.
12:22So if you take medicine at a certain time that doesn't suit your chronotype,
12:26then you're not going to be taking it the best of what you're.
12:29So it really is something that we need to recognize and respect as much as we can.
12:36But again, partly the fact that I'm saying we can change it is because
12:41within the world that we are living in, light is impacting our true sleeping.
12:47Because there's no escaping from light.
12:49And we know that melatonin is only produced in the dark.
12:52And so when we are sleeping, the light is still coming in,
12:56especially with our phones, even a small amount of light.
12:58So therefore it is compromising the production of melatonin.
13:02So we are not giving our body its full quota of the melatonin production.
13:07Right.
13:08Because light is coming in.
13:09Man, we can talk about this all day.
13:11We can.
13:12But given that we have a time constraint,
13:15and I do want to get some of these listeners' questions in,
13:19I think we'll jump right into that.
13:21So I had a mother message in asking,
13:23why do my kids wake up at night?
13:25There are some nights that are smooth, other nights that are close to sleepless.
13:29Is there a reason?
13:30What should I do differently?
13:32That is such a multifaceted question.
13:34Right.
13:35It will very much depend on the age of the child.
13:38Okay.
13:38So she did mention that.
13:40I just kept it in brackets.
13:42She has a child that is three years old and a child that is six.
13:46Okay.
13:46Both of these ages are really, really interesting.
13:48The age of three.
13:50So we know that from birth to the age of three,
13:53that's when the main framework of the brain is being completed.
13:57Okay.
13:57And so around the age of three,
13:59there is such a surge in a child's imagination.
14:02And that child becomes much more aware of things that make them fearful.
14:08So it's around two and a half to three.
14:10So up until then, they're not frightened of monsters,
14:12and they're not frightened of the dark,
14:14because they haven't actually accessed that part of the brain.
14:18Now, this isn't something,
14:19oh no, they're frightened of monsters.
14:21This is something to be really celebrated,
14:22that your child is developing as they should be.
14:26Okay.
14:27Now, there's a really wonderful study from Harvard.
14:33Is it Harvard or Stanford?
14:34It's Harvard.
14:35And what they found from their research,
14:38working with parents and children,
14:39so children who were having difficulty sleeping,
14:42actually, if we worked with the families,
14:44so we upskilled the parents in being the emotional coach of the child,
14:49that's what was able to really benefit the child.
14:53Again, with the six-year-old,
14:55there's lots of things in terms of their learning and their understanding with the six-year-old,
14:59but ultimately, it's how they are falling asleep.
15:02So if they are falling asleep, both of these children,
15:06if they are falling asleep with mummy in the room,
15:08or daddy in the room,
15:09or their nanny in the room,
15:11even though it's only four,
15:12they're just there.
15:13They're not doing anything.
15:15Because we know we wake up every single night,
15:18when they wake up,
15:19it's the equivalent of you falling asleep in your bed.
15:23And when you wake up, you're on Sheikh Zayed Road.
15:25You couldn't possibly go back to sleep until you went back to your bed.
15:29When our children are falling asleep,
15:31and somebody is being there in the room,
15:33and they're not doing anything,
15:35when they wake up, and we all wake up,
15:38if that person is not there,
15:39then that's the main reason why they're waking up.
15:43But again, it could be screen time,
15:45particularly with our children.
15:47We know that the screen has a huge impact on their sleep,
15:50and it overstimulates the brain.
15:52Now we all relate,
15:54respond differently to that stimulation from the screen.
15:57You know, I had a child recently,
16:00and if he watched the screen two hours before bedtime,
16:06he would wake up at four o'clock in the morning.
16:10If he watched the screen,
16:11and it's hard, I know it's really hard,
16:13but if he watched the screen,
16:14and he came off the screen three hours before bedtime,
16:17he slept and consolidated his night's sleep beautifully
16:21until six, 6.30 in the morning.
16:23So you have to look at your child,
16:25and what that information is telling you.
16:27So that's the main reason why they're sleeping.
16:29Is it too much screen time?
16:31Is it that, you know,
16:33are they having caffeine before they go to bed?
16:34Such as, are they having hot chocolate before they go to bed?
16:37You know, a milky drink that has chocolate in.
16:41If they're having ice cream, for example,
16:43before they go to bed.
16:44Ice cream has lots of sugar in,
16:47and what that does is,
16:49when they go to sleep at night,
16:50it encourages a hypoglycemic drop
16:56about three hours after they sleep.
17:00And so the body is woken.
17:02So what you want is carbohydrates.
17:04That's what you want.
17:04So something like, with the children, for example,
17:08if they wanted a snack, it would be a yogurt,
17:10but full fat Greek yogurt.
17:12That is the best yogurt for sleep.
17:14And that's because the calcium is a converter
17:19of these neurotransmitters
17:21that are the building blocks for sleep.
17:24So calcium will promote the serotonin,
17:27which will promote the tryptophan,
17:31which builds on the melatonin.
17:33A healthy snack for a child, apart from, say, a yogurt,
17:37that would be a wholemeal toast
17:40or a wholemeal cracker with peanut butter.
17:43That's a really, really good fat.
17:45Or almond butter.
17:46These are really good fats for sleep,
17:48even for us as adults.
17:49They're good fats.
17:50Yeah, that's really nice.
17:51That's a good tip.
17:52I think mothers are going to find that useful.
17:54Okay, so the follow-up to that
17:55is actually the next question,
17:57because you mentioned imagination.
17:59And a mother actually texted.
18:00Her four-year-old is waking up every day
18:03scared and saying frog.
18:05It's probably something she watched
18:07that she is scared of,
18:08but how do I overcome this
18:10and how do I get her to go back to sleeping properly?
18:13So apparently this is something
18:15that is occurring on a daily basis.
18:18How can she deal with that?
18:20So it's almost like immersion therapy
18:22or exposure therapy.
18:24So you bring in everything related to frogs
18:28and you completely normalize.
18:29So don't look at it,
18:31this is what's causing you to wake up
18:32in the middle of the night, this is scary.
18:33It's, okay, so let's look at frogs
18:36and bring them in lots of fun ways.
18:39So you might have,
18:40you would surreptitiously have a bowl
18:42with some frogs in,
18:44painted on, cups,
18:46and you will look at books with frogs
18:48and you'll look at programs
18:49and sit down with your child
18:51and that mommy will sit down
18:52and they'll watch something,
18:53but not specific,
18:54the emphasis is not on frogs.
18:56We're taking that away.
18:59So the emphasis will be on all the other things
19:01and then gradually you'll bring that in
19:03and you'll use lots of different mediums
19:06and you'll look at lots of different animals
19:09and you might say,
19:09oh, your brother sleeps with a cat,
19:11a pussycat,
19:12would you like to sleep with a cat?
19:14And then you'll really explore about animals
19:16so frogs generally come out at night,
19:18so now we bring in about the night
19:20and then you'll bring in about all the other animals
19:22that live at night
19:23and come out at night
19:25and the moon is there to protect us
19:27so you're really wanting to bring in
19:29all these different conversations
19:31but a conversation which is normalizing
19:34any of these feelings.
19:35Now the other thing which is quite nice
19:37that you can do
19:38is that you might draw something
19:41with the frog
19:42and then you'll scrunch it up
19:43and you'll get them to put that into the bin,
19:46you'll throw it into the bin
19:47that almost like brings closure
19:48but that wouldn't be around bedtime,
19:50that would be much earlier on in the day.
19:53I would also look at the nursery
19:55and ask them to help you
19:56because the nursery again
19:58will really normalize things
20:00and it will allow the child
20:02to process that information.
20:04So that's quite helpful.
20:05That's also a good tip,
20:06yeah, maybe just, you know,
20:08give them an idea of what's happening
20:10and then they can also help with that.
20:12The next question is from a male listener.
20:15He says,
20:16is there a simple way,
20:17breathing technique of some sort,
20:19for example,
20:20for someone to fall asleep quickly?
20:22Any advice?
20:23There is very definitely a simple way
20:25and what's very interesting here is,
20:28so we talked previously about Matthew Walker,
20:31one of the leading neuroscientists in the world
20:34in relation to sleep.
20:36Now, you know,
20:37he kept hearing about the benefits
20:39of breathing and meditation
20:41and he said,
20:42I am a hard-nosed scientist.
20:45This breathing,
20:46it can't,
20:47it is not evidence-based.
20:49But the evidence he found
20:51to be so compelling,
20:53he couldn't ignore it any longer.
20:56And so he really did explore
20:58and get a lot of the other researchers to explore
21:00and what he found is exactly that,
21:02that meditation and deep breathing
21:05really supports our sleep.
21:07So you have to find
21:10the breathing that works for you,
21:13that is one that is just for me,
21:15that I know wouldn't suit you particularly.
21:18So what you've also got to do,
21:20you've got to limit your choices.
21:22You've got to say,
21:22I'm going to try these three,
21:24which I have researched
21:26and they look like a good fit for me.
21:29And then you've got to,
21:30okay, I'll try three
21:32and that may,
21:33maybe,
21:33because there will be one there for you.
21:35But it can't work by,
21:37it's not that silver bullet.
21:38Yes.
21:39If you, again,
21:40are in a highly anxious state
21:42at that particular time
21:44and you try that deep breathing
21:46and you'll think it's not worked,
21:48it's not worked.
21:49But it's not that it's not worked.
21:50A, it's a habit.
21:52We know, for example, with children,
21:54it takes 21 to 20,
21:57sorry, 10 to 14 days
21:59to change the behavior of a child.
22:01And that is based primarily
22:03on the knowledge that we have
22:04and again, evidence-based.
22:05It takes 21 to 28 days
22:08to form a habit.
22:10And so if we're looking at
22:11having breathing
22:13to really support our sleep,
22:16that's where you're going to be looking,
22:18at least 21 to 28 days.
22:20And very often,
22:21it's anything around up to three months.
22:23Yeah, that just proves
22:24that everything is a process.
22:25It just needs patience
22:26and it's a process.
22:28Okay, so this is a good one.
22:29I have an issue with this all the time,
22:31so I'm going to ask this question.
22:33Sometimes I'm super tired,
22:35but overthinking and worry
22:36get in the way of me falling asleep.
22:38How can I train my brain
22:39to sort of shut down
22:41and put aside these negative,
22:42stressful thoughts?
22:43So I think this ties in
22:44with a lot of the stuff
22:45that you said earlier,
22:46that it's a process,
22:47that there are certain remedies
22:49or certain things
22:50that I need to do before I sleep.
22:52But would you like to maybe
22:54add on to that?
22:55Yeah, so it really is
22:57about having a plan.
22:58Okay.
22:59Now, think about within your workplace.
23:01If you have a brief,
23:04you'll gather all the information
23:06that you can
23:07to the best of your ability,
23:09and then you will follow it through
23:10until the end.
23:11That's what we need to do with our sleep.
23:13We need to gather information,
23:16just like you say about the sleep hygiene.
23:18So sleep hygiene or sleep health,
23:20I'm much for sleep health.
23:23You know, looking at timings of your meal,
23:26looking at exercise,
23:28looking at your sleep environment,
23:30looking at your routine,
23:31looking at what we're doing
23:32with our devices.
23:33Mm-hmm.
23:34All of those things
23:35are going to help calm your brain down
23:38in preparation for sleeping.
23:40And journaling,
23:41we know from a research perspective,
23:43journaling is really, really helpful
23:47in terms of supporting our sleep,
23:48really helpful from a research perspective.
23:51Again, going back to
23:52right from the very beginning,
23:53if we are aware that your brain
23:55is such an associative organ,
23:58a machine in terms of association.
24:00So if you stay in bed
24:01and you toss and turn,
24:02you toss and turn,
24:04your bed is now forming
24:06an association with your brain
24:07that your bed is not a great place for sleeping.
24:10So what you absolutely need to do is
24:13say I'm going to sleep here
24:15for approximately 30 minutes
24:16and if I can't sleep,
24:18then I'm going to get up
24:19and I'm going to do something incredibly boring.
24:22So I don't put lights on
24:23or you have low lights,
24:24but not stimulating.
24:26And you might read.
24:26So a Kindle is great for reading
24:28because there isn't the blue light.
24:29Right.
24:29But you will read,
24:30a book is even better.
24:32Until you are sleepy.
24:34Now try and let go of the fact
24:36that, you know,
24:37you've been up for,
24:37oh my goodness,
24:38it's four o'clock in the morning.
24:39I've got less sleep.
24:41You've got to let go of that.
24:42You just stay and do what you're doing
24:44until you are sleepy
24:46and then go back to your bed
24:48and then you will find that,
24:49that yes,
24:50you're only having one to two hours,
24:52but at least the quality of your sleep
24:55is so much better.
24:56So don't stay in bed
24:57getting anxious around not sleeping
25:00because that's not going to achieve anything.
25:02So then,
25:04why would,
25:06like,
25:06why is it difficult then
25:08to fall back asleep
25:09if we wake up in the middle of the night?
25:11Because that's the next question.
25:13I know that you were saying that
25:15it's all about the quality.
25:16What if I get the quality of sleep,
25:18but then I wake up in the middle
25:19and I just can't seem to get back to that.
25:21Like, how do I do that?
25:23Okay.
25:23So that goes back to the two mechanisms
25:25that we need for sleep
25:27or the two systems.
25:28These two systems that we need for sleep
25:30are our circadian rhythm
25:32and the second one
25:33is what we call homeostatic or sleep pressure.
25:36Okay.
25:37Now, very often when we wake up
25:39in the middle of the night,
25:41the chances are we've fallen asleep
25:44around eight o'clock in front of the sofa,
25:47in front of the TV rather.
25:49And even if we only fall asleep
25:51for 10 to 15 minutes,
25:53we've absolutely robbed
25:56the body and the brain
25:57of sufficient sleep pressure
25:59that will enable us
26:00to fall back to sleep.
26:02Okay.
26:02So it is about making sure
26:04that we have been awake
26:05and active enough before we go to sleep.
26:08The other thing is that
26:10we know that our sleep changes
26:12throughout the night
26:13where it goes to deep and to light.
26:16Now, if we are falling asleep
26:18in an environment
26:19which is not conducive to the whole night,
26:21then as we go into
26:24the early hours of our sleep,
26:26that makes it harder
26:27for us to fall back to sleep
26:29because our sleep pressure
26:31is beginning to drop.
26:33Okay.
26:33So at the beginning of the night,
26:34we have a lot of sleep pressure.
26:36But as the night wears on,
26:38the sleep pressure begins to fall.
26:40And it's just like, for example,
26:43the hungrier we go without food,
26:45the hungrier we become.
26:48Now, what that means in relation
26:50to our sleep
26:50and our homeostatic pressure,
26:53the longer we stay without sleep,
26:55the sleepier we become.
26:57And then that builds up sufficiently,
26:59which will help us
27:00stay asleep throughout the night.
27:02Now, things which will also impact it
27:04would be if you had a nap.
27:07If you have a nap,
27:08and napping is really,
27:09it can be really helpful,
27:11but it's when we nap
27:12and how long we nap for.
27:14So if you were to have a nap
27:15too late into the afternoon,
27:16that will impact your sleep pressure.
27:18Of course.
27:19So we're all about protecting
27:21the sleep pressure.
27:22And how long is an ideal nap?
27:24So again, according to NASA,
27:26ideal nap, 26 minutes.
27:29Wow, that is precise.
27:30It is, yeah.
27:30Like down to the minute.
27:3226 minutes.
27:33Oh, fantastic.
27:34Now, if you feel that
27:36you can't get 26 minutes,
27:38then 20 minutes,
27:41approximately 20 minutes,
27:43will be enough to keep
27:44your cortisol level down.
27:46Okay.
27:46And will not impact your sleep
27:49in a negative way.
27:51The next one is about waking up.
27:53So it's what happens after the sleep.
27:57She asks,
27:58I want to know,
27:58what are some of the reasons
28:00why I find it very difficult to wake up?
28:02I'm quite the deep sleeper,
28:04so I sleep through all my alarms,
28:06even after an eight hour sleep.
28:08I also start to feel like
28:09I'm crashing three to four hours
28:11after waking up.
28:13That tells me that
28:14the quality of her sleep
28:16is not leading to
28:17restorative, restful sleep.
28:20That suggests that
28:21there is something else.
28:22Now, whether it's sleep apnea,
28:24sleep apnea would be one of,
28:26but it suggests
28:27there is something else
28:28other than the amount of time
28:29because if she's having
28:31that much sleep
28:32and she is not feeling rested
28:34when she wakes up,
28:35there is a medical issue.
28:36And I would suggest
28:38that she does need
28:39to get that checked.
28:40So sort of like
28:41investigate what's happening.
28:43Okay.
28:44Okay.
28:44So this is a good follow-up,
28:47I guess,
28:48for everything that
28:49we've spoken about.
28:52When work gets mad,
28:53I have to go to work
28:54by 7.30 a.m.
28:56which means I only have time
28:57to work out in the evening
28:58or around 7.30 p.m.
29:00Any advice on how
29:01I can make sure
29:02I get a restful night's sleep
29:04even if I get into bed
29:05by 10.30 p.m.?
29:07Okay.
29:08So we talked before about
29:10the impact of exercise
29:12too late into the evening.
29:13Yes.
29:13Now, if this person is a lark
29:17and she's exercising
29:18late in the evening,
29:18that has a really big impact
29:20on her body.
29:21So we've just really
29:24turned the thermostat up
29:25on her body
29:26and that's going to have...
29:28that's not going to help
29:28her sleep quality at all.
29:30So for example,
29:31at nighttime,
29:32the melatonin,
29:33that really important sleep hormone,
29:35that is absolutely up in the sky
29:38and the cortisol is in our boots.
29:42And as the night wears on,
29:44like our circadian rhythm,
29:45like the tide,
29:47the melatonin circumnavigates around
29:50and the cortisol takes over.
29:53Now, the cortisol
29:54is going to be dictated
29:56very much by our core body temperature.
29:59And if we have started off our sleep hot,
30:03then it's going to impact
30:05the quality of our sleep
30:06and we're going to wake up earlier
30:08having not had a good sleep
30:09and not slept for long enough.
30:12Now, in terms of her
30:15doing the exercise in the evening,
30:17it's about
30:17can she shorten it by 15 minutes?
30:19So if she was having an exercise
30:22for an hour,
30:22can we do that 15 minutes
30:24is really helpful.
30:25The second thing is
30:26like you were doing
30:27and suggesting is
30:28cooling the body,
30:30cooling the bed,
30:32that can be helpful.
30:34She will have a shower
30:36before she goes to sleep
30:37because that actually,
30:38once she comes out of the shower,
30:40that drops her core body temperature.
30:42So that's helping.
30:43And then looking at what she's eating
30:46before she goes to bed as well,
30:47because if she,
30:48you know, exercises
30:50and then comes and has a late meal,
30:52that's not supporting
30:53good quality sleep either.
30:55So timing of her meal,
30:56can she reduce that exercise
30:58by 15 minutes?
30:59And then at the weekend,
31:00she shifts it as well.
31:01So we're still getting in over.
31:03Think about her week,
31:05not just the five days.
31:08And obviously knowing her chronotype
31:11so is also important.
31:12Yeah.
31:13OK, how do I stop
31:16overthinking while sleeping?
31:17I know we discussed this
31:19right before we started recording.
31:20I think this is such a tough one
31:22because I mean,
31:23we have no control over
31:25what our brain does
31:26while we're sleeping.
31:27So I think it ties into
31:29a lot of the methods
31:31we spoke about as well.
31:32But what if someone
31:33is such an overthinker
31:34that they're overthinking
31:35even while they're asleep?
31:37So again,
31:38there's two aspects to this picture
31:40because or question rather,
31:41because often we say
31:44we have a problem.
31:45OK, I'm going to sleep on it.
31:48And that's because
31:48when we are sleeping,
31:50our body is making sense
31:53and it's almost role playing
31:55what has happened throughout the day.
31:56And therefore,
31:57at a very conscious level
32:00and deep, deep level,
32:02our body has and our brain
32:05has looked at working out this problem.
32:08And that's why
32:08when we wake up in the morning,
32:10we have the answer
32:12because that rapid eye movement
32:14is that emotional processing.
32:16It's helping us to make sense
32:17of all the things
32:18that have happened throughout the day.
32:19Our body is making sense
32:22and it's almost role playing
32:24what has happened throughout the day.
32:25And therefore,
32:26at a very conscious level
32:29and deep, deep level,
32:31our body has and our brain
32:34has looked at working out this problem.
32:37And that's why
32:37when we wake up in the morning,
32:39we have the answer
32:41because that rapid eye movement
32:43is that emotional processing.
32:45It's helping us to make sense
32:46of all the things
32:47that have happened throughout the day.
32:48And also with that,
32:50when we sleep,
32:51it's almost like our brain
32:53is a filing system
32:55and the different memories
32:56are filed into different cabinets
33:00so that we can retrieve it
33:01when we need it.
33:02So that's why the different types of sleep
33:04are really important.
33:05So if you are anxious around your sleep,
33:08then you certainly would try and avoid
33:10having any big discussions at bedtime.
33:13So, you know,
33:14if you had a financial issue,
33:15you definitely wouldn't be
33:16having a financial discussion
33:18with your partner around sleep,
33:21around your bedtime.
33:22So it's about making sure
33:23that the content that which you are consuming
33:26is not going to increase your anxiety.
33:30The second thing that you could be doing
33:31if you are highly anxious
33:33is about asking the question,
33:34why?
33:35Why am I anxious?
33:36What can I do?
33:37If I am naturally an anxious person,
33:40what tools can I use
33:42that will help to reduce my anxiety?
33:45So there is your CBTI,
33:47your cognitive behavioral therapy,
33:49that is looking at journaling,
33:50that is looking at these T's,
33:52your ashwagandha,
33:54low lighting,
33:55all of these things
33:56are going to dial your brain down.
33:58You can train your brain
34:00to switch from,
34:02just like you would with a remote control.
34:04Right.
34:05We use a remote control
34:06and we switch, you know,
34:07the different channels.
34:09With practice,
34:11the brain is an incredible organ.
34:13You can actually train your brain
34:15into switching from that anxious thought
34:19because thoughts that come into your head,
34:22you've got less control over.
34:24But what we do with them,
34:26that's where we've got the control.
34:27Yeah, I think you said it.
34:29I think the key word there is train.
34:31It's how you train your brain
34:33and how you change certain behaviors
34:35and change the conversations
34:37that you're having right before sleeping.
34:39Okay, one last question
34:40and I will let you go.
34:41I am so sorry.
34:42We've kept you for so long.
34:43No, I'm loving it.
34:44So many questions,
34:45but it's a good reason
34:46to have you back on the show.
34:47It is.
34:48So the last question is,
34:50why do I wake up exhausted
34:52even if I didn't do any physical activity,
34:54I'm not stressed the previous day
34:57and slept at least seven good hours?
35:00You know, again,
35:01looking at what happens
35:02that precedes her bedtime,
35:04you know, two to three hours before.
35:06And one of the reasons
35:08that they're not sleeping is exercise.
35:10Are they getting enough exercise?
35:12Because we know we have exercise
35:14that signals to the brain
35:16to release the human growth hormone
35:19and the human growth hormone
35:20is what really helps
35:22with our deep, deep sleep.
35:24So is it that they're not being as active?
35:28Seven hours is a good amount of sleep
35:32for that person,
35:32but actually they may well need nine hours.
35:35So if they're not getting
35:36the sleep requirement for them,
35:39then that could be a reason
35:40that they're just not getting
35:41enough sleep for them.
35:43Julie, it's always a pleasure.
35:46I wish we could carry on,
35:47but this is it for today
35:49and this is our time.
35:51Thank you so much for joining us.
35:52And for our listeners,
35:54please get your questions in.
35:56We will always call Julie
35:58and tell her to come back
36:00to answer some more questions.
36:01You can send them through
36:02on podcasts at gulfnews.com.
36:06Julie also has a Nurture to Sleep program
36:09that you can check out.
36:10You can tell us briefly about that
36:12before we conclude.
36:13So you can find me on Instagram,
36:15which is Nurture to Sleep with a number two
36:18and there's lots of information there.