Sunday, December 6, 2015
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Smartphones Ruin Sleep
Smartphones Ruin More Than Your Sleep — They May Also Be Destroying Your Vision
KEVIN LORIA Sep. 9, 2014
If you are buying a new iPhone, don't use it in bed — and not just because nighttime smartphone use messes up your sleep cycle.
The blue light from personal electronic devices has also been linked to serious physical and mental health problems.
Blue light is part of the full light spectrum, which means we're exposed to it by the sun every day. However, nighttime exposure to that light, which is emitted at high levels by smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other LED screens, may be damaging your vision. It also suppresses production of the hormone melatonin, which throws off your body's natural sleep cues.
When your melatonin levels and sleep cycle go haywire, your risk goes up for a wide range of ailments, from depression to cancer.
Our various personal electronic devices emit blue light because it's so bright. That's the only way we can see those screens when the sun is shining. But we've started to have regular close-up nighttime exposure to this light only in the past 10 or 20 years, as a recent Gigaom story on the topic notes.
Now we're really starting to see the consequences.
Blue Light At Night
1. The damage that this habit does to our eyes alone is both significant and surprising. Direct exposure to blue light can cause damage to the retina. The American Macular Degeneration Foundation warns that retinal damage caused by blue light may lead to macular degeneration, which causes the loss of central vision — the ability to see what's in front of you.
It should be noted however, that most studies show this effect with the light being held very close to the retina, which may not exactly replicate typical phone use.
2. There may also be a link between cataracts and blue light, though more research is needed. Gigaom cited an eye doctor who says he's starting to see 35-year-olds with eyes that are as cloudy with cataracts as 75-year-olds. Though a single account can't prove that blue light exposure causes cataracts — this doctor just thinks there's a link, which doesn't count as evidence — the idea is being investigated. Still, studies haven't concluded anything certain yet.
3. Exposure to blue light at night can ruin sleep. Bright blue light disrupts the brain's production of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep cycle. That's fine in the morning, but our brains are supposed to start producing melatonin when we are ready for sleep, and blue light interferes with that process. That's why smartphones ruin sleep, and messing with your sleep has a long list of associated health consequences that range from obesity to genetic disruption and memory problems.
4. Sleep disturbance and "light at night" have been linked to higher cancer risk, particularly for breast and prostate cancers. In addition to helping us sleep, melatonin also functions as an antioxidant. And while more research is needed, researchers have pointed to "uninterrupted darkness" as potentially protective against cancer. People whose natural melatonin production is suppressed are at a higher risk for a variety of cancers, though a causal relationship has not been found.
5. Blue light may also take a toll on mental health. Research also shows that people whose melatonin levels are suppressed and whose body clocks are thrown off by light exposure are more prone to depression.
Our Weird Relationship With Blue Light
Despite the way this may sound, it doesn't mean that blue light is bad all the time. At times, it's actually beneficial to your health.
Light tells us when to wake and when to sleep. When bright blue light sends a signal to the brain to stop producing melatonin, it also primes your brain to start production of the hormone again later — in theory while you are getting ready for bed.
Experts say that getting an hour of sunlight in the morning helps people regulate their melatonin production and sleep cycle. They recommend getting some morning light without wearing sunglasses, so light gets through the retina and signals the pineal gland, which is what actually controls melatonin production.
That's great in the A.M., but when nighttime screen usage convinces our brains that it's morning and they shouldn't produce melatonin, that starts to wreak havoc on our bodies.
We can't avoid smartphones, computers, and tablets all the time. But we should try to limit our exposure at night. Sometimes, wearing amber glasses that block blue light or using apps that limit the amount of blue light coming from our screens may help.
Taking breaks from screen time is a good idea too – especially right before and in bed.
READ MORE: Your Smartphone Is Destroying Your Sleep
SEE ALSO: 25 Horrible Things That Happen If You Don't Get Enough Sleep
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphones-effect-on-vision-and-health-2014-9#ixzz3fZ0rLaqt
Caffeine at Night May Disrupt the Body's Internal Clock – WebMD
Caffeine at Night May Disrupt Your Internal Clock
And that could make you want to sleep later, say researchers, who see possible treatment for jet lag
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- A small and preliminary study suggests that caffeine does more than serve as an eye-opener: When consumed a few hours before bed, the most widely consumed psychoactive drug in the world seems to disrupt the body's internal clock.
And this could cause jet lag-style sluggishness during daylight hours, the study authors suggest.
The research doesn't say anything about how coffee consumption in the morning or throughout the day may affect the body's internal clock. And the findings need to be confirmed.
Still, it seems likely that coffee at night "isn't just keeping you awake," said study co-author and sleep researcher Kenneth Wright Jr., a professor with the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "It's also pushing your [internal] clock later so you want to go to sleep later."
At issue: The body's circadian clock, which sets biological rhythms such as sleep/wake cycles. Every cell in the human body has a clock, Wright said.
The new study aims to understand how caffeine may affect the body clock. Other research has suggested that caffeine disrupts body clocks in other organisms and species such as algae, fruit flies and perhaps mice, he said.
Wright and his colleagues examined five people who were studied over 49 days. Three hours before their regular bedtime, they were assigned to consume a capsule of caffeine equal to a double espresso -- with the amount adjusted to their body size -- or a placebo capsule. They were also exposed to either bright or dim light. Bright light can reset the body clock and make people want to go to bed later.
The researchers found that the caffeine appeared to delay the body clocks of the study participants by 40 minutes, about half the delay linked to exposure to bright light.
The amount of caffeine was small, the equivalent of about a double espresso or medium cup of coffee for most people, Wright said. "We're not talking about a lot of caffeine here."
The study suggests that caffeine affects signaling within cells, disrupting a "core component" of the cellular circadian clock.
Sleep researcher Jamie Zeitzer, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, praised the study, noting that it suggests caffeine has an effect beyond making people feel more alert by reducing or masking the need for sleep.
But, he added, the number of participants in the study was very small, making it hard to apply the findings to people in general. And the effect of caffeine itself seems to add little to the effects of bright light therapy, which may limit "this as a typical countermeasure for jet lag or shift work," he said.
If the new study findings can be confirmed, what do they mean for people who get caffeine through coffee and other drinks and foods? The research seems to confirm what coffee fans already know: Don't down a cup of joe when it's late if you want to avoid feeling sluggish the next day due to lack of sleep.
"Removing coffee from your diet or just having it in the morning might help you achieve earlier bedtimes and wake times," Wright said.
But caffeine before bed isn't necessarily a bad thing for everyone, he said, since people's sleep cycles vary. And, Wright added, the research raises the prospect of a medical advance: It's possible that caffeine could be used to treat jet lag since it seems to have the power to adjust body clocks.
Zeitzer, the Stanford researcher, cautioned that using caffeine to combat jet lag "would need to be done judiciously and only in those people in whom caffeine does not have a negative impact on sleep."
The study appears in the Sept. 16 issue of Science Translational Medicine.
Article Sources
SOURCES: Kenneth Wright Jr., Ph.D., professor, Department of Integrative Physiology, and director, Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory, University of Colorado at Boulder; Jamie Zeitzer, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.; Sept. 16, 2015, Science Translational Medicine
Copyright © 2013-2015 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Caffeine at Night May Disrupt the Body's Internal Clock – WebMD:
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20150916/caffeine-at-night-may-disrupt-the-bodys-internal-clock?
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Saturday, August 8, 2015
The Secret to Waking Up Early
Photo by splityarn
Searching for the Secret to Waking Up Early
http://lgrd.co/1woic2O @kevinroose #quotes
Longreads@Longreads
Searching for the Secret to Waking Up Early
http://lgrd.co/1woic2O @kevinroose #quotes
Longreads@Longreads
The big lesson of wake-up science is that with some effort and careful attention to what makes you feel alert and awake, waking up can go from painful to tolerable.
Waking Up Is Hard to Do
How to become a morning person
By Kevin RooseI
llustrations by Giacomo Gambineri
Mark Twain once wrote, “I have tried getting up early, and I have tried getting up late—and the latter agrees with me best.”
Revamping a wake-up ritual is still more art than science. Sleep is one of the more rigorously examined areas of modern neurobiology. Robust studies have been done of how to sleep, how much to sleep, and how to diagnose and treat conditions like sleep apnea. But the act of waking up is a matter of personal preferences.
“The science is soft on this,” said Tetyana Swan, the clinical coordinator at San Francisco Sleep Diagnostics. Swan had plenty of tips for how to feel well-rested (mostly, make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep per night, and avoid waking up during the deepest part of the sleep cycle), but when it came to the more specific questions I had—which kind of alarm clock is best? what should I eat for breakfast?—she was adamant that it was a matter of taste. “Do what works for you,” she said.
But what does work for me? Like most choices I make, the way I wake up is mostly the product of unexamined habit. never stopped to figure out if these are the best methods, or if better alternatives exist. Because no scientifically optimal method exists, I had to become my own laboratory.
-reading studies of post-sleep alertness, combing through reviews of products and sleep gadgets, and speaking with experts in the field. I used myself as a human guinea pig for the better part of a month—A/B testing every bit of my routine to observe its effects on me. And I came up with what I believe is the optimal way to get out of bed.
Attempt 1
Develop a consistent routine
My morning grogginess has a scientific name: sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is defined as a period of impaired cognitive function that starts immediately after waking up. A 1999 study by researchers at Australia’s Victoria University found that sleep inertia caused subjects to perform, on average, about 50 percent worse on cognitive tests within the first three minutes of being woken from deep sleep. This impaired state can last for longer than 30 minutes and happens even to well-rested people. Sleep inertia “impairs the essential cognitive abilities of vigilance and alertness, necessary for sound and rational decision making,” the researchers wrote.
My goal is to have no sleep inertia at all. I want to spring out of bed in the mornings, greeting the day with a smile and laying waste to my to-do list right away.
The first thing experts recommended I do was to be consistent in my sleep pattern.
“Waking up at about the same time everyday is like an anchor,” said Allison Harvey, a professor of clinical psychology and director of the Golden Bear Sleep Research Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley. “All those rhythms in your body align around it.”
I followed Dr. Harvey’s advice, going to bed at precisely 10 p.m. several nights in a row and waking up at 6 a.m. (Several recent studies have claimed that seven hours of sleep is the optimal amount, so I also tried going to bed at 11.)
I sometimes experience neck pain in the morning, so I also tried changing from a soft, fluffy down pillow to an ultra-firm Japanese-style pillow filled with buckwheat hulls, a type that review sites like Sleep Like the Dead and The Sweethome recommend for people who need extra support. (There are lots of buckwheat pillows out there, a top-rated Beans72 model,.)
But even with a sufficient amount of consistent sleep and a more supportive pillow to rest my head on, I still felt groggy in the mornings, and it still took me a good 45 minutes to feel like I was operating at full speed. So I decided to try something else.
Attempt 2
Find the right alarm clock
For years, I’ve been using the default alarm sound (it’s called “Opening”) on my iPhone’s clock app. It works well, in the sense that it successfully gets me up at the right time. But it’s far from pleasant. The noise itself is a klaxon of repetitive, high-pitched xylophonic notes, and it’s among the least jarring sounds in the iPhone’s default set.
Some of my friends swear by digital fitness bands like the Jawbone UP24, which uses micro-accelerometers to track a user’s sleep patterns and can be set to wake you up with a vibration at the optimal point to avoid grogginess. (You set a 10-, 20-, or 30-minute window, and the band senses when you’re in the lightest part of your sleep cycle—when sleep inertia is shortest—and wakes you up.) I’ve gone to sleep wearing an UP24 band in the past, and I trust the science behind it, but I never found it made for a better, more alert awakening. Partly, that’s because waking up to a physical vibration on my wrist, rather than to a sound, always made for a panicky few seconds of thinking I was about to die in an earthquake before I realized what was happening.
To test the alternatives, I ordered two new alarm clocks. The first was the Philips Wake-Up Light ($110 on Amazon), whose product description touts that it is “clinically proven to make waking up more pleasant.” The clock, which comes highly recommended by Gizmodo, works by simulating a natural sunrise. The lamp illuminates over a 30-minute period, slowly filling your bedroom with light until the designated wake-up time. If the light hasn’t woken you up naturally by the time of your alarm, a series of bird sounds plays softly until you manually turn it off.
I loved the Wake-Up Light. Each of the days I used it, I woke up 10 to 15 minutes before the appointed time, pre-empting the bird sounds altogether. It’s often dark when I wake up, but having a fully lit bedroom when I arose made my weekdays feel more like lazy weekend mornings.
The next clock I tried, the Oregon Scientific WS903G Aroma Diffuser and Sound Therapy Clock ($78 on Amazon), was less successful. The clock, which came recommended by SleepForAll.com’s Paul Jordan, works by using an ultrasonic diffuser to pipe aromatherapy scents into your room at an appointed time, waking you up nose-first. I put a bit of lemongrass essential oil into the clock’s reservoir, along with some water, and went to sleep. The next morning, I woke up in a room that smelled like a Thai restaurant.
Attempt 3
Try the R.I.S.E. U.P. method
Waking up isn’t just about using the right alarm clock, of course. It’s also about what you do once you’re upright
Dr. Harvey of the Golden Bear Sleep Research Center told me that she recommends what’s called the R.I.S.E. U.P. method to her patients who suffer from severe sleep inertia.
R.I.S.E. U.P. stands for:
Refrain from snoozing
Increase activity for the first hour
Shower or wash face
Expose yourself to sunlight
Upbeat music
Phone a friend
I tested Dr. Harvey’s method for a week, with very good results. Every morning, I woke up using my Wake-Up Light, then walked to the bathroom to wash my face and hands with cold water. I typically go for a run in the late afternoon, but during this week I ran a short series of sprints first thing in the morning, pumping a “dance workout” Spotify playlist through my headphones as I panted.
For the last step—“phone a friend,” which is designed to increase alertness by forcing you to talk to another person early in the morning—I scheduled phone meetings beginning at 6:30 a.m. The overall effect was significant: I felt alert and awake mere minutes after waking up and maintained my energy levels throughout the morning. (I still started to fade around 3 p.m., but that’s for another experiment.)
Attempt 4
Get your buzz on
More than half of all Americans wake up with a cup of coffee—and science supports their choice. Many studies, including one in 2001 led by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School, have found that caffeine helps with sleep inertia, making us feel more alert more quickly than we would without it.
I typically start my day with a double shot of espresso. But for this experiment, I tested out four alternatives: a Monster energy drink; cold-brewed iced coffee, made with coarse-ground beans from Ritual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco; Runa, a brand of caffeinated Amazonian tea called guayusa that bills itself as a “cleaner” form of energy than coffee; and Sprayable Energy, a canister of caffeinated substance that is designed to be sprayed on the neck or wrists and absorbed through the skin. The company promises that by spritzing yourself with caffeine instead of drinking it, “you will feel awake and focused without being over-stimulated as is common with coffee and energy drinks.”
Of the four methods, the cold-brew coffee worked best. To test the effects of a different temperature on my morning drink, I poured it ice-cold in a glass left in the freezer overnight. The cold temperature woke my mouth up, and holding the frosted glass did for my hands what washing with cold water does for my face. Minutes after downing a glass, I was feeling wired and ready for work. The Runa worked well, too, though I had to drink more of it to feel the same effects as the single glass of iced coffee, due to its lower caffeine content. The Monster energy drink, on the other hand, was terrible —gross-tasting and sugary, with a harsh aftertaste that lingered until I ate a banana to clear it out. And the Sprayable Energy didn’t do much except make my neck sticky. (And yes, I tried cutting out caffeine altogether but gave up after six hours of temple-throbbing misery. For this experiment, at least, I’ll have to work within the confines of my caffeine addiction.)
Attempt 5
Eat something
A 1999 study in the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition concluded that people who eat carbohydrate-dense, high-fiber meals right after waking up feel more alert than those who eat high-fat breakfasts. I’m not a big fan of big breakfasts on weekdays, so I decided to make juices instead, opting for high-fiber blends of kale, carrot, and fruit juices. The first day’s juice was terrible: I added way too much kale, and the resulting green sludge tasted like the run-off at an arboretum. But in subsequent days, I fine-tuned the ingredients, adding sweeteners like apple and ginger (the latter of which is thought to increase mental alertness, and also helps cut the taste of the kale). Ultimately, I wound up with a juice blend that tasted good and didn’t sit too heavy in my stomach. I wasn’t sure it was having any effect on my sleep inertia, but the act of chopping up fruits and vegetables certainly did. (Nothing heightens awareness like early-morning proximity to a sharp knife.)
I also tried eating dark chocolate, based on a 2011 study by University of Reading researchers, which found that young adults who consumed a moderate amount of cocoa flavanols (which are found in all chocolate but are more plentiful the darker it is) had better visual function and short-term memory than those who didn’t. I tried chewing peppermint gum right after waking up, since chewing gum has been linked to improved cognitive function, but I gave that up because it was making my fancy coffee taste like garbage.
Attempt 6
Calibrate, calibrate, calibrate
There are lots of elements of personal wellness that aren’t a matter of opinion. Don’t smoke. Eat a balanced diet. Exercise regularly. But when it comes to waking up, personal tastes still prevail. Once you find something that works for you, it’s important to keep tweaking and fine-tuning your routine until it produces the effects you’re looking for.
At the end of my month-long test, I decided to stick with what worked best for me so far: a consistent sleep pattern of between seven and eight hours, the Wake-Up Light, a large glass of cold-brew coffee, a fiber-heavy breakfast juice, and some intense early-morning exercise. I printed out Dr. Harvey’s R.I.S.E. U.P. routine and taped it to my computer monitor. Each morning, when I wake up, I write down how rested I feel on a 1–to-10 scale and repeat the process half an hour later. I’m constantly adjusting my routine to make myself less tired. (One recent tweak: If I have my coffee before my morning run rather than after it, I both run longer and feel more energized after I get back.) I’ve started taking an online memory test every few days to see how well I’m doing at early-morning alertness. Right now, I’m getting about 94 percent accuracy, with an average reaction time of 0.8 seconds, compared with 85 percent accuracy and a 1.1-second reaction time at the start of the month.
Of course, I’ve only scratched the surface. If I were going to be really thorough, I’d have to try out some of the wackier morning routines of historical figures. Like Winston Churchill, who rose at 7:30 a.m. and stayed in bed until 11 a.m. reading newspapers and eating breakfast, then bathed, took a walk, drank a whisky and soda, and started work. Or Marcel Proust, who is said to have smoked opium powders before breakfast.
The big lesson of wake-up science is that one person’s perfect morning is another person’s hell. But with some effort and careful attention to what makes you feel alert and awake, waking up can go from painful to tolerable.
It’s worth getting these daily habits right. Waking up happens daily during our lifetimes. If adopt good habits, you can become a morning person.
Matter@ReadMatter
A magazine for a generation who grew up not caring about magazines. Say hi at matter@medium.com. San Francisco and New York
medium.com/matter
Link: https://twitter.com/Longreads/status/548210251263401984
Refrain from snoozing
Increase activity for the first hour
Shower or wash face
Expose yourself to sunlight
Upbeat music
Phone a friend
I tested Dr. Harvey’s method for a week, with very good results. Every morning, I woke up using my Wake-Up Light, then walked to the bathroom to wash my face and hands with cold water. I typically go for a run in the late afternoon, but during this week I ran a short series of sprints first thing in the morning, pumping a “dance workout” Spotify playlist through my headphones as I panted.
For the last step—“phone a friend,” which is designed to increase alertness by forcing you to talk to another person early in the morning—I scheduled phone meetings beginning at 6:30 a.m. The overall effect was significant: I felt alert and awake mere minutes after waking up and maintained my energy levels throughout the morning. (I still started to fade around 3 p.m., but that’s for another experiment.)
Attempt 4
Get your buzz on
More than half of all Americans wake up with a cup of coffee—and science supports their choice. Many studies, including one in 2001 led by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School, have found that caffeine helps with sleep inertia, making us feel more alert more quickly than we would without it.
I typically start my day with a double shot of espresso. But for this experiment, I tested out four alternatives: a Monster energy drink; cold-brewed iced coffee, made with coarse-ground beans from Ritual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco; Runa, a brand of caffeinated Amazonian tea called guayusa that bills itself as a “cleaner” form of energy than coffee; and Sprayable Energy, a canister of caffeinated substance that is designed to be sprayed on the neck or wrists and absorbed through the skin. The company promises that by spritzing yourself with caffeine instead of drinking it, “you will feel awake and focused without being over-stimulated as is common with coffee and energy drinks.”
Of the four methods, the cold-brew coffee worked best. To test the effects of a different temperature on my morning drink, I poured it ice-cold in a glass left in the freezer overnight. The cold temperature woke my mouth up, and holding the frosted glass did for my hands what washing with cold water does for my face. Minutes after downing a glass, I was feeling wired and ready for work. The Runa worked well, too, though I had to drink more of it to feel the same effects as the single glass of iced coffee, due to its lower caffeine content. The Monster energy drink, on the other hand, was terrible —gross-tasting and sugary, with a harsh aftertaste that lingered until I ate a banana to clear it out. And the Sprayable Energy didn’t do much except make my neck sticky. (And yes, I tried cutting out caffeine altogether but gave up after six hours of temple-throbbing misery. For this experiment, at least, I’ll have to work within the confines of my caffeine addiction.)
Attempt 5
Eat something
A 1999 study in the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition concluded that people who eat carbohydrate-dense, high-fiber meals right after waking up feel more alert than those who eat high-fat breakfasts. I’m not a big fan of big breakfasts on weekdays, so I decided to make juices instead, opting for high-fiber blends of kale, carrot, and fruit juices. The first day’s juice was terrible: I added way too much kale, and the resulting green sludge tasted like the run-off at an arboretum. But in subsequent days, I fine-tuned the ingredients, adding sweeteners like apple and ginger (the latter of which is thought to increase mental alertness, and also helps cut the taste of the kale). Ultimately, I wound up with a juice blend that tasted good and didn’t sit too heavy in my stomach. I wasn’t sure it was having any effect on my sleep inertia, but the act of chopping up fruits and vegetables certainly did. (Nothing heightens awareness like early-morning proximity to a sharp knife.)
I also tried eating dark chocolate, based on a 2011 study by University of Reading researchers, which found that young adults who consumed a moderate amount of cocoa flavanols (which are found in all chocolate but are more plentiful the darker it is) had better visual function and short-term memory than those who didn’t. I tried chewing peppermint gum right after waking up, since chewing gum has been linked to improved cognitive function, but I gave that up because it was making my fancy coffee taste like garbage.
Attempt 6
Calibrate, calibrate, calibrate
There are lots of elements of personal wellness that aren’t a matter of opinion. Don’t smoke. Eat a balanced diet. Exercise regularly. But when it comes to waking up, personal tastes still prevail. Once you find something that works for you, it’s important to keep tweaking and fine-tuning your routine until it produces the effects you’re looking for.
At the end of my month-long test, I decided to stick with what worked best for me so far: a consistent sleep pattern of between seven and eight hours, the Wake-Up Light, a large glass of cold-brew coffee, a fiber-heavy breakfast juice, and some intense early-morning exercise. I printed out Dr. Harvey’s R.I.S.E. U.P. routine and taped it to my computer monitor. Each morning, when I wake up, I write down how rested I feel on a 1–to-10 scale and repeat the process half an hour later. I’m constantly adjusting my routine to make myself less tired. (One recent tweak: If I have my coffee before my morning run rather than after it, I both run longer and feel more energized after I get back.) I’ve started taking an online memory test every few days to see how well I’m doing at early-morning alertness. Right now, I’m getting about 94 percent accuracy, with an average reaction time of 0.8 seconds, compared with 85 percent accuracy and a 1.1-second reaction time at the start of the month.
Of course, I’ve only scratched the surface. If I were going to be really thorough, I’d have to try out some of the wackier morning routines of historical figures. Like Winston Churchill, who rose at 7:30 a.m. and stayed in bed until 11 a.m. reading newspapers and eating breakfast, then bathed, took a walk, drank a whisky and soda, and started work. Or Marcel Proust, who is said to have smoked opium powders before breakfast.
The big lesson of wake-up science is that one person’s perfect morning is another person’s hell. But with some effort and careful attention to what makes you feel alert and awake, waking up can go from painful to tolerable.
It’s worth getting these daily habits right. Waking up happens daily during our lifetimes. If adopt good habits, you can become a morning person.
Matter@ReadMatter
A magazine for a generation who grew up not caring about magazines. Say hi at matter@medium.com. San Francisco and New York
medium.com/matter
Link: https://twitter.com/Longreads/status/548210251263401984
Sleep Clears Brain
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|
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Good sleep habits can boost attention, decision-making and the ability to resist impulses
A new review of the evidence finds,
- boost attention,
- boost decision-making and
- boost the ability to resist impulses.
- Good sleep habits include:
- going to bed at the same time every night,
- avoiding caffeine late in the day and
- allowing time to mentally wind-down before bedtime.
Professor June Pilcher, who led the study, said:
“Self-control is part of daily decision-making. When presented with conflicting desires and opportunities, self-control allows one to maintain control. Our study explored how sleep habits and self-control are interwoven and how sleep habits and self-control may work together to affect a person’s daily functioning.”
Professor Pilcher explained the review’s conclusions:
“Poor sleep habits, which include inconsistent sleep times and not enough hours of sleep, can also lead to health problems, including weight gain, hypertension and illness
Studies have also found that sleep deprivation decreases self-control but increases hostility in people, which can create problems in the workplace and at home.”
Since sleep and self-control are so intimately connected, improving sleep can help in many ways, Professor Pilcher said:
“Many aspects of our daily lives can be affected by better-managed sleep and self-control capacity.
Improved health and worker performance are two potential benefits, plus societal issues such as addictions, excessive gambling and over spending could also be more controllable when sleep deficiencies aren’t interfering with one’s decision making.”
The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (Pilcher et al., 2015).
His latest book is "Making Habits, Breaking Habits: How to Make Changes That Stick".
How to Wake Up Early
How to Wake Up Early
Four Methods:
- Retraining Yourself
- Sleeping Better
- Waking Easier
- Lifestyle Changes
To effectively wake up early, you'll have to reset your sleep schedule, develop effective waking-up-early habits, and become more of a morning person than you currently are.
Method 1 of 4: Retraining Yourself
Pick your goal wake-up time. If you'd like to get good at being ready and raring to go by 6 AM, here's your goal. This will be the goal you're working toward every day of the week. You're going to do it gradually, though, as to avoid shocking your system.
Method 1 of 4: Retraining Yourself
Pick your goal wake-up time. If you'd like to get good at being ready and raring to go by 6 AM, here's your goal. This will be the goal you're working toward every day of the week. You're going to do it gradually, though, as to avoid shocking your system.
Every day of the week, including weekends until you're completely reprogrammed, there won't be any sleeping in whatsoever. Once you get it down, you won't need to sleep in.
Set your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier than normal. If you're normally sleeping till 9, going cold turkey and aiming for 6:30 just isn't going to happen. Well, it could happen once, but then you spend the entire day drinking coffee and regretting your life decisions. For the next day, set it for 8:45. The next day? 8:30. And even when you hit that glorious Saturday, chuck off 15 minutes until you hit your goal wake-up time.
If mornings are a serious issue for you, stay at one level for two days. Monday and Tuesday can be spent at 8:00 and then on Wednesday bring it down to 7:45.
Give yourself enough time for a good night's rest. If you're used to sleeping from 12 to 9, you can't still go to bed at midnight and expect that 6 AM wake-up call to be all trumpets and roses. As you get up earlier and earlier, go to bed earlier and earlier. The goal isn't to need less sleep (sleep, after all, is wonderful), the goal is just to wake up earliereasier. Science tells us that if you get the recommended amount of sleep during the night, it's easier to do just that.
You can also try conditioning your body to need less sleep if passing on those night hours is like giving up your first born child. It's the same idea, but with maintaining a set bedtime.
Get excited. In order to hop out of bed in the morning with gusto, you may need something to hop out of bed for. So find something to get excited about! If nothing comes to mind, use this experiment as something to do full-force. After all, the path to new, more productive habits is certainly something to be proud of.
What do you have going on in the next day that you can't wait to get up for? Its size does not indicate its efficacy -- small things work just as well. Even getting excited for the morning's cup of joe works! Yum. Can you almost taste it?
Get ready for the benefits. Waking up early is linked to a bunch of different, positive things. Research says that early risers get better grades, are generally more proactive, can anticipate problems and plan better than their late-rising counterparts.[2]Hope you can handle your own impending awesomeness.
It's sort of a chicken before the egg thing. Early risers have more time for exercise, family, and more quiet time at the office (and an easier commute).[2] Is sleep making their lives better or do they sleep better because they have good lives? Try it out for yourself!
Mentally prepare yourself to wake up early. Run through your morning routine in your head so that you have a game plan for the early hours. If you have a plan, you won't need to think about it--just move.
If you need to be out the door and on your way at a certain time, think about how much time you'll need for each step of your morning routine. Consider what, if anything, you can cut out of your routine to streamline the process: do you need that shower, or that cup of coffee?
As you lay in bed, drifting off to sleep, tell yourself: "I need to wake up early tomorrow. I need to wake up at 5 a.m., make a pot of coffee, shower, shave, and be out the door by 5:45. It'll take me twenty minutes to drive to the airport, ten more minutes to get set up in the long-term parking lot, and another fifteen minutes to walk to the security check. I can grab a quick breakfast in the terminal before my flight leaves."
Method 2 of 4: Sleeping Better
Start a nighttime routine. Our bodies need to program down, in a sense. The rush of the day has us into human-sized Energizer bunnies and we can't just go from 60 to 0 in a heartbeat. Your routine should be whatever appeals to you, but it should be daily (to serve as a cue to your body) and take at least 15 minutes.
The routine can consist of showering, drinking warm milk, listening to classical music, or doing relaxing exercises such as yoga or Pilates. If you read, make sure to read without any bright lights (more on that later). Designate your bedroom for sleeping only. Refrain from any strenuous activities right before, as this will inhibit comfortable sleep time.
Dim the lights about an hour before you go to sleep. Bright lights can suppress the hormone melatonin, which can lead to sleeplessness and suppress the "tired" feeling.[3][4] Try to turn off TV screens, laptop monitors and the like an hour before you want to go to sleep.
The science behind it is that all these bright lights are messing with our body's internal clocks. When you're sitting in front of a computer, TV, and phone until 2 AM, your body has zero ideas as to what's going on; it could be 2 AM or 2 PM for all it knows. Turning off the lights lets your body realize, "Ahh, it's bedtime. Shutting down!"
Get a decent amount of shut-eye. It's a simple truth, but that doesn't mean it's any less important: sleeping enough will help you wake up earlier. What are yours?
It's easier to wake up early if you've have the recommended amount of sleep during the night. Plan on getting:
7 to 9 hours of sleep for men.[5]
8 to 9 hours of sleep for women.[5]
9 to 10 hours of sleep for pregnant women.[5]
10 to 12 hours of sleep for children and the elderly.[5]
Sleep with the curtains half-open. Sleeping with the curtains half-open could help your body to stop producing melatonin while simultaneously ramping up production of adrenaline.[6] This could help your body be ready to embrace the day by the time your alarm clock goes off.
You know how we just said light keeps you awake? Well, if you're asleep it awakens you. Crazy stuff, huh? The natural sunlight will be perceived by your body, even when you're asleep.
Sunlight can also warm your bed, letting the temperature tell you to get up, too. If that's possible, consider placing your bed in the right position in your room to utilize this effect.
Try to fall back asleep if you wake up at night. Remain in bed to avoid awakening your body should you move around. However, if you're tossing and turning for over 20 minutes, get up. Do a relaxing activity (like reading or stretching) until you feel you can go back.
Getting up in the middle of the night could be the symptom of a larger problem. Evaluate your habits and your environment. If you're doing everything right (you'll know by the end of this page), consider seeing a doctor. You may have a sleep condition that he/she can help with.
Adjust the temperature. Most doctors will tell you to keep the room somewhere between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit (18 to 22°C).[7] However, what's comfortable for one person may not be comfortable for another. If you have any trouble sleeping, consider messing with the temperature. You may find your sleeping woes to vanish at the click of a button.
If you're not sleeping alone, utilize layers or the lack thereof. Try to find a common ground where you're both negotiating. Worst comes to worst, there's always heating blankets!
Method 3 of 4: Waking Easier
Put your alarm clock away from your bed. When it's out of reach, you're forced to get out of bed. Putting it next to your bed is just a temptation to hit the snooze button and fall back to sleep -- for 9 minutes. Not helpful at all.
Consider getting a new one. There are tons of alarms with different tones. Maybe yours isn't working for you, in which case, consider a new one. [8]
Be considerate of roommates and housemates. If you're sleeping in the same room as someone, tell them your plan to wake up early, and ask their permission to set an alarm. This way, they can prepare for the alarm--with earplugs, or opting to sleep somewhere else for the night--and they won't be startled awake in the morning.
Avoid snoozing your alarm clock. As soon as the alarm rings, get out of bed to start your morning. You will eventually awaken and feel better that you've persevered through morning drowsiness. Jump out of bed (as much as is feasible) and think about tackling your inevitably awesome day.
Snoozing won't make you feel more rested. Scientists have found that you don't get the more restful, REM sleep while snoozing, making this guilty pleasure especially wasteful for your wakefulness. In fact, you'll just feel worse.[9]
Wake up your senses. Once you've gotten out of bed, give yourself that much-deserved pick-me-up. It could be a cup of coffee or tea (that brewing smell will be sure to get you going), a cold glass of water, or a nice shower. Whatever it is, make sure it awakens one (or more) of your senses. When your body and mind are stimulated, you'll automatically wake up to take it in.
Light and sound work, too, in addition to taste, smell, and touch. Throw open the curtains, turn on some music, and get your day off on the right foot. The better the morning, the better the afternoon and evening!
Method 3 of 4: Waking Easier
1
Put your alarm clock away from your bed. When it's out of reach, you're forced to get out of bed. Putting it next to your bed is just a temptation to hit the snooze button and fall back to sleep -- for 9 minutes. Not helpful at all.
Consider getting a new one. There are tons of alarms with different tones. Maybe yours isn't working for you, in which case, consider a new one. [8]
Be considerate of roommates and housemates. If you're sleeping in the same room as someone, tell them your plan to wake up early, and ask their permission to set an alarm. This way, they can prepare for the alarm--with earplugs, or opting to sleep somewhere else for the night--and they won't be startled awake in the morning.
2
Avoid snoozing your alarm clock. As soon as the alarm rings, get out of bed to start your morning. You will eventually awaken and feel better that you've persevered through morning drowsiness. Jump out of bed (as much as is feasible) and think about tackling your inevitably awesome day.
Snoozing won't make you feel more rested. Scientists have found that you don't get the more restful, REM sleep while snoozing, making this guilty pleasure especially wasteful for your wakefulness. In fact, you'll just feel worse.[9]
3
Wake up your senses. Once you've gotten out of bed, give yourself that much-deserved pick-me-up. It could be a cup of coffee or tea (that brewing smell will be sure to get you going), a cold glass of water, or a nice shower. Whatever it is, make sure it awakens one (or more) of your senses. When your body and mind are stimulated, you'll automatically wake up to take it in.
Light and sound work, too, in addition to taste, smell, and touch. Throw open the curtains, turn on some music, and get your day off on the right foot. The better the morning, the better the afternoon and evening!
4
Try to wake up at the end of a sleep cycle to minimize grogginess.
When you sleep, you cycle between REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep comprises three stages: N1 (Transition to sleep), N2 (Light sleep), and N3 (Deep sleep). You usually slip into REM sleep 70 to 90 minutes after falling asleep, and this is when most of your dreams occur.[10]
Each sleep cycle lasts roughly 90 minutes, and repeats four to six times over the course of a night. If you are awoken in the midst of N3 deep sleep, you may feel groggy and disoriented. You want to wake during the lighter, more active stages of sleep, especially REM or N1.
Try setting a wake-up time that's a multiple of 90 minutes away from the current time.
Consider using a sleep-cycle calculator like [1] to plan out the best time to wake.
Method 4 of 4: Lifestyle Changes
Exercise early enough in the day. Many doctors believe that getting in a moderately-intense cardiovascular workout during the afternoon helps people get to sleep at a reasonable time.[11] So go to the gym, join a basketball team, or bust out the dusty treadmill you've been telling yourself you'd use. It'll help you get to sleep earlier.
Try not to exercise later on at night. Exercising late at night raises your body's core temperature. Since sleep is thought to be brought on by a drop in the body's temperature, late-night exercise may be detrimental to an early night's sleep.
Avoid drinking caffeinated drinks at night. It will keep your body awake and ultimately cause insomnia. Limit your daily consumption to less than 500 mg per day.[12]
A grande brewed coffee from Starbucks has 330 mg of caffeine. [13] Red Bull clocks in at a decent 80.[14] Just for the record.
Get more sleep on days after you under-sleep. People need more sleep the next day when they fail to get enough sleep the previous day(s).[15] So if you got only 5 or 6 hours of sleep on Monday (which you shouldn't, usually), be diligent about getting 10 to 11 hours of sleep on Tuesday to compensate for your deprivation. Otherwise, you could be feeding a vicious cycle of sleepiness every morning.
Don't nap for long periods of time during the day to make up for it, however. The closer it gets to actual bedtime, the more devastating a nap can be. If you need to take a nap, try to make it before 3:00 PM, and limit it to under 45 minutes.[4] That'll provide the most rest while still giving you a good chance of falling asleep quickly later at night.
Method 4 of 4: Lifestyle Changes
Avoid eating large meals before bedtime. Not only does the rush of flavor wake you up, but once you do hit the sack, you may have a hard time staying there. Not only is it bad for your waistline, but it's bad for the next day's energy, too.[16]
Your digestion slows down when you sleep and eating a big meal beforehand makes you susceptible to heartburn (in addition to the trips to the bathroom). Going to bed in a near food coma makes it difficult to initially fall asleep, too. So it's best to just avoid it.
Tips
If you are drowsy in the morning, take a cool shower. This will raise your blood pressure and considerably awaken your body.
Before bed, tell yourself that you are going to wake up early. This often helps and you might find yourself waking up earlier then usual.
Read a book! Not a boring one, but your favorite. Your brain will automatically undergo shut-down once it gets tired from all the reading. This is will help you sleep faster.
Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Fall asleep and wake up at the same time every day.
Do physical exercises that stimulate your body. Push-ups, jumping jacks, and lunges are great for ridding morning fatigue.
If you're having trouble waking up in the morning, splash your face with cold water, or before you go to bed, put 2 spoons in the freezer and in the morning when you wake up, hold them on your eyes for about 1 minute. This really helps to open up your eyes and wake you up.
If you use a phone or electronic device as an alarm clock, make it a strange, catchy, jazzy tune that wakes you up. Also be sure to change up the alarm often so that your body does not learn to sleep through it or begrudge waking up to it.
When you wake up, go straight to the bathroom and wash your eyes and face with cold water. The abrupt chill of the water will help reduce grogginess a bit faster and bring your nerves and senses to life.
Try finding the amount of sleep that is right for you. Some people only need seven hours of sleep and feel energized in the morning. Find a week or weekend that you can go to sleep at different times and wake up at the same time. See how energized you are when you wake up.
Try Morning Matches for a lift when you are first trying to become more of a morning person. The supplement helps you physically get out of bed. You can purchase them on Amazon.
Get out of bed slowly so you won't get dizzy.
As soon as your alarm goes off, get out of bed and start on your day. It's helpful to talk yourself through the day because it keeps your mind moving towards things later in the day so you can tell yourself that you are not tired. If you constantly are reminding yourself of your day plans and insisting you aren't tired, the tiring morning hours will fly right by.
Make sure you put the alarm clock on and avoid hitting the snooze button and going back to sleep. You can get an alarm clock that vibrates in your bed or near to you , this helps a lot of deaf children too. Children and the elderly, can also use it but beware of babies as they might cry in the middle of the night or morning!
Do not sit down in your bed once you're up, for you might fall asleep!
Put your alarm clock on the other side of the room so that you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
Sleep well on the previous night. Try to go to bed early and read for a short while.
Before you go to bed, drink some milk, read or do some other relaxing activity.
Select your alarm tone to the most exiting sound you can imagine short of something terrifying. This will help you to wake up early, even if it is only just by startling yourself.
If you put an alarm on your phone, you can put a picture you love the most on the background that will help you start of with a good day.
Motivate yourself to wake up earlier. You should have a purpose to get up, make it vivid.
Make your bed immediately after you wake. This will prevent you from sleeping again.
When you wake up stretch out your body so that your muscles wake up too. Just don't stretch too hard or you could pull one!
If your alarm is set on a phone, see if you can turn the snooze off. Then, there will be no snooze button so you can't be tempted to push it.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Good Sleep Habits
The philosopher Aristotle said, "It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom."
"The early morning has gold in its mouth", a translation of the German proverb "Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund".
Benjamin Franklin is quoted to have said: "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise".
"The early bird gets the worm" is a proverb that suggests that getting up early will lead to success during the day. Which brings to mind the immediate counterpoint: "what about the early worm, shouldn't he have stayed in bed?"
For now, I will keep trying to get up by 8 a.m. because it is just about a habit...
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waking_up_early
"The early bird gets the worm" is a proverb that suggests that getting up early will lead to success during the day. Which brings to mind the immediate counterpoint: "what about the early worm, shouldn't he have stayed in bed?"
For now, I will keep trying to get up by 8 a.m. because it is just about a habit...
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waking_up_early
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Sleep is Important
Make yourself an electronic curfew, 1 hour before lights out.
Try keeping your room a cool 68-72 degrees for better sleep.
Remember everything you do, you do better with a good nights sleep. Don't take it for granted.
Dr. Michael Breus
@thesleepdoctor
Remember everything you do, you do better with a good nights sleep. Don't take it for granted.
Dr. Michael Breus
@thesleepdoctor
Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., is a Clinical Psychologist and a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine.
Sleep Foundation
@sleepfoundation
Helping America sleep better! Sharing info about the importance and benefits of sleep. Visit our new lifestyle pub,http://Sleep.org , today!
Washington DC
Joined March 2008
Jasper the Wolverine
Uploaded on Feb 27, 2012
America the Wild: Wolverine King : SUN MAR 11 at 9P et/pt : http://animals.nationalgeographic.com...
Casey spends time with Jasper, an orphaned wolverine raised by humans, to prepare him for a meet-and-greet in the wild.
Casey spends time with Jasper, an orphaned wolverine raised by humans, to prepare him for a meet-and-greet in the wild.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy of Insomnia
An effective treatment for insomnia.
Post published by John Cline Ph.D. on Aug 17, 2008 in Sleepless in America
Sleeping medication, under the right conditions, can be helpful for insomnia but there are potential problems. When you are dependant on sleeping medication, episodes of rebound insomnia occur when you stop taking it. Side effects such as feeling "hung over" in the morning are common and alarming effects such as sleep walking and even sleep driving are well known.
While sleeping medication is big business, research has shown that the most effective treatment for insomnia is actually cognitive behavioral therapy. This approach to psychotherapy was originally pioneered by such leading researchers as Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck. Beck's outstanding research, theoretical formulation and clinical techniques were first published in a series of significant books and articles in the 1960's and 1970's.
Further research since the publication of the breakthrough "Cognitive Therapy of Depression" in 1979 has shown the utility and effectiveness of this treatment approach with numerous psychological and physical disorders including anxiety, chronic pain and insomnia.
The most important aspect of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for insomnia is that it actually treats the cause of the insomnia itself - and not just the symptoms as medication does. Furthermore, CBT can be combined with medication management for patients who need rapid relief or to help initially break a pattern of insomnia.
CBT works because the primary cause of insomnia is over-arousal or a "too active" awake system in the brain. By helping reduce the arousal associated with the stressors that cause and maintain insomnia, normal sleep can be restored.
CBT helps reduce worry, anxiety, and fear that one won't sleep by providing accurate information about sleep. For example, recognizing that you may be getting more sleep than you think (due to misperceiving lighter stages of sleep as wakefulness) and understanding that you may need less sleep than you thought, can reduce anxiety about not getting enough sleep and paradoxically lead to being able to relax and sleep better. For example, the minimum amount of sleep necessary to maintain alertness in most people is 5.5 hours. This is known as "core sleep" and is less than what most people need (link is external) to feel fully refreshed but may be adequate for normal functioning.
The most important aspect of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for insomnia is that it actually treats the cause of the insomnia itself - and not just the symptoms as medication does. Furthermore, CBT can be combined with medication management for patients who need rapid relief or to help initially break a pattern of insomnia.
CBT works because the primary cause of insomnia is over-arousal or a "too active" awake system in the brain. By helping reduce the arousal associated with the stressors that cause and maintain insomnia, normal sleep can be restored.
CBT helps reduce worry, anxiety, and fear that one won't sleep by providing accurate information about sleep. For example, recognizing that you may be getting more sleep than you think (due to misperceiving lighter stages of sleep as wakefulness) and understanding that you may need less sleep than you thought, can reduce anxiety about not getting enough sleep and paradoxically lead to being able to relax and sleep better. For example, the minimum amount of sleep necessary to maintain alertness in most people is 5.5 hours. This is known as "core sleep" and is less than what most people need (link is external) to feel fully refreshed but may be adequate for normal functioning.
Cognitive techniques help people identify, challenge and replace negative, inaccurate sleep thoughts with accurate, positive sleep thoughts. Negative sleep thoughts can occur during the night ("I won't be able to function tomorrow if I don't get to sleep soon") as well as during the day ("I got an awful night of sleep last night so I will have a terrible day at work today").
Positive sleep thoughts are used to counteract the negative thoughts with more accurate information ("I am not sleeping well tonight but I have had many other nights like this and have been able to function reasonably well at work anyway"). Cognitive techniques help reduce stress and allow better sleep.
Many behavioral techniques are used as part of this therapy. With sleep restriction and sleep scheduling the amount of time in bed is reduced to be closer to the amount of actual sleep the person is getting and regular sleep and wake times are maintained.
Many behavioral techniques are used as part of this therapy. With sleep restriction and sleep scheduling the amount of time in bed is reduced to be closer to the amount of actual sleep the person is getting and regular sleep and wake times are maintained.
If someone is usually sleeping an average of 6 hours a night but is spending 8 hours in bed, the recommendation will be to reduce time in bed to about 6.5 hours. This decreases the unpleasant sense of being awake in bed at night.
By increasing the amount of time out of bed (and therefore not in light sleep that is misperceived as wakefulness), sleep drive is increased thus helping the person more rapidly enter into a deeper sleep.
Other techniques include avoiding daytime naps (which decrease night time drive to sleep), stimulus control, sleep hygiene, and stress management. Stimulus control is based on classical conditioning effects in which long periods of being awake in bed result in association learning such that getting into bed results in the expected response of being alert and awake.
To extinguish this response the following instructions are given: after subjectively being awake for 20 to 30 minutes, get out of bed and go to a quiet, comfortable place and relax until drowsiness occurs. At that time go back to bed. If another 20 to 30 minutes go by without falling asleep, repeat the process, doing so as many times as necessary. In time the automatic alertness is extinguished and the conditioned arousal associated with the bed is eliminated.
Sleep hygiene involves the use of guidelines to create the best conditions and environment for sleep. An example would be avoiding caffeine later in the day. Stress management might include setting up a "buffer zone" of about an hour for winding down and relaxing before going to bed.
CBT has been tested in a number of well controlled research studies and has been found to be an effective treatment for insomnia. Of significance, a course of CBT may not only continue to have positive outcomes 12 months after completion of the program but also the effect can continue to improve long after treatment. This is because patients continue to practice the techniques and so experience further improvement with time.
CBT has been tested in a number of well controlled research studies and has been found to be an effective treatment for insomnia. Of significance, a course of CBT may not only continue to have positive outcomes 12 months after completion of the program but also the effect can continue to improve long after treatment. This is because patients continue to practice the techniques and so experience further improvement with time.
With consistent use of these methods it is possible to get a good, natural night of sleep. No pills, no dependency, no side effects- just wonderful, refreshing sleep.
Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleepless-in-america/200808/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-insomnia
Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleepless-in-america/200808/cognitive-behavioral-therapy-insomnia
Circadian Rhythm
What is the Circadian Rhythm?
Your Sleep Cycle
Blue Light Hazardous to Sleep
Blue Light Hazardous to Sleep, but Helpful While Awake
Artificial light is a hazard to sleep, but beneficial to daytime function.
Post published by Michael J Breus Ph.D. on Mar 19, 2014 in Sleep Newzzz
We’re continuing to learn more about the stimulating effects of blue wavelength light and its capacity to disrupt sleep. Exposure to artificial light at night is recognized as a hazard to sleep, contributing to rising rates of disrupted and disordered sleep. Different wavelengths of light have been shown to affect human physiology and sleep cycles in different ways. Blue light, a short-wavelength light, has been singled out as more significantly disruptive to sleep than other colors on the light spectrum. Research has shown blue light delays release of the sleep hormone melatonin, disrupts circadian rhythms, and may influence negative changes to mood.
In our pursuit of energy efficiency, we’re finding ourselves exposed to greater amounts of blue light than ever before. High-efficiency light bulbs, as well as digital devices including smartphones, tablets, and computers, emit high concentrations of blue light. Blue light appears to be uniquely detrimental to our sleep. But can it also be singularly beneficial during to our waking lives?
A new study further examines the stimulating effects of blue wavelength light, focusing on the effects of daytime exposure to the short-wavelength light. Researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University investigated the effects on alertness and cognitiveperformance from prolonged daytime exposure to blue light. They also compared the daytime effects of blue light exposure to the effects of evening exposure to the same degree of light. Their findings confirm that blue light at night stimulates alertness and diminishes feelings of drowsiness, interfering with sleep. Exposure to blue light during the day, however, results in a similar, more welcome boost to alertness and reduction to fatigue, which stand to benefit both daytime function and nighttime rest.
The study included 16 healthy young adult men and women. To evaluate the impact of blue light in the day and evening, researchers compared the stimulating effects of blue wavelength light to green wavelength light. Participants were exposed to equal amounts of blue light or green light for a period of 6.5 hours in the middle of a 16.5-hour waking day. Researchers measured fatigue, alertness, and performance using ratings from participants themselves, as well as tests to measure attention, response, and reaction times. Researchers also measured brain activity during periods of light exposure using EEG. Their results indicate that across all measures, extended exposure to blue light during both day and night significantly increased alertness:
- People exposed to blue light during the day reported less sleepiness than those exposed to green light during the same daytime period.
- People exposed to daytime blue light displayed quicker reaction times, higher levels of alertness, and greater attention spans in performance tests, compared to people exposed to green light.
- EEG tests showed alterations to brain activity that indicated heightened alertness among people exposed to blue light during the day.
The nighttime effects of blue light exposure were also significantly more potent than green light exposure, in ways that are disruptive to sleep:
- People exposed to blue light at night reported feeling significantly less sleepy than those exposed to green light in the evening hours.
- EEG results showed heightened alertness among people exposed to blue light in the evening.
- People exposed to blue light at night scored higher on attention and reaction performance tests than people exposed to green light during the same period.
- Overall alertness among people exposed to blue light at night was nearly as high as daytime levels of alertness.
These results suggest that blue light spurs alertness and reduces sleepiness in ways that are detrimental to sleep at night but may be beneficial during waking hours, in improving daytime performance and reducing daytime fatigue. What’s more, this boost in daytime alertness and decrease in sleepiness may actually help improve sleep at bedtime. Most of the research into the effects of blue light has focused on its capacity to disrupt sleep. This is one of the first studies to explore the possible benefits of blue light to daytime functioning. There is limited earlier research that supports these current results, including a 2008 study conducted in the United Kingdom. Office workers who were exposed to blue light in the morning experienced both a reduction to daytime sleepiness and improvements to the quality of their nighttime sleep, according to the results of that investigation.
These current finding also indicate that blue light hinders sleep in ways beyond the delayed release of melatonin, and alteration to circadian rhythms. Exposure to blue light at night spurs cognitive function and alertness in ways very similar to daytime stimulation, a change that can make sleep significantly more difficult to achieve.
Exposure to artificial light at night—especially to the high concentrations of blue light coming from digital devices—will interfere with the ability to sleep. Too often, these devices find their way into our bedrooms, in many instances even to be used as alarm clocks. The presence of artificial light from devices like smartphones and tablets in the bedroom poses a challenge to the darkness that is so important to normal circadian rhythm function. This nighttime light intrusion also stimulates alertness and brain activity that is counterproductive to the mind and body’s natural pull toward sleep.
We’re at the relative beginning of our understanding of how different forms of light affect sleep and health—and how light might be manipulated not only to protect sleep but also toenhance waking performance. With new technologies appearing to help provide effective lighting during the day and provide solutions for the effect of light’s interference before sleep, these issues only stand to grow in importance. As we continue to explore the effects of exposure to different forms of light, we may find that blue light poses both problems andsolutions for sleep.
Guided Relaxation (like Jon Kabat - Zinn meditation)
http://www.thesleepdoctor.com/downloads/02BodyRelaxation.mp3
Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com
Dr. Michael Breus
@thesleepdoctor
Board Certified Sleep Specialist, author and expert. Providing information, guidance, & real solutions for a better night's #sleep!
United States
Joined February 2009
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