Ep. 97: The Sleep Fix with Diane Macedo
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Omnipresent screens and always-on work schedules are playing havoc with our sleep cycles, creating a population that is getting less shut-eye, and experiencing more sleep disruptions, than ever before. That’s a problem because research suggests that sleep is integral to our cognitive, physical and mental health, with poor sleep increasing risk for everything from high blood pressure to diabetes and depression. Former insomniac and ABC News anchor Diane Macedo’s new book, The Sleep Fix, includes practical, proven and surprising solutions for insomnia, snoring, shift work and more. In episode 97, Macedo joins Medcan’s clinical director of travel medicine Dr. Aisha Khatib as they explore how sleep really works, and how to identify exactly what is keeping you up at night.
We’ll get to links and insights in a moment, but first: Our 100th episode is coming up! And want to hear from you: What’s YOUR best eat, move or think tip? We’ll use the best optimal wellness suggestions in episode 100. To submit your tip, record a quick video or voice note on your phone, and send it to info@eatmovethinkpodcast.com.
LINKS
Check out Diane Macedo’s Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Buy her new book: The Sleep Fix: Practical, Proven and Surprising Solutions for Insomnia, Snoring, Shift Work and More
Read this article from The National Sleep Association: “How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?” written by Eric Suni.
Learn more about the science behind sleep and sleep disorders in these scientific studies:
This 2017 study in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows the relationship between sleep duration and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular complications
This 2017 study in Nature and Science of Sleep shows the effects of sleep disruption on the brain and other organs.
This 2016 study in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care shows that more than 30 percent of the population sampled has chronic insomnia.
INSIGHTS
Our sleep drive is what tells our body when to get tired. “The longer you’re awake, the more sleep pressure builds up, and the more sleepy you get until you eventually fall asleep,” says Macedo. Our wake drive, or circadian rhythm, sends us wake signals throughout the day. The timing of those signals depends on whether you are a night owl or an early bird, and the balance between our sleep and wake drives allows us to fall asleep and wake up at the right times. [11:11]
Our circadian rhythm can get thrown off by environmental factors throughout the day, making it more difficult to fall asleep. The most powerful environmental factor is light. “If you're feeling sleepy at a time you want to be awake, expose yourself to bright light,” says Macedo, who turns on a sun lamp in her bathroom while she gets ready in the morning. “You want to expose yourself to darkness at night,” she says. “Start doing it four or five hours before bed. That is telling your body nighttime is coming.” [15:25]
You’ve heard it before: screen time before bed is bad for our sleep. Many of us set screen curfews for ourselves and our families. “The problem is, you're losing that part of the night where your brain eases off, you enjoy watching a show and you're not overly thinking about things,” says Macedo. “For a lot of people, that has much worse repercussions on their sleep than whatever small amount of blue light they were getting from that screen.” When using screens before bed, stick to something passive that lets your brain unwind, like watching your favourite show. [18:56]
We’ve always heard that adults need around eight hours of sleep. “That’s like saying everybody needs the same amount of food to be full. It's just not true,” says Macedo. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the range can actually fall between five and 11 hours, and many people can still fall outside of that. “This idea of a ‘recommended eight hours’ drives so many of us to either develop or ignore our sleep problems,” she says. [35:06]
“A lot of people [think], ‘insomnia is something I just have to live with.’ Insomnia is a condition, and it is treatable,” says Macedo. “Other conditions can either be confused for insomnia, or can coexist with insomnia.” This is why it’s important to visit a sleep specialist who can properly assess your sleep disorder. Macedo notes that most doctors are only taught two hours about sleep in all four years of medical school. [30:44]