Fact or Fiction: You Can Catch Up on Sleep Over the Weekend

If we're watching our weight and "blow it" on any given day, we're told it's okay because we can make up for it the next day and get back on track. But what about when we lose sleep? Can we catch up over the weekend and, say, sleep in on Sunday morning to make up for those late, late nights during the work week?

I get this question a lot. I think it's because people expect to hear something different from the truth: NO, you can't just pay off a sleep debt by sleeping late on the weekend. Sorry. The proof? Check out the following studies of late, which have changed some of the conventional thinking of many of us in the world of sleep science:

• In 2003, scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research examined the cognitive effects of a week of poor sleep, followed by three days of sleeping at least eight hours a night. The scientists found that the "recovery" sleep did not fully reverse declines in performance on a test of reaction times and other psychomotor tasks, especially for subjects who had been forced to sleep only three or five hours a night.


• In a similar study in 2008, scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found that when subjects slept four hours a night over five days, and then "recovered" with eight hours a night over the following week, they still showed slight residual cognitive impairments a week later, even though they reported no sleepiness.


• Another study done this year at Walter Reed found that people recovered much more quickly from a week of poor sleep when it was preceded by a "banking" week that included nights with 10 hours of shuteye.

The good news in this latest study, and a change from prior thinking, is that it appears you can prepare for an upcoming sleep debt by banking some hours of sleep. In other words, if you know you have a week of little sleep ahead of you, try loading up on sleep beforehand, not simply afterward. However it should be noted that you are likely only paying off a bit of sleep debt, to bring your reserves back to normal, before depleting them again.

The bad news, of course, is that it's not so easy to pay off a sleep debt in a single night of solid sleep. And the effects of that sleep deprivation can last a lot longer than what you'd imagine. (We all just got an extra hour a few weeks ago when the time changed. How much better off are you today?)

The lesson: avoid chronic sleep deprivation entirely, and when life gets in the way of that goal, then plan for it. Use weekends to prepare for a long work week rather than trying to make up for them.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

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Andy Rooney on Sleep

dno1967 / CC BY 2.0

Yes, Andy, we do sleep about a third of our lives away.

And I agree, it would be nice to have a gauge on us to let us know when we need to get some shut eye or when we've had enough, much like a battery light that comes on to tell us it's time to charge a certain device for optimal use. Green means go. Red mean stop.

Earlier this month when Andy Rooney gave his classic spiel during the last segment of 60 Minutes, he talked about sleep. He doesn't quite understand why so many people have problems with sleep, especially since he "can sleep night or day, sitting, standing, or lying down" and he admits to falling asleep right at his desk or on a bus going across town. He can get along on 7 hours, and thinks that anyone who gets 9 hours or more is sleeping his or her life away.

Andy's quips were no doubt enjoyed by many. But a few big topics Andy failed to cover, though, are sleep's impact on:

• overall health;


• memory; and


• the ability to get things done (ahem, like work into your nineties and have the energy to go on television on a weekly basis).

But what about that "device" to tell us when we've had the perfect amount of sleep? Might I suggest:

• Signs of your battery is getting low: fatigue, sleepiness, low energy, need for caffeine, moodiness, inability to focus, difficult concentrating


• Signs of your battery has been charged properly: feeling refreshed when you wake up, having the energy to get through your day, not needing caffeine to stay awake, alert, and productive

Put simply: the body tells us when we need sleep. It's the "y" effect. When we're hungry, we eat, when we're thirsty, we drink, and when we're sleepy, we sleep - or at least we should. And I sense that Mr. Rooney knows that, alongside the other secrets to sound sleep. How else can he be so vibrant, focused, and productive at ninety years old?

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

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Pilot Fatigue to Blame?

If you learned upon landing that your plane's pilots had overshot the airport by 150 miles because they fell asleep at the controls, what would you feel?

Terrified?
Shocked?
Lucky?

I'd feel a mix of the above. In this week's latest hit to the airline industry, a Northwest flight to Minneapolis overshot its destination and pilot fatigue could be to blame. Of course, the pilots are saying they were in an argument at the time and that's the reason for the blunder (not that I'd like to see my pilots so distracted over a "debate" that they still overshoot the runway!).

Fatigue among pilots has been a recurring theme this year, punctuated earlier this year by the deadly crash near Buffalo that was partly blamed on fatigue (that crash was blamed on pilot error).

The Federal Aviation Administration is rewriting its rules that govern flight time for pilots and their required rest periods in order to reduce the chances of fatigue. It will be the first update to the rules in decades and will utilize research that wasn't available before.

Does that make me feel better the next time I fly?

A little, maybe. Trouble is, it can be hard to legislate such rules. And sometimes fatigue over a series of poorly slept nights can catch up to you days later. In other words, you could have a sleep-deprived weekend, feel okay on Monday but be a zombie on Tuesday when you're expected to perform - and the lives of countless others are in your hands.

I've written about shift workers a lot in the past. But those who have jobs that put the lives of many others at stake should be scrutinized to a much higher degree. If it's that easy to fall asleep at the controls of an airplane - without the airplane knowing (or its numerous flight attendants!), then I say, let's invent something that can keep check on that. With all the gadgets we have at our disposal today, can't we find one that can alert the crew on a flight when its captain has nodded off?

Just a thought. Now that would make me feel safer in the skies.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

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• Sleep Disorders: Member Discussion
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Big Decisions After All-Nighters?

Imagine having to make a huge decision that may affect the lives of millions. Your constituents have voted with confidence in your ability represent them on issues like health care and education.

But after months of contentious debate, when the deadline nears, it comes time to make the critical decisions, there's nothing left to do but pull numerous all-nighters, eat poorly, and struggle to stay awake while you and your colleagues fight for a resolution.

Sound like a group project in college or business school? No wait - it is actually the State Senate!

This is what's been happening in states like California where budgets are running in the red and constitutional rules have forced legislators to lock themselves in the statehouse to get bills passed. California lawmakers have pulled at least six all-nighters so far this year.

On some of these nights, the atmosphere is more like a slumber party than a political arena, as some politicians sneak in a snore-laden snooze while others play solitaire, sing, or Twitter to the outside world - activities that may help them stay awake during discussion or debate, but might not help them focus as much as they would like on the task at hand.

Crazy? I think so. No good decision can be made by anyone operating with so much sleep deprivation, especially when it's not just one or two people here. We're talking about an entire assembly of lawmakers trying to do their job and make an impact on the health and welfare of all of us - the folks that elected them - to keep us safe and make sound decisions about our future. That's right: we trust them to make decisions about the health and welfare of others even though when it comes to their own sleep, they don't always make the best health decisions. A real case of "do as I say, not as I do."

We know this about sleep deprivation: there are real physiological and psychological effects as we deprive our bodies of a basic physical need. Our judgment isn't always the best. We know that we start to make bad food choices - we crave things like doughnuts and cookies - choices we might not make when well rested and energized. We do things like "go all in" at 3 a.m., a choice we might not make earlier in the evening. Our reaction time slows, our memory decreases, our bodies and minds slow down in an effort to preserve the energy we have left.

Here's what I see going on as a result of all that sleepiness:

• Bad moods fueling endless, pointless debates among cantankerous colleagues.


• An inability to think clearly and rationally.


• Abuse of caffeine, Visine, and junk food.


• Sporadic snoozing, leaving many missing out on important conversations that are necessary for arriving at effective decisions.

How's that for inspiring confidence in effective lawmaking? I've always been a big fan of napping, but falling fast asleep on the carpet of your Capitol building's floor just doesn't cut it.

Rest up, lawmakers. We've all got a lot of expectations resting on the political agenda these days. One way to ensure you arrive at good decisions is to get a good night's sleep. Every day of the year. Both in and out of the political forums.

Put sleep at the top of your personal healthcare reform agenda. Stop growing your personal sleep debt - we're counting on you to be at the top of your game. You can't be there when you're falling asleep on the job.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

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Is Your Sleep Deprivation Leading You to Diabetes?

Pop quiz: Which of the following words does not seem to go with the others?

• Obesity
• Calories
• Insulin
• Sleep
• Fat

If you said sleep, you're right. Er, you're wrong actually. While sleep may not seem like it belongs in the same category as words that revolve around weight, it actually has everything to do with weight and whether or not you're at risk for diabetes. Two fascinating studies that just came out to further prove it:

1. One study out of a sleep lab at Penn State College showed that insomniacs who slept only five to six hours a night had greater odds of developing diabetes.
2. The other study, this one from the University of Chicago and published recently in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, demonstrated that sleep deprivation mixed with sedentary living and free access to food can change the body's physiology to the point it resembles that of a prediabetic. In other words, the body's insulin resistance and glucose tolerance shifts, leaning toward a dangerous condition that's a precursor to full-blown diabetes.

I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty remarkable...and scary. This change in physiology, by the way, in the second study happened over the course of just two weeks as healthy adults were forced to get by on only five hours a night.

None of this was news to me. I've written numerous times about the impact of quality sleep in our ability to lose and maintain a healthy weight, and avoid the ravages of diabetes.



Other studies have also shown what happens when we miss out on sleep. We can't seem to go a day without more news about our diabetes and obesity problem. But I still find that the conversation about this hugely popular topic often gravitates toward access to healthy diet choices, and ways to get more regular physical activity. What about access to more and better sleep?


Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

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Moms: A New School Year Can Spell Sleep Relief (or Not)

"A woman's work is never done" - a phrase that will never go out of style, and its partner - a woman's often low-quality sleep life. At least that's what some are reporting as study after study indicate that all the multitasking in the world can't create more time to rest and enjoy leisure time.

In fact, a study that came out earlier this year in The Economist revealed that, across 18 countries, men had between 4 to 80 minutes more leisure time per day than women.

Now, 4 more minutes isn't all that much. But 80? That's plenty of time for a good long nap, more time in bed, or simply some downtime sitting on the couch.

Many moms are rejoicing at the thought of the kids going back to school. This means:

• Keeping regular routines and a consistent schedule.
• Having set bed times and wake times.
• Not having to provide entertainment or activities for kids as much during long, summer days.
• No more sleepovers, pool parties, and events way past the kids' bedtime.
• Knowing you've got teachers and a school helping to care for the best interests of your children.

All of these things bode well for the mom trying to avoid major sleep deprivation. With the start of school, however, also come the occasional late-night homework and school projects. Calls from the nurse to come pick up sick little Suzie and take her home. And keeping up with the school-year's list of household chores like laundry, meal planning, and lunch-making.

Men and women do share more household responsibilities now more than ever, but it's still the women who carry the heaviest load of caretaking, basically acting as CEO of a family. Another recent study out of the University of Cincinnati suggests that the uneven distribution of domestic responsibilities result in stresses that may be driving a trend of lower quality sleep among working women.

Solution? Either the men have to pick up more slack, or the women have to give themselves permission to do less. Which is more realistic? I'll leave that answer to you.

But if I can give these over-tasked and over-tasking women a few tips to consider as this school year kicks off, here's a few with an eye toward better sleep:

• Knock one item off your "To Do" list a day and aim to be in bed 15 minutes earlier than the previous night.
• Give yourself a set bed time and wake time, just as you do your kids. You wouldn't let your seven year old stay up past midnight, so why should you?
• Likewise, you watch what your kids eat before bedtime. What are you eating within an hour of your bed time? If you're in the kitchen plowing through a box of sugary cookies or leftover meatloaf, reconsider.
• If you read to your kids at bedtime, you're teaching them great habits for sleep hygiene. Reading can help a person to unwind, relax, and prepare for sleep. When's the last time you did something like that before putting yourself to bed?

Welcome to the new school year. May it be filled with fresh wisdom, challenging activities, and lots of sound sleep.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

This article on moms and sleep is also available at Dr. Breus' official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

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Off to College - Probably Not Off to Sleep: Part 2

Ah, there's nothing quite like dorm room living:

• Tight quarters.
• Old, rickety furniture and carpeting.
• A small, hard bed.
• Thin walls and rowdy neighbors.
• Late-night hallway parties.
• Perhaps a humming mini-refrigerator and an annoying roommate with whom you share absolutely nothing in common.

Now, that might not sound so pleasant if you're over the age of, say 30, but for many college students, it's acceptable - a kind of hazing period during the transition from high school to the big school.

But none of this bodes well for sleep hygiene. I don't know any college student who isn't sleep deprived and living on caffeine.

Last week, I dispensed some secrets to settling into college life without losing too much sleep over it. The dorm room deserves special attention. It's where college students will spend a great deal of time mixing attempts to get some shut-eye and a host of other activities-socializing, writing papers, studying, talking on the phone, hanging out, listening to music, and so on. Whether it's your first-born making the move to college or you yourself are about to move on up, heed these dorm room makeover tips:

• If possible, strategically arrange the bedroom furniture around any incoming light and noise.
  
  • Face the bed west if possible so that you don't get direct sunlight in the morning.
  • Avoid placing the bed directly across from a window that faces east
    (or you will be rising with the sun).
  • If you can get away from the noise but that puts you in the light, move away from the noise and buy some blackout shades.


• Consider the use of a room divider or screen. This will give you more privacy and help dampen light (and some noise) coming from your roommate.


• Decorate the area around the bed differently than the rest of the room. Keep it clutter-free, and try not to snuggle up with your cell phone. Teddy bears are better sleep mates.


• Splurge on good bedding materials that are comfortable for you:
  
  • soften up a hard mattress with a featherbed (which is like a big body pillow you rest on top of the mattress),
  • lots of pillows
  • consider a mattress topper, and
  • a plush comforter.


• Keep high-wattage lights away from the bed. Most dorm rooms are equipped with desks. Keep the high-wattage lights there and install low-wattage lights (45 watts or less) anywhere near the bed.


• Position your entertainment, television and/or computer area so it's not directly aligned with your line of vision when you're in bed. Again consider the use of covers for the monitor and turning off the CPU itself at night.


• Bedside sleep savers:
  • Eye shades.
  • Ear plugs.
  • Sound machine to wash out background noise.
  • Reading lamp or book light.
  • Drape clip. If the room is equipped with draperies, try clipping the drapes together at night using a chip clip so there's no light leaking through the crack.
  • Aromatherapy.
  • Watch out for alarm clocks that light up the whole room.

But all that aside, I'll admit that the most challenging task of all awaits: Having that straightforward conversation with your roommate(s) about the rules. What if one of you needs to stay up late finishing a lab report, tapping on a laptop with the lights on? What if your roommate wants to invite the entire floor to party in your room until the wee hours of the morning on the night you've promised yourself to go to bed early? How will you manage living with someone who likes to keep to a totally different sleep schedule than you?

Conversation.

You must have it.

Early and often.

Good luck, my aspiring graduates. Cheers to the new academic year.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™

This article on college students and sleep is also available at Dr. Breus' official blog, The Insomnia Blog

Related Topics:

• Off to College - Probably Not Off to Sleep: Part 1
• Sleep Disorders: Member Discussion
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Off to College - Probably Not Off to Sleep: Part I

The dog days of summer are fast coming to a close. In the coming weeks, millions of college-bound students will be hitting the books again and adjusting back into university life. For first timers, this is an exciting time period. For veteran upper classmen, it's also a thrilling time to know that you're close to being fully independent and out in the "real" world on your own.

But for both newbies and soon-to-be graduates alike, the one thing that seems to get the best of them every single year is sleep. It's not hard to get that "A" in not enough sleep. Translation: serious deprivation.

Okay, so I'll admit, it comes with the territory. College life is, well, college! A rite of passage, and we all have our top secret stories from then. The two biggest culprits of a sleepless college student:

• Academics and late-night studying.


• "Social" studies and late-night partying.

You can't necessarily forgo either of the above on a consistent basis. But your body wants sleep on a consistent basis, which can conflict with the trappings of a successful and fun college life. And, without mom or dad around to nag about bedtime (and, might I add, wake time in order to be in class on time), the transition back to school life with all its demands and nocturnal distractions can be difficult.

So let me offer some realistic solutions that can ease any college student back into the swing of things quickly and restfully:

• Time management: this is a no-brainer, albeit hard to do well. When homework, the social calendar, and sleep all call for attention, which goes first? How can you maximize all three?


• Set clear boundaries. Tell yourself you won't party past a certain time; keep to a regular sleep-wake schedule as best you can, even on the weekend. Don't use the 24-hour library. Keep a routine study session daily, say from 4 to 7 at night, and don't let social distractions get in the way that will later have you back in the books past midnight.


• Turn off your cell phone after a certain hour, say 10 pm.


• Establish coping skills and stress-reduction practices. College comes with an enormous set of stresses and challenges. Strategies to help balance your stress will have a huge impact in your ability to get things done, and yes, get a good night's sleep.


• Don't forget to exercise. The freshmen 15 isn't just related to a higher intake of (usually buffet-style) food; most college students forgo regular exercise and sleep - the double whammy for packing on the pounds.


• Enlist a support buddy to keep you on track. Having someone who can watch out for you and let you know when it's time to re-think your habits can be a lifesaver. And doing the same for them reaps benefits for you.


• Become a pro napper. Napping can be difficult to pull off out in the corporate world. But there's ample time to nod off in the afternoon library (just don't be caught doing it in class). It's exercise for the brain, after all.

College students get free passes for keeping their computers in their dorm rooms, but watch out for those bright screen savers. Before you put yourself to bed, put your computer to sleep.

In part II, I'll share my ideas for the ultimate dorm room makeover. It's a little different than reconfiguring your bedroom back home. Even in an itty-bitty room the size of a closet or bathroom, you can create a sanctuary for sleep. And yes, even study.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™

This article on college students and sleep is also available at Dr. Breus' official blog, The Insomnia Blog

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• Got a Complex Task? Study, Sleep on It
• Sleep Disorders: Member Discussion
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Not Fit to Fly

Photo Credit: Josh Hallett

It's hard to legislate sleep. As an employer you can certainly set rules and guidelines, hoping your employees show up refreshed and ready to perform, but you can't really enforce or police it - even when lives depend on it.

Hearing about the fatigue factor involved in Continental's February plane crash on a cold, icy night near Buffalo, New York has been horrifying. According to the latest reports from the NTSB, the main cause of the crash is being blamed on the crew's lack of experience and lack of sleep (lack of proper conduct in the cockpit, too, which certainly stems from a lack of experience and sleep).

Have you ever wondered:

• When you step on to a plane, how alert are your pilots?


• Have they just gotten off a transcontinental flight and haven't slept in a day - or two?


• Have they been working the graveyard shift and catching some Zs on a couch in the terminal before taking control of your plane?


• Are they feeling fuzzy and spacey as they continue to fight a nagging cold bug (which really prefers them to be sleeping more)?


• How much does sleep factor into performance...even when an emergency happens suddenly?

To quickly answer that last question, sleep plays a huge role in the ability to perform, even when it comes to basic skills we've done over and over again. And thinking about our pilots' alertness is probably not something that enters our minds as we're boarding planes and getting organized in our seats, but the thoughts are crossing millions of grounded minds this week as more news emerges about the fate of that February ride.

The history books are loaded with similar stories: the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, the Challenger space shuttle disaster, and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have all been attributed to human errors in which sleep-deprivation played a role.

The NRMA (National Roads and Motorists Association) estimates fatigue is involved in one in 6 fatal road accidents. In fact, 17 hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%. Too bad "sleepy driving" doesn't have the same buzz to it as "drunk driving."

Sorry, but sleep deprivation - regardless of your job - is not a badge of honor. Pilots aside, think of all the jobs that rely on alertness in critical, potentially life-threatening scenarios: ER doctors, surgeons, ground transportation drivers, air-traffic controllers, freight train engineers, etc. The sad part is the challenge of ensuring our pilots, drivers, controllers, and so forth are indeed fit to be at the helm. What can we do?

• Have them keep journals of their sleep/wake cycles?


• Invent a test they can take to measure their alertness prior to clocking in?


• Enforce stricter guidelines for when, say, a pilot, can be in the cockpit after a certain stretch of wakefulness?

It's all a hotly contested debate. No one is perfect. But we demand perfection in certain situations when the lives of people are at stake. May this recent incident and ongoing investigation shed a brighter light on the importance of sleep hygiene and the value of ensuring our public servants get all the sleep they need.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD, FAASM
The Sleep Doctor

This article on sleep is also available at Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• Sinus, Snoring, Sleep Apnea: Jordan S. Josephson, MD
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Short Sleeper: Are You Fooling Yourself?

There are plenty of stories about famous short sleepers to go around. Among those who claim (or claimed, as some are no longer with us) that they do perfectly well on four hours of sleep are Jay Leno, Madonna, Michelangelo, Napoleon Bonaparte, Florence Nightingale, and Thomas Edison (whose invention - the light bulb - forever changed our sleep habits). Winston Churchill got by on six hours, and Leonardo DaVinci kept one of the most outrageously crazy sleep schedules, sleeping 15 minutes every four hours day and night.

If you're a short sleeper, which is technically defined as someone who gets fewer than 6 hours a night, are you living well off that brief sleep? Are you catching more Zs during the day in the form of a nap? (Which, by the way, is how some of the aforementioned geniuses got by. Churchill took a complete 1.5- to 2-hour nap in the afternoon-and he undressed and got into bed.)

Well, if you think you could use more sleep time, you're probably right. And science continues to reveal what sleep deprivation can do to us (other than make us tired and cranky). The National Sleep Foundation recently released an alert pointing to new evidence: people who average fewer than six hours a night could develop prediabetes. And you know what that leads to: full-fledged diabetes.

Granted, some people actually can do well with fewer than four hours of sleep, and those people are probably genetic anomalies - people programmed to avoid all the risks related to insufficient sleep. For them, four to six hours is sufficient.

But that, unfortunately, is not the case for the vast majority of the rest of us. Just as you don't hear about people who drink, smoke, and eat poorly living to the ripe old age of 100 very often, you don't hear about too many people who live like vampires and escape the ravages of that lifestyle. Those who claim they "get by" on little sleep are likely fooling themselves, but their bodies won't fool them.

So I ask you:

• How many hours of sleep are you getting on a regular basis?


• Do you feel refreshed when you wake up?


• Do you reach for caffeine, an energy drink, or a sugary snack in the afternoon?


• Are you having trouble losing weight or maintaining your ideal weight?


• Have you been diagnosed as prediabetic or diabetic but haven't changed your sleep habits?

May those answers inspire a lunch pad for making change. I'll give you wiggle room if you're about to change the world with an incredible invention you've been working on like mad, or if you're ruling the world as a great leader. But if you are... then it's highly unlikely - I'll make that impossible - that you're reading this blog.

Got ya. Now go get some more sleep!

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD, FAASM
The Sleep Doctor

This sleep article is also available at Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• Insomnia Raises Risk of High Blood Pressure
• Late Bedtimes Linked to Heart Disease
• Sleep Disorders: Member Discussion
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Has Your Doctor Had a Nap?

It's long been known that doctors in training don't get much sleep. They endure long hours in teaching hospitals and double shifts. Which is why I was happy to hear about a new report that urges rest breaks during 30-hour shifts.

You heard that right: 30-hour shifts. The most recent recommendation is to allow for a 5-hour break for sleep after the first 16 hours.

It's hard to believe that the first caps on extended working hours in medicine came just five years ago when regulations limited docs to about 80 hours a week. In reality, that still meant logging upwards of 100 hours of work but reporting only 80.

Now, a panel from the Institute of Medicine is encouraging a step further, which may or not may fly (I'm guessing the latter, unfortunately).

I remember my own dog days of graduate school. I got pretty good about taking naps when I needed them. The sleep deprivation not only affects a doctor's ability to treat patients and be adept to handling emergencies--not to mention learning how to be a doctor!--but it also has other consequences. Think about doctors driving home as bleary-eyed as a someone with a few too many drinks in them.

This news comes the same week another report (The American College of Emergency Physicians' 2009 National Report) points to how bad our emergency care system is on a national scale. In a word: FAILING! It mentions a widespread shortage of doctors and nurses. Hello! That's not going to help doctors get more sleep. Maybe schools should be educating more health care practitioners and encouraging more people to enter this profession.

Just don't tell them they'll never sleep again. Maybe we will see reform in all areas of the medical industry soon. Doctors seem to work miracles on a daily basis. But they are still human, and there's no miracle that can make up for lost sleep.

This sleep article is also available at Dr. Breus' official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• A Doc's Life: Long Hours, Little Sleep
• WebMD Video: Practicing the Human Side of Being a Doctor

Sleepless Kids Become Fat Adults

I feel like I've written about this topic numerous times before, but the studies just keeping coming and coming and coming... and a new one just confirmed what we've already had a clue about: the more sleep-deprived you are, the greater your risk is for being overweight and obese.

And this is true for both adults and kids. This is believed to be due to the fact proper sleep makes for a proper balance of hormones related to appetite, hunger, metabolism, and even fat retention.

But what this most recent study, which was just reported this week, actually reveals that we haven't learned before is this: a child's risk of being fat in adulthood increases due to poor sleep habits as a kid.

That's right: how well your kids sleep will have long-term effects on them. The relationship between sleep and obesity risk is much more intricate and "time-consuming" than previously thought. To think that a kid's sleep habits relate to his or her chances of being an obese adult is pretty astonishing. It's contrary to conventional wisdom to think that inadequate sleep in childhood has long-lasting consequences

Let me spell out the good news: if you can help your child get a good night's rest, you can help your kid avoid being overweight or worse, obese later in life. I think it's much easier to force a kid to bed earlier than to force him or her to stop eating junk food on a consistent basis. Not that parents shouldn't also help their kids learn to eat well for life, but you know what I mean.

Kids need more sleep than adults do. Those between the ages of 5 and 12 should bank about 11-12 hours each night, while teenagers should get 9 to 10 hours.

How many hours are yours getting? Do you even know?

Things that could be keeping your kids up at night:

• Too much electronic media like cell phones, computers, and video games. Is there a media curfew in the household?


• Not enough physical activity during the day to make them sleepy at night. Do they engage in enough physical activity during the day--at least 30 minutes of cardio?


• Poor time management as our kids find themselves up late finishing homework. Are they overwhelmed with things to do but not enough time to do it all? (Sounds like an adult problem, but our kids can suffer the same when they really shouldn't have to... yet.)


• A natural inclination to go to bed late and get up late due to their young biological rhythms. The problem is they can't sleep in every day due to school obligations so they are forced to cut their sleep short.

No parent wants his or her kid to grow up fat or obese, so I think it is good to know we can help prevent that from happening just by focusing on instilling habits of good sleep hygiene into our kids. It will reinforce good habits in our own lives, too. One would hope...

This article on sleep is also available on Dr. Breus' official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• 7 Ways to Combat Kids' Sleep Problems
• WebMD Video: Identifying Sleep Disorders in Kids

Don't Take the Election TOO Seriously

Highly emotional moments can be stressful... and deadly. I think we all know someone who has been taking the election so seriously that thoughts of their party losing has them contemplating a move to another country.

But too much can be, well, too much. Take Terence Tolbert as an example. Working tirelessly for Obama as his campaign director in Nevada, he died of a massive heart attack Sunday night while driving alone near the offices in North Las Vegas. He was a young 44.

While I cannot speculate that the campaign had anything to do with his death--for all we know he could have had a congenital defect in his heart or some such and would have died even under the least stressful situations--I think it's fair to point out that when someone young dies suddenly under a very stressful job situation or environment, you have to wonder.

Within days before E-Day (the actual election), McCain and Obama crisscrossed the country with very little sleep to capture last-minute votes. McCain even held a rally in his home state long after midnight. What does that do to a septuagenarian? Obama was caught yesterday giving a talk in Florida thinking he was in Ohio. The sleep deprivation is definitely taking its toll and spotting his memory.

We were all blessed (except for the candidates, no doubt) with an extra hour of sleep the other night, and it could have meant more than you think it did. The end of daylight savings could not have come at a better time this year, as a new study shows the impact that one extra hour can actually have on you.

And you can thank the Swedes for finding this: the extra hour of sleep we gain from turning back the clock may protect us from a heart attack. We've long known that Mondays tend to be "heart attack days." Because they are usually considered the worst day of the week for many, there's a pattern of higher heart attacks on Monday morning as people dread the new work week, stressful thoughts rush in, and there's an uptick in activity following the restful weekend.

After poring over 20 years of records, Swedish researchers discovered something else is actually going on. Time shifts negatively affect our biological rhythms, but when those shifts offer more sleep, there's a 5 percent drop in Monday Blues heart attacks. Pretty amazing, don't you think? Yet another example of how sleep really has an impact on our stress level and ability to cope. In the spring, when we "spring forward," there's an increase in heart attacks after that one-hour loss of sleep.

So what's my point here? Well, today is a very stressful, exciting, and activity-filled day for millions of Americans. If there is no clear winner by suppertime, how many will stay up late watching the coverage on television? How many hearts will sink--or race like a rabbit--when their candidate loses or wins?

Take heart: this is an historic election. Experience it in stride. Whatever the outcome, great reform and change is likely on the way. Just don't take is so seriously that it ruins your health. Or you may not be around to watch this next president in action. (And if you've been emotionally involved in this election for the past 18 months, then think about all that accumulated stress. You, more than anyone, need a good night's sleep.)

Vote early. And get to bed early!

Related Topics:

• WebMD Video: Heart Disease Detection: A New Era in Diagnosis
• 5 Biggest Health Risks

This article about sleep is cross-posted at The Insomnia Blog.

Sleep Got Your Tongue?

Have you been drinking? Or are you just sleep deprived?

Check it out: Discovery news is reporting a new study that indicates a lack of sleep changes the brain to such a degree that without enough, you might sound drunk.

The study that supports this finding got downright technical and nit-picky, to say the least, over words. But the results were not surprising: sleep-deprived speakers gradually lost their ability to articulate, producing fewer detectable landmarks.

"Landmarks" are the crisp articulations of clear speech, such as that the puff of air we release when producing "t" or "k" sounds (didn't I say it got technical?). The computers used in the study could actually detect these subtleties. Oddly enough, however, when such sleep-deprived people hear themselves, they think they sound fine. Like a drunk who thinks they haven't had enough yet and can walk and talk like normal.

Research like this isn't just for kicks. It can be used to train 911 employees, communication professionals, and therapists who work with the hearing impaired.

It's also a reminder, though, for all of us who've ever tried to get through the day "drunk on sleeplessness." You might want to avoid important conversations, like job interviews, speeches, and deal-making. And don't get pulled over by the cops.

This article is cross-posted at Dr. Breus' official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• Nix the Nightcap for Better Sleep?
• Rest Assured