In an effort not to watch the Brownlow on Monday night I channel surfed and stumbled across a program on Channel 9 which advertised that it set out to help insomniacs in desperate need of sleep and help travelers beat jet lag in the following ten steps.
Step 1 Snoring
The program stated 50% of Australians are not getting enough sleep and 25% of couples complain about lack of sleep due to their partners snoring. A test subject was given a mouth guard to use whilst sleeping with little effect and another subject was given a moist patch to stick to his palate and reported he woke more refreshed
Step 2 Jet Lag
Apparently 90% of flyer's experience jet lag due to changes in the circadian cycle controlled by the hypothalamus. The 2 men used in this test were flying through 6 time zones and one was asked to sleep as much as he could during the flight and restrict food intake to zero. Upon his early morning arrival he was asked to eat a normal breakfast, stay awake during that day and go to bed as normal. This man experienced no jet lag whilst his fellow traveler who was allowed to eat as much as he desired during the flight experienced marked jet lag.
Step 3 Temperature
In this test a woman was given a pill to swallow which enabled her core temperature to be monitored during her bath and sleep. Her pre bath temperature was 37.4˚ her temperature rose to 38.5˚ during her bath then a drop was recorded as she went to bed enhancing her sleep.
Step 4 Tea
Soothing teas seem beneficial. One test subject drank a lavender tea beverage whilst soaking his feet in a lavender foot bath and a female subject imbibed a valerian tea. Both subjects slept longer than they would normally
Step 5 Insomnia
The program reported one in ten Australians take sleeping tablets and 1.2 million Australians suffer from insomnia. The very tired test subject was asked to restrict his hours in bed from 2am till 8am for 4 weeks. He went from someone who was quite anxious about the prospect of not sleeping to a man who looked forward to bed and was sleeping 6 hours per night.
Step 6 Nap
We watched a solo female sailor on her around the world voyage averaging 3-5 hours sleep a night on her yacht. Apparently our body resists us napping in the morning and early evening and is most receptive to a nap during the 2-5pm period and for a period of 20 minutes. This apparently can improve ones productivity by 34%. (how does one do this at work…) The lone sailor was encouraged to nap 10 times a day and she reported she felt more rested.
Step 7 Food
It seems carbohydrates make us sleepier as they stimulate the release of insulin which helps clear the bloodstream of amino acids that compete with tryptophan which is a precursor to the sleep inducing serotonin. Conversely proteins produce tyrosine an amino acid that perks up the brain. This was demonstrated by one male twin eating a high carbohydrate pasta meal whilst the other male twin ate a high protein fish meal. The pasta eating twin slept much better.
Step 8 Daylight
Australians feel sleepy for 5 months of the year. In this test a female television host who arose at 3am on work days was asked to sit in front of a blue light whilst preparing for work. Using a mouth swab to measure her level of the sleep hormone melatonin which is produced in the pineal gland they reported her level dropped by 60% whilst absorbing the light resulting in her feeling awake and ready for work.
Step 9 Coffee & Wine
Usually it takes about 10-15 minutes to fall asleep. The male test subject was asked to drink 3 glasses of red wine while the female subject drank 3 cups of coffee prior to bed and their sleep was monitored. The man fell asleep faster but took longer to reach deep sleep. The female took longer to fall asleep and had a light restless sleep.
Step 10 Stress
We now sleep 1-1½ hours less than we did 100 years ago. The man who was the test subject for this test was a high energy male disc jockey who had an erratic work schedule and an inability to sleep due to his sleep pattern. A physiotherapist taught him to relax his body to decrease cortisol levels which are released by the adrenal gland in response to stress.
With that I turned off the TV and went to bed.
Vanessa
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