dr. sandman

Nerdy Awesome Science You Should Know, by Dr. Ellen Rodarte

The world of medicine is blessed every day with exciting new scientific studies that change our understanding of the human condition and how our bodies work. Some of these scientific studies are incredibly interesting and others just downright blow my mind.

I want to share them with everyone I know so that they too can benefit from today’s amazing scientific discoveries. So I’m starting a series called, "Nerdy Awesome Science that You Should Know."

Recently I’ve been asked why some people get sick from viruses and others do not. Although we don’t have any magic trick or pill that promises you won’t get sick after exposure to a virus, science does tell us that one of the best preventative medicines is sleep.

Dr. Stephen Cohen did an interesting experiment that supports the regenerative power of a good night’s sleep. In his study “Sleep Habits and Susceptibility to the Common Cold“, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, he asked a group of 153 volunteers how many hours a night they slept. He also asked how much time they spent in bed asleep versus tossing and turning; we refer to this as Sleep Efficacy. He then went and squirted some rhinovirus, a common cold virus, up their noses and watched to see who got sick. It turns out that the individuals who slept eight hours or more a night, and spent most of their time in bed asleep, were five times less likely to develop a cold after the rhinovirus inoculation.

Those that slept less than seven hours and spent more time tossing and turning were at five times higher risk for getting sick after exposure to rhinovirus. This study tells us that folks who are good sleepers get sick less often. It doesn’t necessarily tell us that if you are a bad sleeper and you improve your sleep you will get sick less, but I say it’s worth a try.

So how do you improve your sleep? The first thing to know is that sleeping pills are not the answer. Your brain will get resistant to sleeping pills so, while short term they may help, long term they will worsen insomnia.

To get good sleep you have to train your brain to naturally increase the sleep hormones and brain chemicals like melatonin that kick in when your head hits the pillow. The best way to get your natural sleep hormones/chemicals in balance is something called Sleep Hygiene.

Sleep Hygiene is an ingenious group of behavior changes that teaches your brain to go gently to Sand Land and stay there. They are easy and free techniques that anyone who struggles with sleep should do. I’ve listed the main techniques below. When my insomniac patients follow these simple rules, their sleep and quality of life often improve significantly. Still can’t sleep? There are therapists that specialize in sleep and offer Sleep Compression Therapy. If you are still struggling, check it out.

Sleep Hygiene (adapted from Therapist Aid)

1. Set a sleep schedule. Go to bed and get up again at the same time every day. Don’t sleep in more than an hour, even on your days off.

2. Don’t force yourself to sleep. If you haven’t fallen asleep after 20 minutes, get up and do something calming and a bit boring like reading a book or journaling. Don’t do screen time. Avoid computer, TV, and phone screens, or anything else that’s stimulating and could lead to becoming more awake.

3. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Consuming caffeine and alcohol can affect your ability to fall asleep and the quality of your sleep, even if they’re used earlier in the day. Remember, caffeine can stay in your body for up to 12 hours. If you do have one drink of alcohol, try to do it 6 hours before bedtime.

4. Avoid napping. Napping during the day will make sleep more difficult at night. Naps that are over an 45 minutes, or those that are later in the day, are especially harmful to sleep hygiene.

5. Use your bed ONLY for sleep and hanky lanky. Especially NO MEDIA or SCREEN TIME in bed. If your body learns to associate your bed with sleep, you’ll start to feel tired and your brain will release melatonin as soon as you lie down. Using your phone, watching TV, or doing other activities in bed can have the opposite effect, and will make falling asleep harder.

6. Exercise and eat well. A healthy diet and exercise can lead to better sleep. However, avoid strenuous exercise and big meals for two hours before going to bed.

7. Sleep in a comfortable environment. It’s important to sleep in an area that’s adequately quiet, comfortable, and dark. Try using an eye mask, ear plugs, fans, or white noise if necessary.

8. Treat conditions that wake you up. Think about why you wake up at night and can’t fall back asleep. If it’s to go to the bathroom, limit water before bed. If it’s because of pain, treat your pain. If it’s because of your pet, keep that pet out of the bed.

9. Deal with WORRY before bed. If you have a lot on your mind, take some time during the day to journal, talk about, or think about what’s on your mind so that you get it out and don’t save it till right before bed.

Some of these changes may seem trivial or difficult to do, but if you are struggling with sleep, they are worth trying and, as I have found from personal and professional experience, they work. With recent world events, everyone now knows the truth: medicine does not have a cure for viruses. We need to rely on our bodies own resilience, immune system (and vaccines!) to fight viruses.

So hit that pillow, and let your amazing body do the rest.