What is sleep?
How does it occur?
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How much does one need?
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Am I getting enough?
00:00:05.61\00:00:07.27
These are all
questions that we often hear.
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Perhaps you've had
some of these questions too.
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If so, maybe you might
like to learn some of the
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scientific and very
practical aspects of sleep.
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We'll be talking about some
of these during this program
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We hope you will join us.
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Welcome to "Help
Yourself to Health"
00:00:41.56\00:00:43.76
with Dr. Agatha Thrash
of Uchee Pines Institute
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And now, here's
your host, Dr. Thrash
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Sleep is a very
interesting phenomenon.
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It's not just an ordinary thing.
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It's actually a temporary
loss of consciousness...
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but why do we do this?
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That loss of
consciousness is quite normal.
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There are some losses of
consciousness that are NOT
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normal... such as getting
struck on the head, or having
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some kind of toxicity
in the body that eliminates
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conscious awareness.
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But the kind of sleep that
we're talking about is that very
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normal, very natural sleep
that comes from the positive
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action of the brain in
putting the person to sleep.
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So, I'm very happy that
we can present this for you.
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There are some important
things that happen during sleep
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that we can talk
about, that we hope will be
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helpful for you to know.
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Sleep is
restorative to the body.
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It also sort of
rearranges the some of the
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chemicals of the
body, such as the hormones
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of the body.
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It helps also to
relax the nerves...
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to recharge some of our systems.
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Sleep is a very useful
time in a person's experience.
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We often, when we are young,
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and something is
going on in the house,
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and mom says, "It's
time for you to go to bed"
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...we don't want to do that.
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We're missing something.
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And we think that life has just
about come to an end because
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we have to go to bed and sleep.
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Sleep is SO
unimportant, it seems to us.
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But as we get older,
we realize that sleep is a
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VERY important part of life,
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and if we don't have it,
then we're going to have some
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serious consequences that come.
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When you turn off your
computer for some reason,
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it isn't good to
immediately turn it back on,
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you need to wait a few seconds.
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Well, the same thing is true
with many of our body processes
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and as we wait for this
period of time while we sleep,
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many of our body processes
are restored that could not be
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restored if we did
not work in that way.
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There are periods in the
day when sleeping is the best.
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And, some of these
are called "rhythms"
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One of these, the biggest one,
is called a "circadian rhythm"
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And, I have Dr. Don
Miller here who is going to talk
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with us about
circadian rhythms. Dr. Miller
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We have many rhythms
that our bodies go by...
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We've got our monthly rhythms,
and an 18-month rhythm...
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But, the most
pronounced one is our circadian,
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or the 24-hour
rhythm, and we're all on it.
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Now there's has been something
that has changed, in the last
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100 years, our
patterns and our lives,
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and that thing is
called the electric light bulb.
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Now man stays up later because
before, he had to build a fire,
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or burn some oil from a
whale, or whatever it was,
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and it was more economical
to go to bed with the chickens!
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The old saying, "Go to
bed with your chickens. "
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As a matter of fact, it's
still the best thing to do.
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But we're not going to do that.
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We're going to sit up
there with our lights on,
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our televisions
on, our computers on,
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and we spend late
nights, but our body says,
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"Look, I don't work this way. "
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Now, you're going
to find people who say,
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"But I can't sleep at night...
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I can't go to bed
before midnight, 1 o'clock.
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And that may be
true, but why is that true?
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Did God create
some people to be owls,
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and some people to be larks? No
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We TRAIN ourselves
to be night people.
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I will normally tell a person...
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"Well, if you
want to get out of that
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bad habit, here's what you do"
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"Tomorrow morning, get up at
4:30... I mean get UP at 4:30,
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don't lay there in bed at 4:30
because you will finally wake up
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at 7 or 8 or 9.
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Get up at 4:30 and become active
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Become active and
stay active the entire day.
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You don't take any naps,
you get plenty of exercise.
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I can almost
guarantee by 9 o'clock at night
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you're going to be
ready to go to bed.
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And if you're not, you do
the same thing the next day
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And it won't be too many days
before... you are willing to get
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back into your circadian rhythm.
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And this is how the
circadian rhythm works.
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Our bodies are in fine tune.
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Let me give you one example...
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You take a meal at 8
o'clock in the morning.
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And immediately, your
blood level of amino acids
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goes way up because your body is
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processing the proteins,
breaking it down into the
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building blocks of amino acids.
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The same meal eaten at 8 p. m.
very small rise in amino acids.
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Our body knows when
we're supposed to be doing
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certain things, and it
will not vary from its schedule.
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You will suffer because
you were off that schedule.
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Here's how it works...
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You go to bed at
night... Let's say that you go
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to bed at the good time at night
... 9, at the latest 10 o'clock
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You go through some
sleep phases which we will
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talk about later, and
usually around 2 to 3 o'clock
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in the morning, you are at
the lowest phase of your night.
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It's called the nadir.
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Your respiration is the lowest.
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Your pulse rate is the lowest.
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Your blood
pressure is the lowest.
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Even your
temperature is the lowest,
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about 2 or 3
o'clock in the morning.
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You are asleep. You are resting.
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And during this resting
time, repair is going on.
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If you go to bed
late, after midnight,
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repair does not
take place nearly as well
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as it would have taken
place had you gone to bed
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2 to 3 hours
before that midnight...
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And when I say midnight,
I'm not talking about 12 o'clock
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I'm talking about
midnight, calculate it yourself.
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What time does the sun set,
what time does the sun rise?
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Find midnight, and you should
be going to bed before that.
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Okay, 2 o'clock, 3
o'clock passes, about 4 o'clock
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5 o'clock starts coming up...
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Your pituitary starts
sending out some signals,
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some hormonal signals to
your adrenal cortex saying...
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"Produce some hormones
to start waking up the body"
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They go up and wake up
the thyroid, and pretty soon
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your glands are talking
to each other waking them up.
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About the time you wake
up, you are ready to wake up
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because your body has gone
through the circadian rhythm
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to get you to the point... when
you eat at your regular time
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and regularity is
extremely important in our
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physical functioning.
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Let's say you eat
every morning at 6:30...
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which is about the
time I eat my breakfast...
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At 6:30, if we have
been on our rhythms,
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and we did everything right,
about 5:30, the body says,
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"Okay, we're going to eat
in 1 hour, let's start getting
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the digestive juices ready"
00:07:22.15\00:07:23.84
...because you don't have your
salivary glands completely full
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of digestive
juices all the time.
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They concentrate
themselves between meals.
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It's before meals start,
they start reconstituting;
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moisture starts going
there, you're reconstituted.
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Now you've got your
bulging salivary glands ready
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to pull ALL that
digestive amylase into the food
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that you're
chewing up, and your body
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is ready to receive the food.
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After you get
done with the meal,
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it puts everything away.
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You've got your concentration
going back on again.
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We go through the morning...
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Well let's say, you have
not gone to bed on time...
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you've gone to bed at 1
o'clock in the morning...
00:08:00.97\00:08:03.48
You will STILL have a nadir.
00:08:03.51\00:08:05.83
You will still have a time
when your blood pressure is
00:08:05.86\00:08:08.47
the lowest, your
heart rate is the lowest,
00:08:08.50\00:08:10.45
your temperature is the lowest,
00:08:10.48\00:08:11.57
and that might be at
10 o'clock in the morning.
00:08:11.58\00:08:13.77
Now, how do you feel at
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10 o'clock in the
morning sometimes?
00:08:14.96\00:08:16.38
Do you ever feel like
you're just a little bit drowsy?
00:08:16.41\00:08:18.80
And what do we normally do?
00:08:18.83\00:08:20.03
We grab a cup of coffee.
00:08:20.06\00:08:21.48
We grab some sugary
sweet things to get a big boost
00:08:21.51\00:08:24.66
of adenosine triphosphate,
or sugar into our bodies
00:08:24.69\00:08:29.24
to give us some
energy because we have
00:08:29.27\00:08:31.60
missed our appointment.
00:08:31.63\00:08:33.16
Our nadir has been
moved too far forward.
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And so, as we go through the
day, if we're doing it right,
00:08:35.93\00:08:39.30
in the afternoon,
things start to slow down,
00:08:39.33\00:08:42.04
and around 8 or 9
o'clock in the evening,
00:08:42.07\00:08:44.88
our blood pressure is going
down, our heart rate is going
00:08:44.91\00:08:48.94
down, and we're starting
to get into the mood where
00:08:48.97\00:08:51.81
the body says,
"Let's go to sleep"
00:08:51.84\00:08:54.01
And if you go to
sleep by 9 or 10 o'clock,
00:08:54.04\00:08:56.18
you're right on your schedule.
00:08:56.21\00:08:57.67
They have shown
that in certain animals,
00:08:57.70\00:09:01.30
if they reverse
their light/dark sequence,
00:09:01.33\00:09:05.30
only one day out of
7 days, just one day,
00:09:05.31\00:09:09.71
they have significantly
shorter life spans.
00:09:09.74\00:09:12.63
That means... let's
put it in human terms,
00:09:12.66\00:09:16.08
you've worked all week,
or you've studied all week,
00:09:16.11\00:09:19.40
or you've done
something all week,
00:09:19.43\00:09:21.09
and Saturday night comes,
and you decide this is the night
00:09:21.12\00:09:23.82
we're going to
do something else,
00:09:23.85\00:09:26.32
and you stay up late at night
because... hey, we can sleep
00:09:26.35\00:09:29.23
in tomorrow morning, and
by doing that very thing,
00:09:29.26\00:09:32.71
you are cutting off...
is it minutes, is it hours,
00:09:32.74\00:09:36.26
is it weeks, is it
months... from your lifespan
00:09:36.27\00:09:39.13
We need to be
regular creatures, 24/7, 365
00:09:39.16\00:09:42.92
we are on the schedule
that the body has set up
00:09:42.95\00:09:45.53
And when we do this, our
bodies are going to reward us
00:09:45.56\00:09:48.22
with not only a longer lifespan,
but also a healthier life.
00:09:48.25\00:09:52.44
So I suggest we get on the
rhythm, and stay with the rhythm
00:09:52.47\00:09:55.70
and I think
that's a good suggestion
00:09:55.73\00:09:57.95
Yes, those are
very good suggestions,
00:09:57.96\00:10:00.15
and anything that
makes you feel better,
00:10:00.18\00:10:02.40
makes you enjoy life
more... that certainly is a good
00:10:02.43\00:10:05.51
suggestion.
00:10:05.54\00:10:07.05
I like the fact that by being
regular in all your habits,
00:10:07.08\00:10:11.15
you can expect that you
can increase your lifespan.
00:10:11.18\00:10:14.83
Most of us like life well
enough that we are very happy to
00:10:14.86\00:10:19.72
continue to live.
00:10:19.75\00:10:20.73
When you sleep, is
there a side of the bed that's
00:10:20.76\00:10:24.94
better for you, than another?
00:10:24.97\00:10:26.39
Well, maybe yes, maybe no.
00:10:26.42\00:10:29.30
If you've slept on one side of
the bed for the last 25 years,
00:10:29.33\00:10:33.30
it may be well if you change
to the other side of the bed.
00:10:33.33\00:10:37.69
The physical therapists
say that if a person constantly
00:10:37.72\00:10:41.40
gets up on one side,
they put a little strain
00:10:41.43\00:10:44.25
on the skeleton, and it
increases the likelihood that
00:10:44.28\00:10:48.06
they will get a
bulging disk when they
00:10:48.09\00:10:51.11
make a movement on that side.
00:10:51.14\00:10:52.87
The same thing is
true with how you load your
00:10:52.91\00:10:55.90
washing machine, or how
you lift your briefcase,
00:10:55.93\00:11:00.18
or whatever things are done
on a routine and regular basis
00:11:00.21\00:11:04.06
It's better if you
switch sides from time to time.
00:11:04.09\00:11:07.44
If you carry your books on this
side, switch and carry them on
00:11:07.47\00:11:10.42
this side... that's especially
true if you're quite young.
00:11:10.45\00:11:14.14
So, the same kind of
thing is in effect with the side
00:11:14.17\00:11:18.78
of the bed that you sleep on.
00:11:18.81\00:11:20.63
Sometimes husbands
and wives need to switch.
00:11:20.66\00:11:23.93
She may say, "But
that's his side of the bed. "
00:11:23.96\00:11:26.80
And he may say, "I don't want
to sleep on her side of the bed"
00:11:26.83\00:11:30.85
But it's good to just
change everything around,
00:11:30.88\00:11:33.96
and make that so that
when you're getting up,
00:11:33.99\00:11:37.61
you're not always
getting up from the same side.
00:11:37.64\00:11:40.57
What about the posture
that you have during sleep?
00:11:40.60\00:11:44.37
You should sleep essentially
in the neutral position.
00:11:44.40\00:11:48.23
That means that
the spine is straight,
00:11:48.26\00:11:51.23
the head is in a good
position, and good alignment.
00:11:51.26\00:11:55.85
The neck does not have
a strain on it in any way,
00:11:55.88\00:11:59.22
and if you sleep on your
side, the head is not tilted
00:11:59.23\00:12:03.55
strongly to one side, but
is kept almost in the neutral
00:12:03.58\00:12:08.19
position for all
parts of the body.
00:12:08.22\00:12:10.95
The spine, the chest, the
waist, the hips should all be
00:12:10.98\00:12:19.32
kept, for all parts of the body,
should be kept in a nice line.
00:12:19.35\00:12:24.29
Now what about
the lower extremities?
00:12:24.32\00:12:26.44
If the knees are uncomfortable
when they are close together,
00:12:26.47\00:12:32.55
and especially when one
is lying on top of the other,
00:12:32.58\00:12:35.59
then simply use a
pillow between the knees...
00:12:35.62\00:12:38.35
Just place the pillow there,
or a cushion, something that
00:12:38.38\00:12:42.44
feels comfortable, does
not interfere with your sleep.
00:12:42.47\00:12:45.68
So simply put it there,
and that will enable you to
00:12:45.69\00:12:50.63
sleep more comfortably.
00:12:50.64\00:12:52.48
Some people may want
to use these body pillows.
00:12:52.51\00:12:56.73
They are sort of a U-shaped
pillow, and go all the way
00:12:56.76\00:13:01.04
around, so that when you
turn this side, you can rest the
00:13:01.07\00:13:04.82
top knee on the cushion,
or the pillow on that side.
00:13:04.85\00:13:08.54
If you turn to the other
side, you rest your top knee
00:13:08.57\00:13:12.54
on the other side without
waking up to move a pillow.
00:13:12.57\00:13:16.24
A lot of people begin to
snore when they are about
00:13:16.27\00:13:20.16
50 years of age, and
if you're one of those,
00:13:20.19\00:13:23.02
then you'll want to
assume a posture in sleep
00:13:23.05\00:13:25.91
that does not encourage snoring.
00:13:25.94\00:13:29.15
Generally speaking,
sleeping on the back is going to
00:13:29.18\00:13:32.51
encourage snoring.
00:13:32.54\00:13:33.72
A lot of people are
overweight and that also
00:13:33.75\00:13:37.99
encourages snoring.
00:13:38.03\00:13:39.71
So, this is one of the reasons
why you should lose weight
00:13:39.75\00:13:43.47
...that, plus all the skeletal
benefits that you get from
00:13:43.50\00:13:46.90
losing weight... all
the way from a bulging disk
00:13:46.93\00:13:49.65
which has as its #1
enemy, that of overweight
00:13:49.68\00:13:54.91
all the way to the feet
and what happens to them.
00:13:54.94\00:13:59.13
So, the same kind of
thing is true with the posture
00:13:59.16\00:14:05.16
that we have concerning snoring.
00:14:05.19\00:14:08.09
So, sleep on one side, or on
the other... that's the best way
00:14:08.12\00:14:12.69
to avoid snoring.
00:14:12.72\00:14:14.99
Usually snoring does
not bother the snorer.
00:14:15.02\00:14:18.66
It's the bed partner
that snoring interferes
00:14:18.69\00:14:23.04
with THEIR sleep.
00:14:23.07\00:14:24.10
Usually when the couple
are young, it's the husband
00:14:24.13\00:14:28.57
only that snores, but
by the time they get to be
00:14:28.60\00:14:31.56
about 50, especially if
they have gained some weight,
00:14:31.59\00:14:35.22
the wife also begins to snore.
00:14:35.25\00:14:37.98
So, sometimes it's
necessary to have 2 bedrooms
00:14:38.01\00:14:42.20
...one for the wife
and one for the husband,
00:14:42.23\00:14:44.50
so that they can get
a good night of sleep.
00:14:44.53\00:14:46.65
It often happens
that when one wakes up and
00:14:46.68\00:14:50.14
goes to the
bathroom, then comes back and
00:14:50.17\00:14:52.67
goes to bed, begins
snoring, the other one can't
00:14:52.70\00:14:56.06
go to sleep again.
00:14:56.10\00:14:57.21
Or, if the other one is asleep
already and is not awakened
00:14:57.24\00:15:03.52
by the arising of the first
one, then the first one cannot
00:15:03.55\00:15:08.16
get back to sleep because
the second one is snoring.
00:15:08.20\00:15:10.25
So, in this way, they interfere
with each other's sleep
00:15:11.16\00:15:14.07
and it's necessary for them
to sleep in separate bedrooms.
00:15:14.10\00:15:17.61
That doesn't mean that
they are enemies now...
00:15:17.64\00:15:21.78
they can still be close friends,
00:15:21.81\00:15:23.86
they just don't
sleep in the same bedroom.
00:15:23.89\00:15:26.24
Now, with these
things already learned,
00:15:26.27\00:15:32.10
let's learn one more thing...
00:15:32.13\00:15:33.92
And that's the time of
day to have your sleep.
00:15:33.95\00:15:37.47
The most
favorable time is at night.
00:15:37.50\00:15:40.81
There are people who work
in the night and they must
00:15:40.84\00:15:43.78
sleep in the daytime.
00:15:43.82\00:15:44.94
It's best if, after you get
past about the age of 45 or 50,
00:15:44.97\00:15:50.16
that you change
your schedule so that
00:15:50.19\00:15:53.95
you're the one who
works in the daytime
00:15:53.98\00:15:56.53
and sleeps at night...
00:15:56.56\00:15:58.50
and let some of those who are
younger bear that responsibility
00:15:58.53\00:16:02.39
The older we are,
the more essential it is
00:16:02.42\00:16:05.83
that we have a
good nighttime of sleep.
00:16:05.86\00:16:08.55
Now, there are
certain phases of sleep,
00:16:08.58\00:16:13.42
and the phases of sleep
are very interesting to study.
00:16:13.45\00:16:19.16
And Dr. Don Miller
has a study on this,
00:16:19.19\00:16:21.14
and he is going to
talk with you now about
00:16:21.17\00:16:23.13
some phases of sleep.
00:16:23.17\00:16:24.41
First I want to
mention something that you've
00:16:24.44\00:16:26.47
talked about...
this snoring business.
00:16:26.48\00:16:29.26
I knew a couple, and
the man snored a lot.
00:16:29.27\00:16:35.12
And, the wife liked it because
it gave her the assurance
00:16:35.15\00:16:39.70
that he's THERE...
He's alive and he's with me.
00:16:39.73\00:16:42.47
It reminded me of a story
years ago when I was going
00:16:42.50\00:16:44.42
to academy at Mt. Vernon, Ohio
00:16:44.45\00:16:46.48
and there was a man in the
church that Sabbath morning
00:16:46.49\00:16:51.64
who had received an
artificial valve in his heart,
00:16:51.67\00:16:55.52
and it made a little clicking
noise every time his heart beat.
00:16:55.55\00:16:58.26
And I remember sitting there,
and the pastor asked him...
00:16:58.29\00:17:01.22
He said, "Brother, does
that noise every bother you?"
00:17:01.25\00:17:04.79
I remember the
thought in my mind...
00:17:04.82\00:17:07.03
It would really bother me
if I quit hearing that sound.
00:17:07.06\00:17:10.35
And so, it's the way
we look at these little
00:17:10.38\00:17:13.03
irritations of
life... whether we're going to
00:17:13.06\00:17:14.91
accept them irritations,
or we're going to accept them
00:17:14.94\00:17:18.08
as BLESSINGS!
00:17:18.11\00:17:19.37
There are other ways you
can, I think, take care of
00:17:19.40\00:17:22.11
this snoring problem
without something as drastic
00:17:22.14\00:17:26.48
as 2 bedrooms.
00:17:26.51\00:17:27.51
I like something
as simple as this...
00:17:27.52\00:17:29.97
This is a little earplug,
and I carry these with me
00:17:30.00\00:17:33.94
because I go to places
where you're going to hear
00:17:33.97\00:17:36.21
people snoring...
and you just roll it up
00:17:36.24\00:17:38.10
and you place
that thing in your ear
00:17:38.13\00:17:40.20
and it swells
up and pretty soon,
00:17:40.23\00:17:42.69
it's just a little
muffled sound in the background.
00:17:42.72\00:17:46.27
It's good also if
you're living in an area
00:17:46.30\00:17:48.31
where there are
lots of mosquitoes...
00:17:48.35\00:17:49.50
Nothing can wake me up
more than a little mosquito
00:17:49.53\00:17:51.54
buzzing around the room.
00:17:51.57\00:17:53.41
Just stick a couple of
these pills in my ear...
00:17:53.44\00:17:55.29
I don't hear the mosquito...
00:17:55.37\00:17:56.55
They get their supper...
Everything is over with...
00:17:56.58\00:17:58.56
And everyone's
happy in the morning.
00:17:58.59\00:18:00.48
But going back to the phases.
00:18:00.49\00:18:02.32
There is the pre-sleep phase.
00:18:02.35\00:18:05.77
Basically, your body is riding,
what we call, an alpha wave.
00:18:05.80\00:18:08.91
It's sort of an active wave.
00:18:08.94\00:18:10.93
The same wave as
when you're awake,
00:18:10.96\00:18:12.72
but you are sort of
getting into the sleeping time.
00:18:12.75\00:18:16.05
Then you go into phase 1,
it lasts about 5 or 10 minutes
00:18:16.08\00:18:19.19
Basically, the waves
start to get a little bit deeper
00:18:19.22\00:18:23.66
as you're going into it.
00:18:23.69\00:18:24.90
If you go into phase 2, it
lasts for about 20 minutes.
00:18:24.93\00:18:27.87
Your eyes start to
roll slowly back and forth.
00:18:27.90\00:18:30.75
And again, the
waves are getting deeper.
00:18:30.78\00:18:33.80
You go to phase 3, which lasts
oh, upwards to an hour sometimes
00:18:33.83\00:18:37.90
Again, this is where your
muscle tone is almost zero,
00:18:37.93\00:18:41.93
although you might be doing
a little bit of involuntary
00:18:41.96\00:18:44.51
twitching, your muscle tone
is almost zero, very deep sleep.
00:18:44.54\00:18:48.20
Then you go into
phase 4, which is deep sleep
00:18:48.23\00:18:50.53
And this is what we
call riding a delta pattern
00:18:50.54\00:18:53.15
on an electroencephalogram.
00:18:53.18\00:18:55.83
It's a very
slow, deep pattern...
00:18:55.84\00:18:58.12
almost the same as the
pattern of somebody watching
00:18:58.13\00:19:01.11
a regular television program.
00:19:01.14\00:19:02.88
They go into a delta
pattern which means their minds
00:19:02.91\00:19:05.14
aren't really paying attention
to what they're getting.
00:19:05.17\00:19:07.51
And then, after that phase,
we go into the most important
00:19:07.54\00:19:11.09
phase which is called
"rapid eye movement sleep"
00:19:11.12\00:19:14.24
This is usually
a very short phase.
00:19:14.27\00:19:16.15
It can go upwards of an hour.
00:19:16.18\00:19:18.64
But this is where
your eyes... you can tell,
00:19:18.67\00:19:20.39
because the eyes are going
very fast in their sockets.
00:19:20.42\00:19:22.97
But this is where
a person dreams...
00:19:23.00\00:19:25.30
And the body has to
have REM... REM sleep
00:19:25.33\00:19:29.78
If they're
deprived of REM sleep,
00:19:29.81\00:19:32.21
they're going to have to make
it up some time down the line.
00:19:32.24\00:19:34.49
Now, there are certain
things that we do in our lives
00:19:34.52\00:19:37.99
that rob us of this REM sleep.
00:19:38.00\00:19:40.32
One of these things...
is taking sleeping aids.
00:19:40.35\00:19:43.71
And to take a sleeping
pill will get you out of the
00:19:43.74\00:19:46.43
REM sleep... You
will be able to sleep,
00:19:46.46\00:19:48.20
but you
normally wake up drugged.
00:19:48.23\00:19:50.63
You wake up feeling like you've
not had a good night's rest.
00:19:50.67\00:19:54.76
The REM sleep gives
you that refreshing.
00:19:54.79\00:19:57.73
Now, an interesting little
thought about the dreaming...
00:19:57.76\00:20:01.22
What about your dreams?
00:20:01.23\00:20:02.83
What if you have
these horrible dreams?
00:20:02.86\00:20:04.31
Well, usually horrible
dreams come because you did
00:20:04.34\00:20:06.39
something wrong
before you went to bed.
00:20:06.42\00:20:07.75
You saw something horrible,
you ate something horrible...
00:20:07.76\00:20:10.17
And now, it's reacting upon you.
00:20:10.20\00:20:12.46
The BIG thing
about the dreams is...
00:20:12.49\00:20:14.58
If you remember,
vividly, your dreams,
00:20:14.61\00:20:17.45
it's not as good as if you say,
"I dreamed something last night,
00:20:17.48\00:20:20.13
...sort of the
Nebuchadnezzar type thing...
00:20:20.16\00:20:21.40
but I can't
remember what it is. "
00:20:21.41\00:20:23.39
It's really best not to
sit there and dwell upon
00:20:23.42\00:20:25.81
your dreams, unless you
feel like "The Lord has given me
00:20:25.84\00:20:28.36
this dream last night," but
He'll make that manifest to you.
00:20:28.39\00:20:31.43
And so, we want to
go through these phases.
00:20:31.46\00:20:33.58
We normally cycle through
these phases 3 to 4 times
00:20:33.61\00:20:36.77
every single night.
00:20:36.80\00:20:38.02
But the best way these
off-phases into your sleeping
00:20:38.05\00:20:42.49
pattern is...
00:20:42.52\00:20:43.56
1. Make sure your room is quiet.
00:20:43.59\00:20:46.18
And again, if you don't have a
quiet place to have your sleep,
00:20:46.21\00:20:48.91
go ahead and get yourself
some simple, little earplugs
00:20:48.94\00:20:51.86
that will help
you have a quiet room.
00:20:51.89\00:20:54.02
Your room should be dark.
00:20:54.03\00:20:55.38
Okay, let's you don't have
a dark room for some reason...
00:20:55.41\00:20:59.31
Get yourself an eye mask.
00:20:59.34\00:21:01.14
I carry these things
with me when I travel because
00:21:01.17\00:21:03.43
sometimes you're not
going to find darkness...
00:21:03.46\00:21:05.71
So you're going to
have quiet, and dark,
00:21:05.74\00:21:08.10
and you want your room cool.
00:21:08.13\00:21:09.76
Sometimes that's not very
possible when you're sleeping in
00:21:09.79\00:21:12.31
India or Africa is
not as easy as it can be
00:21:12.34\00:21:16.26
...But as much as possible,
your room should be cool,
00:21:16.29\00:21:19.30
and it should also be neat!
00:21:19.33\00:21:21.57
There are various
reasons for this neatness...
00:21:21.60\00:21:23.91
And one thing I want
to mention about sleep,
00:21:23.94\00:21:25.78
it you wake up at night,
and you turn on the light
00:21:25.81\00:21:28.73
for what ever reason,
you reset your biological,
00:21:28.76\00:21:31.61
your circadian rhythm
clock, and it's going to take a
00:21:31.64\00:21:34.11
number of days to
get it back on schedule.
00:21:34.14\00:21:36.19
So, at nighttime,
don't turn on lights.
00:21:36.20\00:21:39.03
If you have to
go to the bathroom,
00:21:39.06\00:21:40.59
that's one of the reasons
why your room needs to be neat.
00:21:40.62\00:21:43.61
You know where it is... you're
not going to trip over your
00:21:43.64\00:21:46.65
shoes, your clothes,
whatever it might be.
00:21:46.68\00:21:48.64
You're going to go
right to the bathroom.
00:21:48.67\00:21:50.47
I have a little
nightlight in my bathroom.
00:21:50.50\00:21:52.30
I have plenty of
light, a very soft glow...
00:21:52.33\00:21:55.08
It's not going to
cause my brain to wake up
00:21:55.11\00:21:57.70
anymore than it already is.
00:21:57.73\00:21:59.16
And so, have
your path cleared out,
00:21:59.19\00:22:01.47
have your room neat,
clean, cool and quiet
00:22:01.50\00:22:04.42
and you'll get a much better
night's sleep if you have those
00:22:04.45\00:22:07.66
simple things going in
your program... Dr. Thrash
00:22:07.69\00:22:10.02
Very good.
00:22:10.05\00:22:11.45
I like to think about
sleep because one of the
00:22:11.48\00:22:15.89
things I like to do
a lot is take a nap.
00:22:15.92\00:22:18.47
It's a very refreshing
thing, and I always thought...
00:22:18.50\00:22:20.95
"Well, maybe I'm
just a little bit lazy"
00:22:20.98\00:22:23.17
...although, I've been
doing this all my life,
00:22:23.20\00:22:26.16
and I've never been what I
consider to be lazy otherwise,
00:22:26.19\00:22:30.40
except that I like the naps.
00:22:30.43\00:22:32.11
And here, I find
in a medical journal,
00:22:32.14\00:22:35.27
a very good
article that says that,
00:22:35.30\00:22:38.38
"Mental rejuvenation occurs in
short naps... 20 minutes or so"
00:22:38.41\00:22:42.72
A 20 minute nap
is really quite good,
00:22:42.75\00:22:45.57
and that's usually
all that I require.
00:22:45.60\00:22:48.10
Sometimes even 5 minutes
can be just so refreshing
00:22:48.13\00:22:52.07
and can make it so
that I perform much better
00:22:52.10\00:22:55.06
in the next task that's at hand.
00:22:55.09\00:22:57.64
So I recommend naps as
an interesting and pleasing
00:22:57.67\00:23:02.39
way to get mental rejuvenation.
00:23:02.42\00:23:05.52
Now, what about dreams?
00:23:05.55\00:23:07.85
They can occur in any
time, any part of sleep
00:23:07.88\00:23:11.18
from the first
phase to the last phase
00:23:11.21\00:23:14.11
but sometimes, there
are disorders of dreams.
00:23:14.14\00:23:18.27
Nightmares, or night terrors,
or early arousal because of a
00:23:18.30\00:23:25.17
dream, early
arousal in the sleep period.
00:23:25.20\00:23:27.94
Children often do this.
00:23:27.97\00:23:29.44
They go to bed and
they have a night terror,
00:23:29.47\00:23:32.50
and they wake up very
quickly after they go to sleep
00:23:32.53\00:23:35.94
and this can be
very interrupting and
00:23:35.97\00:23:39.24
disturbing to the child.
00:23:39.27\00:23:40.79
Now normally, the rapid
eye movement sleep occurs
00:23:40.82\00:23:45.69
after we have some
non-rapid eye movement sleep.
00:23:45.72\00:23:49.83
The first thing that happens
is we go into the non-rapid eye
00:23:49.86\00:23:53.34
movement sleep, and that
persists for about 60 minutes.
00:23:53.37\00:23:57.35
Then after that, you
have a period of REM sleep.
00:23:57.36\00:24:02.42
The younger you are, the
longer that period of time
00:24:02.45\00:24:06.16
generally speaking.
00:24:06.19\00:24:07.75
In people who have done a
lot of learning the day before
00:24:07.76\00:24:11.01
the night where the
REM sleep was measured,
00:24:11.04\00:24:14.65
those people generally
tend to sleep a little longer
00:24:14.68\00:24:19.54
than people who are not
in a learning situation.
00:24:19.57\00:24:25.14
Now nightmares are not usually
associated with any kind of
00:24:25.17\00:24:30.62
psychiatric disorder...
except in people with
00:24:30.65\00:24:33.90
PTSD, or
posttraumatic stress disorder.
00:24:33.93\00:24:37.34
In these people, they may
have a recurring nightmare
00:24:37.37\00:24:41.31
It may be the same
thing that they have dreamed
00:24:41.34\00:24:45.00
again and again,
or a variation of it,
00:24:45.03\00:24:47.92
just a little modification of
the nightmare they have already
00:24:47.95\00:24:51.85
had many times, and that's
one of the characteristics
00:24:51.88\00:24:55.28
of PTSD, or
posttraumatic stress disorder.
00:24:55.31\00:24:59.18
Now, there are some sleep
disorders that are associated
00:24:59.21\00:25:05.37
with sleeping too much.
00:25:05.40\00:25:08.08
One of those is narcolepsy.
00:25:08.11\00:25:09.92
Narcolepsy is a disorder
that has a number of problems
00:25:09.95\00:25:15.56
associated with it.
00:25:15.59\00:25:16.80
It is more and more being
considered to be fairly common
00:25:16.83\00:25:21.70
We once thought that it
was quite a rare disorder.
00:25:21.73\00:25:26.74
But now, more and more
people seem to be having it.
00:25:26.77\00:25:30.24
This may be related to
our general upset lifestyle
00:25:30.27\00:25:35.83
which makes it so that we
don't sleep so well at night
00:25:35.86\00:25:39.29
but we do sleep
well in the daytime.
00:25:39.32\00:25:41.65
People with
narcolepsy typically do NOT have
00:25:41.66\00:25:44.86
a good night of
sleep... it's a restless sleep
00:25:44.89\00:25:47.66
and they simply don't
sleep enough during the night
00:25:47.69\00:25:50.55
So sometimes, some very simple
herbs... like St. John's Wort
00:25:50.56\00:25:55.84
St. John's Wort is noted
for its good benefits for people
00:25:55.87\00:26:00.31
who are depressed,
but in my experience,
00:26:00.34\00:26:02.98
St. John's Wort is actually
better as a sleep-producer
00:26:03.01\00:26:07.77
than it is as a
depression-reliever.
00:26:07.80\00:26:10.70
So I often prescribe
1 tablet, or 1 capsule
00:26:10.73\00:26:15.34
of St. John's Wort at night
which gives a better quality
00:26:15.37\00:26:18.93
of sleep, and people
who tend to go to sleep
00:26:18.96\00:26:22.64
very easily...
such as in meetings,
00:26:22.67\00:26:24.58
or anytime they are
still, or sudden and unexplained
00:26:24.61\00:26:29.72
overpowering sleep...
just suddenly they are asleep
00:26:29.75\00:26:34.71
This kind of thing is benefitted
by having a good night of sleep
00:26:34.74\00:26:38.94
So if this can be produced
by exercise, by a neutral bath,
00:26:38.97\00:26:43.71
or by an herb, then
often people who have
00:26:43.74\00:26:46.91
narcolepsy, will do better.
00:26:46.94\00:26:48.63
Narcolepsy is also
characterized in some people
00:26:48.66\00:26:52.14
by a thing called, "cataplexy"
00:26:52.17\00:26:54.77
This is a sudden
loss of muscle tone.
00:26:54.80\00:26:58.45
They are just
SUDDENLY without muscle tone.
00:26:58.48\00:27:02.17
If they are
standing, they may fall.
00:27:02.20\00:27:04.60
If they're holding onto
something, they may drop that.
00:27:04.63\00:27:07.97
Some of these
episodes are associated with
00:27:08.00\00:27:12.54
an EXTREME emotion, such
as extreme fear, or anxiety,
00:27:12.57\00:27:17.01
or anger... and they suddenly
have a loss of muscle tone.
00:27:17.02\00:27:22.15
They may also have a
problem called "sleep paralysis"
00:27:22.16\00:27:26.77
They awaken from sleep,
they would like to get up,
00:27:26.80\00:27:30.55
but the find that
they can't move a muscle,
00:27:30.58\00:27:33.36
and these individuals are much
troubled by this kind of thing.
00:27:33.37\00:27:38.90
Narcolepsy may
have ALL of these,
00:27:38.93\00:27:41.31
or may have only 1 or 2.
00:27:41.34\00:27:43.87
So, if we protect our sleep,
00:27:43.90\00:27:47.30
make certain that
sleep is of the best quality,
00:27:47.31\00:27:49.91
we can avoid a lot of
the problems that are also
00:27:49.92\00:27:53.61
associated with poor sleeping.
00:27:53.64\00:27:55.59