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Why do some people need less sleep than others?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> Have you ever noticed how some people bounce out of bed after just a few hours of sleep, while others can barely function without a solid eight hours? Take Margaret Thatcher, for example. The former British prime minister was known for sleeping <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22084671">just four hours a night</a>. She worked late, rose early, and seemed to thrive on little sleep. But for most of us, that kind of sleep schedule would be disastrous. We’d be groggy, unfocused, and reaching for sugary snacks and caffeinated drinks by mid-morning. So why do some people seem to need less sleep than others? It’s a question that’s fascinated scientists for years. Here’s what we know so far. <h2>Natural short sleepers</h2> There is a small group of people who don’t need much sleep. We call them <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6879540/">natural short sleepers</a>. They can function perfectly well on just four to six hours of sleep each night, often for their entire lives. Generally they <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/44/Supplement_2/A154/6260529">don’t feel tired</a>, they don’t nap, and they don’t suffer the usual negative consequences of sleep deprivation. Scientists call this the natural short sleep phenotype – a biological trait that allows people to get all the benefits of sleep in less time. In 2010 researchers discovered genetic mutations that help explain this phenomenon. Natural short sleepers carry rare variants <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2884988/">in certain genes</a>, which seem to make their sleep more efficient. More recently, a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/epub/10.1073/pnas.2500356122">2025 study</a> assessed a woman in her 70s with one of these rare mutations. Despite sleeping just six hours a night for most of her life, she remained physically healthy, mentally sharp, and led a full, active life. Her body, it seems, was simply wired to need less sleep. We’re still learning about how common these genetic mutations are and why they occur. <h2>Not everyone who sleeps less is a natural short sleeper</h2> But here’s the catch: most people who think they’re natural short sleepers aren’t. They’re just chronically sleep-deprived. Often, their short sleep is due to long work hours, social commitments, or a belief sleeping less is a sign of strength or productivity. In today’s hustle culture, it’s common to hear people boast about getting by on only a few hours of sleep. But for the average person, that’s not sustainable. The effects of short sleep build up over time, creating what’s known as a “sleep debt”. This <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763417301641">can lead to</a> poor concentration, mood swings, micro-sleeps (brief lapses into sleep), reduced performance and even <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945716301381">long-term health risks</a>. For example, short sleep has been linked to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke). <h2>The weekend catch-up dilemma</h2> To make up for lost sleep during the week, many people try to “catch up” on weekends. This can help repay some of the sleep debt that has accumulated in the short term. Research <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352721823001663?via%3Dihub">suggests</a> getting one to two extra hours of sleep on the weekend or taking naps when possible may help reduce the negative effects of short sleep. However, it’s not a perfect fix. Weekend catch-up sleep and naps may not fully resolve sleep debt. The topic remains one of ongoing scientific debate. A recent <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/47/11/zsae135/7696120">large study</a> suggested weekend catch-up sleep may not offset the cardiovascular risks associated with chronic short sleep. What’s more, large swings in sleep timing can disrupt your body’s <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-03171-4">internal clock</a>, and sleeping in too much on weekends may make it harder to fall asleep on Sunday night, which can mean starting the working week less rested. Increasing evidence indicates <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/47/1/zsad253/7280269">repeated cycles of irregular sleep</a> may have an important influence on general health and the risk of early death, potentially even more so than how long we sleep for. Ultimately, while moderate catch-up sleep might offer some benefits, it’s no substitute for consistent, high-quality sleep throughout the week. That said, maintaining such regularity can be particularly challenging for people with non-traditional schedules, such as shift workers. <h2>So, was Thatcher a true natural short sleeper?</h2> It’s hard to say. Some reports suggest <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/aug/27/from-aristotle-to-einstein-a-brief-history-of-power-nappers">she napped during the day</a> in the back of a car between meetings. That could mean she was simply sleep-deprived and compensating for an accumulated sleep debt when she could. Separate to whether someone is a natural short sleeper, there are a range of other reasons people may need more or less sleep than others. Factors <a href="https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/sleep-topics/how-much-sleep-do-you-really-need">such as age</a> and underlying health conditions can significantly influence sleep requirements. For example, older adults often experience changes in their circadian rhythms and are more likely to suffer from fragmented sleep due to conditions <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00702-019-02067-z">such as arthritis</a> or <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11886-023-01939-x">cardiovascular disease</a>. Sleep needs vary from person to person, and while a lucky few can thrive on less, most of us need <a href="https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/sleep-topics/how-much-sleep-do-you-really-need">seven to nine hours</a> a night to feel and function our best. If you’re regularly skimping on sleep and relying on weekends to catch up, it might be time to rethink your routine. After all, sleep isn’t a luxury – it’s a biological necessity.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/256342/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kelly-sansom-2390567">Kelly Sansom</a>, Research Associate, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University; Research Associate, Centre for Healthy Ageing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-university-746">Murdoch University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-eastwood-2316718">Peter Eastwood</a>, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-university-746">Murdoch University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-some-people-need-less-sleep-than-others-a-gene-variation-could-have-something-to-do-with-it-256342">original article</a>. Image: </div>

Body

What is grounding and can it improve your sleep?

<div class="theconversation-article-body">Have you ever felt an unexpected sense of calm while walking barefoot on grass? Or noticed your stress begin to fade as you stood ankle deep in the ocean? If so, you may have unknowingly “grounded” yourself to the earth. Grounding, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417022001573">also known as earthing</a>, is the practice of making direct physical contact with the Earth’s surface. Our ancestors embraced this trend without knowing it. But with the invention of indoor homes, footpaths, roads, and even shoes, we have become <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2012/291541">less physically connected with the earth</a>. Grounding has been suggested to have <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/grounding">a number of benefits</a>, such as improving mood, and reducing stress and pain. But overall, there’s limited conclusive evidence on the benefits of grounding. Somewhat ironically, the concept of grounding in 2025 is heavily influenced by technology, rather than getting out into nature. Consumers are being hit with social media reels promoting a range of technologies that ground us, and improve our health. Among the most common are promises of improved sleep with the use of a grounding sheet or mat. But is this just another TikTok trend, or could these products really help us get a better night’s sleep? <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHne7CasELA/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHne7CasELA/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Grounding (@groundingofficial)</a> </div> </blockquote> <h2>Bringing the outdoors in</h2> The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417022001585">human body is conductive</a>, which means it can exchange electricity with Earth and artificial sources, such as electronic devices or objects. (Sometimes, this exchange can result in an electric or <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-get-static-shocks-from-everyday-objects-is-it-my-shoes-240554">static shock</a>.) Proponents of grounding <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550830719305476">claim the practice reconnects</a> “the conductive human body to the Earth’s natural and subtle surface electric charge”. They credit this process with physiological and psychological benefits (but again, the evidence is limited). Grounding technologies can vary in type (for example, under-desk foot mats, mattress toppers and bed sheets) but all are designed to provide a path for electric charges to flow between your body and the earth. The bottom prong you see in your three-prong wall socket is a “ground” or “earth” terminal. It provides a direct connection to earth via your building’s wiring, diverting excess or unsafe voltage into the ground. This protects you and your devices from potential <a href="https://store.standards.org.au/reader/as-nzs-3112-2017?preview=1&utm">electrical faults</a>. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/1/57">Grounding technology</a> uses this terminal as a pathway for the proposed electrical exchange between you and earth, while in the comfort of your home. <h2>Could grounding improve your sleep?</h2> The research in this area is still emerging. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212958825000059">2025 study</a> from Korea recruited 60 participants, gave half of them a grounding mat, and gave the other half a visually identical mat that didn’t have grounding technology. The researchers used a “double-blind” protocol, meaning neither the participants nor the researchers knew which participants were given grounding mats. All participants wore sleep trackers and were asked to use their mat (that is, sit or lie on it) for six hours per day. The researchers found that after 31 days, participants in the grounding mat group slept longer on average (as measured by their sleep trackers) than those in the control group. The researchers also used questionnaires to collect measures of insomnia, sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and stress. After 31 days, participants in both groups improved on all measures. There were no differences between the grounded and ungrounded groups for sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and stress. And while grounded participants showed significantly lower insomnia severity after the intervention, this difference was also present at the start of the study. So it’s unclear if grounding had a tangible impact on sleep. In another double-blind study, published in 2022, researchers in Taiwan examined the effectiveness of using grounding mats to improve sleep among patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The findings indicated that spending <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/3/581">30 minutes on a grounding mat</a> five times per week resulted in improved sleep quality. While previous research has suggested using grounding technologies may lead to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25748085/">improvements in mood</a>, no differences were seen in measures of anxiety and depression in this study. <h2>Grounding for gains?</h2> Grounding technology has also been touted as <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@down_to_ground/video/7310937768811597074?q=grounding%20mattress&t=1742787657768">having other benefits</a>, such as reducing pain and inflammation. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00035">2019 study</a> found participants who slept on a grounding mat after intense exercise felt less sore and showed lower levels of inflammation in their blood compared to those who were ungrounded. Grounding after a workout may help you feel better and recover faster, but it’s still unclear whether and how grounding affects long-term training results or fitness gains. <h2>Add to cart?</h2> So should you cash in on your favourite influencer’s discount code and grab a grounding mat? At the risk of spouting a common cliche of cautious scientists, our answer is that we don’t know yet. What we do know is the existing research, albeit emerging, has shown no evidence grounding technology can negatively affect your sleep or recovery after exercise. So if you love your grounding mat or grounding sheet, or want to see if grounding works for you, feel free to give it a go. Keep in mind, grounding products can retail for anywhere from around A$30 to $300 or more. On the other hand, grounding on the grass in the great outdoors is free. While there’s limited evidence that grounding outdoors can improve sleep, spending time in outdoor light may itself benefit <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34488088/">sleep, regulate circadian rhythms</a>, and improve mood. Finally, while grounding could be an interesting strategy to try, if you’re experiencing ongoing problems with your sleep, or suspect you may have a sleep disorder, the first step should be reaching out to a medical professional, such as your GP.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/253347/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dean-j-miller-808724">Dean J. Miller</a>, Senior Lecturer, Appleton Institute, HealthWise Research Group, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charlotte-gupta-347235">Charlotte Gupta</a>, Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Appleton Institute, HealthWise Research Group, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-grounding-and-could-it-improve-my-sleep-heres-the-science-behind-this-tiktok-trend-253347">original article</a>. Images: Instagram </div>

Body

What are sleep retreats? A sleep scientist explains the latest wellness trend

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jason-ellis-280919">Jason Ellis</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/northumbria-university-newcastle-821">Northumbria University, Newcastle</a> Considering the effect of poor sleep on the individual as well as on <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5627640/">society and the economy</a>, it is hardly surprising sleep has become an intense area of research focus in recent years. Most recently we have seen an <a href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/beauty/the-beauty-consumer-trends-set-to-define-2025">increase</a> in the <a href="https://www.aspiretravelclub.co.uk/insight/in-focus-the-rise-of-sleep-retreats">offering of and appetite for</a> so-called <a href="https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/style/health-and-beauty/sleep-retreats/">sleep retreats</a>. But what are sleep retreats and are they helpful? As with any specialised retreat, there is no set formula for what a sleep retreat should focus on. As such, the range of what is available is incredibly variable, from retreats that just focus on a sleep-friendly environment (a cool, dark, quiet and comfortable bedroom in a luxurious location) to ones specifically aimed at managing a specific sleep disorder, using evidence-based therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia. There are even ones that provide, among other things, a regimen of vitamins and minerals delivered intravenously. Most, however, fall somewhere between focusing on meditation, exercise and relaxation. Although there is good evidence that exercise, at the right intensity and duration, can be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Helen-Driver-3/publication/10948102_Exercise_and_sleep/links/5f578ffca6fdcc9879d67d41/Exercise-and-sleep.pdf">beneficial for sleep</a>, it is unlikely that a lack of exercise alone causes poor sleep. Similarly, there is some, albeit poor quality, evidence that <a href="https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/40186">meditation and relaxation improve sleep quality</a>. As such, it is unlikely that these treatments alone will fix a sleep problem. The main challenge is that sleep, as with diet or exercise, is just an overarching term for a complex behaviour, one that is influenced and can influence almost every area of a person’s life. For example, I am <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12011-022-03162-1">hearing a lot</a> about supplementing with magnesium to aid sleep, but this is only likely to be beneficial if you are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780124201682000314">deficient in the first place</a>. <h2>What to consider before you splash the cash</h2> So, should we approach the sleep retreat with caution? Not necessarily, it is more a case of doing your homework. First, who does the sleep retreat cater for, and what do you hope to get from the retreat? The busy executive who only allows themselves four hours of sleep a night will have very different expectations and experiences to a person who has undiagnosed sleep apnoea and sleeps for nine hours but wants to know why they are so sleepy during the day. This leads to the second consideration: what kind of pre-screening (for conditions that might be causing insomnia) and personalisation do they offer? Many retreats advertise an individual consultation as part of the package but don’t really say what that will cover (a sleep, medical and psychiatric history and lifestyle assessment should be done as a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsr.14035">bare minimum</a>. This is vital when we consider that while well-established, evidence-based treatments for a variety of sleep disturbances and disorders exist, they are not suitable for everyone. Also, there is a <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/fo/d4fo01113a/unauth">perception</a> that non-pharmacological therapies, including nutraceuticals (products derived from food sources that said to have health benefits) and over-the-counter remedies (such as antihistamines, melatonin and valerian), don’t have side-effects, which is <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/fo/d4fo01113a/unauth">not necessarily the case</a>. The final considerations are: who is delivering the retreat? And is what they are offering based on sound scientific evidence? Considering certification in sleep medicine is a hot topic in the sleep community at the moment, it is worth doing some research. For example, in the UK there is no pathway to becoming a sleep medicine specialist, consultant or coach. So who is leading the sleep retreat and is what they offering evidence-based?<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/247632/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jason-ellis-280919">Jason Ellis</a>, Professor of Sleep Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/northumbria-university-newcastle-821">Northumbria University, Newcastle</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-sleep-retreats-a-sleep-scientist-explains-the-latest-wellness-trend-247632">original article</a>. </div>

Travel Tips

What are cooling blankets? Can they really help me sleep?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/linda-grosser-1461631">Linda Grosser</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/luana-main-2270550">Luana Main</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> You wake up exhausted from yet another hot night of tossing and turning, with very little sleep. So you might be tempted to buy a “cooling blanket” after reading rave reviews on social media. Or you might have read online articles with <a href="https://www.news.com.au/checkout/home-and-garden/bedroom/bedding/best-cooling-blankets/news-story/118ce05eba1e7d5cdff3aeadae5ae940">taglines such as</a>: <blockquote> Stop waking up in a puddle of sweat with our roundup of the best cooling blankets – including a top-rated option from Amazon that ‘actually works’. </blockquote> But what are cooling blankets? And can they help you get a restful night? <h2>We know a cooler bedroom is best</h2> First, let’s look at why a cooler environment helps us sleep better at night. Our body’s internal temperature has a <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/circadian-rhythm">circadian rhythm</a>, meaning it fluctuates throughout the day. A couple of hours before bed, it drops about <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1087079203000236">0.31°C</a> to help you fall asleep. It will drop about <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7323637/">another 2°C</a> across the night to help you stay asleep. During sleep, your internal temperature and skin work together to achieve a balance between losing and producing heat. Your skin has sensors that pick-up changes in the environment around you. If it gets too warm, these sensors let your body know, which may cause you to kick-off blankets or bed clothes and wake more often leading to poorer sleep quality. <a href="https://www.thensf.org/what-is-sleep-quality/">Sleep quality</a> is an important component of sleep health ensuring you get the physical, mental and emotional benefits that come from a good night’s sleep. The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132318300325">ideal temperature</a> for sleep varies depending on the season and type of bedding you have but falls between 17°C and 28°C. Keeping your sleeping environment within this range will help you to get the best night’s rest. <h2>So what are cooling blankets?</h2> Cooling blankets are designed to help regulate your body temperature while you sleep. Different technologies and materials are used in their design and construction. We’re not talking about <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2206487/">hospital-grade</a> cooling blankets that are used to reduce fever and prevent injury to the nervous system. These use gel pads with circulating water, or air-cooling systems, connected to automatic thermostats to monitor someone’s temperature. Instead, the type of consumer-grade cooling blankets you might see advertised use a blend of lightweight, breathable materials that draw moisture away from the skin to help you stay cool and dry through the night. They look like regular blankets. Common materials include cotton, bamboo, silk or the fibre <a href="https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-tencel/">Lyocell</a>, all of which absorb moisture. Manufacturers typically use a <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/best-sheets/best-thread-count-for-sheets">thread count</a> of <a href="https://www.trustsleep.com/how-do-cooling-blankets-work/">300-500</a>, creating air pockets that enhance airflow and moisture evaporation. Some blankets feature a <a href="https://getrest.com.au/blogs/all/unveiling-the-secrets-of-q-max-the-key-to-a-perfect-nights-sleep">Q-Max rating</a>, which indicates how cool the fabric feels against your skin. The higher the value, the cooler the fabric feels. Others feature <a href="https://www.trustsleep.com/how-do-cooling-blankets-work/">phase change materials</a>. These materials were developed by <a href="https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2009/ch_4.html">NASA</a> for space suits to keep astronauts comfortable during a spacewalk where temperatures are from roughly <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/spacewalk-spacesuit-basics/">-157°C to 121°C</a>. Phase change materials in cooling blankets absorb and hold heat producing a cooling effect. <h2>Do they work?</h2> If you believe online reviews, yes, cooling blankets can cool you down and help you sleep better in warmer weather or if you get too hot using normal sheets and blankets. However, there is little scientific research to see if these consumer-grade products work. In a 2021 <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/9099">study</a> exploring sleep quality, 20 participants slept for three nights under two different conditions. First, they slept with regular bed sheets in an air-conditioned room with the temperature set to their preference. Then, they used cooling bed sheets in an air-conditioned room where the temperature was set 3°C higher than their preference. Participants reported good sleep quality in both conditions but preferred the warmer room with its cooling sheets. This may suggest the use of cooling bedding may help provide a more comfortable night’s sleep. But everyone’s cooling needs varies depending on things like age, health, body temperature, the space you sleep in, and personal preferences. So while these products may work for some people who may be motivated to leave a good review, they may not necessarily work for you. <h2>Are they worth it?</h2> There’s a wide variety of cooling blankets available at different prices to suit various budgets. Positive customer reviews might encourage a purchase, especially for individuals experiencing disrupted sleep at night due to heat. Yet, these cooling blankets have limited scientific research to show they work and to say if they’re worth it. So it’s up to you. <h2>What else can I do if I’m a hot sleeper?</h2> If a cooling blanket isn’t for you, there are other things you can do to stay cool at night, such as: <ul> <li> using air conditioning or a fan </li> <li> placing a damp towel under or over you </li> <li> wearing lightweight or minimal sleepwear and avoiding thick or synthetic fabrics, such as nylon, that can trap heat </li> <li> if you usually share a bed, on hot nights, consider sleeping by yourself to avoid excess body heat from your partner. </li> </ul> On a final note, if you often struggle with hot, disturbed sleep, you can check in with your health-care provider. They can see if there is a medical explanation for your disturbed sleep and advise what to try next.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/244158/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/linda-grosser-1461631">Linda Grosser</a>, Research Associate, Behaviour-Brain-Body Research Centre, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/luana-main-2270550">Luana Main</a>, Associate Professor in Applied Sport Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-cooling-blankets-can-they-really-help-me-sleep-244158">original article</a>. </div>

Home & Garden

Six covers of Bob Dylan songs that were better than the originals

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/glenn-fosbraey-424079">Glenn Fosbraey</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-winchester-743">University of Winchester</a> He may never have strayed far from the minds of many music fans, but with his biopic A Complete Unknown hitting UK cinemas on January 17 and heartthrob Timothée Chalamet in the lead role, Bob Dylan may be about to gain an entirely new audience. Considered by many to be the <a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/bob-dylan-on-the-simple-reason-he-became-a-songwriter/">greatest songwriter of all time</a>, Dylan’s influence on music can’t be understated. His voice, however, has divided listeners over the decades. Some find it <a href="https://www.insidehook.com/music/bob-dylan-singing-voice#:%7E:text=His%20voice%20has%20articulated%20an,has%20sounded%20like%20him%20since.">“mesmeric”</a> and others have likened it to that of <a href="https://www.insidehook.com/music/bob-dylan-singing-voice#:%7E:text=His%20voice%20has%20articulated%20an,has%20sounded%20like%20him%20since.">“a dog with his leg caught in barbed wire”</a>. Despite having, as a researcher of songwriting, something of a penchant for Dylan’s idiosyncratic and character-filled style, here are six covers of his songs which I believe outperform his versions. <iframe style="border-radius: 12px;" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/7epeDOmTqTFJbJ4q8P5RtW?utm_source=generator" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" loading="lazy"></iframe> <h2>1. Girl from the North Country by Eels</h2> Girl from the North Country first appeared on Dylan’s 1963 album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. But it featured again on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je4Eg77YSSA">Nashville Skyline</a> in 1969 as a duet with Johnny Cash. That version has been praised for the <a href="https://www.musicradar.com/news/bob-dylan-making-of-nashville-skyline">skip and groove of the acoustic guitar performances</a> and how Dylan and Cash’s vocals are <a href="https://www.musicradar.com/news/bob-dylan-making-of-nashville-skyline">instinctive and spontaneous</a>. Another view would be that the guitars are out of time and the vocals are under-rehearsed – and the same shortcomings are on display during the song’s performance on the <a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/johnny-cash-bob-dylan-duet-girl-north-country/">Johnny Cash show</a>. Far superior in my humble opinion is the 2005 version by alt-rock band Eels. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OOCOxRIB2Zo?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Girl from the North Country by Eels.</figcaption></figure> The band performed the song for their <a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xv3eel">Eels with Strings: Live at Town Hall</a> DVD and album. Band leader Mark Everett switched it from acoustic guitar to piano. His gentle arpeggiated playing complemented his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/feb/27/popandrock.mainsection">gruff yet tender</a> vocals and drew every drop of emotion out of the lyrics and melody. He keeps in time, too. <h2>2. Mr Tambourine Man by The Byrds</h2> A masterclass in lyric writing, Mr Tambourine Man (1965) saw Dylan <a href="https://genius.com/Bob-dylan-mr-tambourine-man-lyrics">flexing his linguistic muscles</a> to reel off dozens of intricate internal and end rhymes, including my personal favourite: <blockquote> Though I know that evening’s empire has returned into sand Vanished from my hand Left me blindly here to stand, but still not sleeping. </blockquote> The Byrds’ version, released in the same year and hitting number one in both the US and the UK, isn’t better than the brilliant original (how could it be?) but it is brilliantly different. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Swqw5a8I4b4?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>The Byrds’ version of Mr Tambourine Man.</figcaption></figure> Abridging Dylan’s version in order to make for a more palatable running time for the singles market, what it lacks in lyrics it more than makes up for in melody. The harmonies in the chorus add to Dylan’s main vocal line. It was an era-defining moment that launched the folk-rock genre. <h2>3. All Along The Watchtower by The Jimi Hendrix Experience</h2> Dylan may have released the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT7Hj-ea0VE">original version</a> of All Along The Watchtower on his John Wesley Harding album in 1967, but it was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV4_xaYynY">The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s cover</a>, released just six months later, which has largely been accepted as the definitive recording. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NdSyFxTDQUM?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>All Along the Watchtower performed by Jimi Hendrix.</figcaption></figure> Taking Dylan’s gentle acoustic guitar and harmonica number and feeding it through his legendary white Strat, Hendrix rocks seven shades of summer out of the song until it takes on a completely new life. So great was his reinterpretation (it seems derisive to merely label it a “cover”) that as well as being ranked at number 40 in Rolling Stone’s <a href="https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-30065/the-jimi-hendrix-experience-all-along-the-watchtower-30527/">500 Greatest Songs of All Time</a> list, Dylan amended the song’s structure for <a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/what-did-bob-dylan-think-jimi-hendrix-version-along-the-watchtower/">later live performances</a> in order for it to be more like Hendrix’s. <h2>4. If Not For You by George Harrison</h2> Granted, I only heard Dylan’s recording of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyouhbgAiCA">If Not For You</a> after already being familiar with George Harrison’s version included on his 1970 album <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XscuV_R6tr4">All Things Must Pass</a> for several years, so it was always going to feel slightly foreign to me. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E28E1hEZN8g?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>George Harrison performs If Not For You.</figcaption></figure> What I wasn’t expecting, though, was how unimpressive and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyouhbgAiCA">strangely flat</a> it seems compared to Harrison’s recording. Dylan’s run-together vocal lines were backed by oddly jaunty and accented side-stick drumming (with the snare struck on the second beat but then a quaver before the fourth instead of on the fourth itself) and punctuated with glockenspiel. It all adds up to a slightly confused and messy arrangement, which takes attention away from the sincerity of the lyrics. <h2>5. If Not For You by Olivia Newton John</h2> When Olivia Newton-John issued her own cover of If Not For You in 1971, she wisely opted for the <a href="https://americansongwriter.com/how-bob-dylan-and-george-harrison-helped-olivia-newton-john-land-her-first-hit/">same arrangement</a> as Harrison’s, thankfully, minus Phil Spector’s muddy over-production – and scored an international hit with it in the process. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aJvwcpkBN3A?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>If Not For You performed by Olivia Newton John.</figcaption></figure> To my mind If Not For You remains one of Dylan’s most simplistic, beautiful songs – so long as he’s not singing it. <h2>6. Ballad of Hollis Brown by David Lynch</h2> Appearing on The Times They Are A-Changin’ (1964), Dylan presents the five-minute <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8xkxy3tXTA">Ballad of Hollis Brown</a> as its title suggests, as a <a href="https://pressbooks.pub/shawangunktest/chapter/pounding-in-your-brain-form-in-dylans-ballad-of-hollis-brown/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CHollis%20Brown%E2%80%9D%20is%20most%20assuredly,that%20plays%20is%20Dylan%27s%20guitar.">traditional ballad in both form and theme</a>. His voice is backed by a lone acoustic guitar, minus even his ever-present harmonica. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AXnqohIm9g4?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>The Ballad of Hollis Brown by David Lynch.</figcaption></figure> Nearly half a century later, director David Lynch took time out from his day job to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXnqohIm9g4">reimagine the song</a> as drum-heavy claustrophobia, twisting the original until it would have been unrecognisable if not for its title and lyrics. Dylan diehards may want to give this one a miss, but for those of us who enjoyed the music from the Roadhouse in Twin Peaks series three, this is a winner.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/246909/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/glenn-fosbraey-424079">Glenn Fosbraey</a>, Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-winchester-743">University of Winchester</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/six-covers-of-bob-dylan-songs-that-were-better-than-the-originals-246909">original article</a>. </div>

Music

Why sending a belated gift is not as bad as you probably think − and late is better than never

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-walker-reczek-232584">Rebecca Walker Reczek</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-ohio-state-university-759">The Ohio State University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cory-haltman-2240693">Cory Haltman</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-ohio-state-university-759">The Ohio State University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/grant-donnelly-1250966">Grant Donnelly</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-ohio-state-university-759">The Ohio State University</a> If finding the right present and making sure the recipient gets it on time leaves you feeling anxious, you’re not alone. More than half of Americans say <a href="https://www.lendingtree.com/credit-cards/study/holiday-gift-stressors/">that gift-giving stresses them out</a>. Concerns about on-time delivery are so common that people share holiday <a href="https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/christmas-shipping-deadlines-2024-74159960">deadlines for each shipping service</a>. And in the event that you can’t meet these deadlines, there are now handy <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/package-delays-christmas-gifts-etiquette/2020/12/23/578a369e-43a5-11eb-b0e4-0f182923a025_story.html">etiquette guides</a> offering advice for how to inform the recipient. If you’ve sent late gifts thanks to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/15/postal-service-holiday-packages-delays/">shipping delays</a>, <a href="https://nymag.com/strategist/article/top-gifts-to-buy-before-they-sell-out-2022.html">depleted stocks</a> or even good old-fashioned <a href="https://wwd.com/feature/last-minute-holiday-shopping-survey-reveal-curious-consumer-trends-1234684998/">procrastination</a>, our new research may offer some welcome news. In a series of studies that will soon be published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, we found that people overestimate the negative consequences of sending a late gift. <h2>Trying to follow norms</h2> Why do people tend to overestimate these consequences? Our findings indicate that when people give presents, they pay more attention <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1318">to norms about gifting</a> than the recipients do. For example, other researchers have found that people tend to be reluctant to give <a href="https://doi.org/10.1348/014466604X23428">used products as presents</a> because there’s a norm that gifts should be new. In reality, though, many people are often open to receiving used stuff. We found that this mismatch also applies to beliefs about the importance of timing. Many people worry that a late gift will signal that they don’t care about the recipient. They then fear their relationship will suffer. In reality, though, these fears are largely unfounded. Gift recipients are much less worried about when the gift arrives. Unfortunately, aside from causing unnecessary worry, being overly sensitive about giving a late present can also influence the gift you choose to buy. <h2>Compensating for lateness</h2> To test how lateness concerns affect gift choice, we conducted an online study before Mother’s Day in 2021. We had 201 adults participate in a raffle. They could choose to send their mother either a cheaper gift basket that would arrive in time for the occasion or a more expensive one that would arrive late. Concerns about lateness led nearly 70% of the participants to choose the less expensive and more prompt option. In another study, we conducted the same kind of raffle for Father’s Day and got similar results. Aside from finding that people will choose inferior items to ensure speedier delivery, we also found that givers may feel that they can compensate for lateness with effort. In another online study of 805 adults, we discovered that participants were less likely to expect a late delivery to damage a relationship if they signaled their care for the recipient in a different way. For example, they believed that putting an item together by hand, versus purchasing it preassembled, could compensate for a present being belated. <h2>Better late than never?</h2> If sending something late isn’t as bad as expected, you may wonder whether it’s OK to simply not send anything at all. We’d caution against going that route. In another online study of 903 participants, we found that recipients believed that not receiving anything at all was more likely to harm a relationship than receiving something as much as two months late. That is, late is better than never as far as those receiving gifts are concerned. You may want to keep that in mind, even if that new <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/dec/19/game-over-why-santa-may-struggle-to-bring-you-that-ps5-xbox-or-ipad">gaming console</a>, <a href="https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/baby-yoda-animatronic-toy-sold-out-hasbro-1203510368/">action figure</a> or <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/12/24/oculus-quest-headsets-sold-out-into-february/2742443001/">virtual reality headset</a> is sold out this holiday season. It could still be a welcome surprise if it arrives in January or February.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/244012/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-walker-reczek-232584">Rebecca Walker Reczek</a>, Professor of Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-ohio-state-university-759">The Ohio State University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/cory-haltman-2240693">Cory Haltman</a>, Ph.D. Candidate in Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-ohio-state-university-759">The Ohio State University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/grant-donnelly-1250966">Grant Donnelly</a>, Assistant Professor of Marketing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-ohio-state-university-759">The Ohio State University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-sending-a-belated-gift-is-not-as-bad-as-you-probably-think-and-late-is-better-than-never-244012">original article</a>. </div>

Family & Pets

Humans evolved to share beds – how your sleeping companions may affect you now

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/goffredina-spano-2240566">Goffredina Spanò</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/kingston-university-949">Kingston University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gina-mason-2240569">Gina Mason</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/brown-university-1276">Brown University</a> <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(24)00176-9">Recent research</a> on animal sleep behaviour has revealed that sleep is influenced by the animals around them. Olive baboons, for instance, sleep less as group sizes increase, while mice can synchronise their rapid eye movement (REM) cycles. In western society, many people expect to sleep alone, if not with a romantic partner. But as with other group-living animals, human co-sleeping is common, despite some <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945710000377">cultural</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352721820303053?via%3Dihub">age-related variation</a>. And in many cultures, bedsharing with a relative is considered typical. Apart from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945710000377">western countries</a>, caregiver-infant co-sleeping is common, with rates as high as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1087079216000265">60-100%</a> in parts of South America, Asia and Africa. Despite its prevalence, infant co-sleeping is controversial. Some western perspectives, that value self-reliance, argue that sleeping alone promotes self-soothing when the baby wakes in the night. But <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221325.2021.1905599">evolutionary scientists argue</a> that co-sleeping has been important to help keep infants warm and safe throughout human existence. <a href="https://www.sleephealthjournal.org/article/S2352-7218(22)00077-8/abstract">Many cultures</a> do not expect babies to self-soothe when they wake in the night and see night wakings as a normal part of breastfeeding <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945713002220?via%3Dihub">and development</a>. Concerns about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Sids) have often led paediatricians to discourage bed-sharing. However, when studies control for <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0107799">other Sids risk factors</a> including unsafe sleeping surfaces, Sids risk does not seem to differ statistically between co-sleeping and solitary sleeping infants. This may be one reason why agencies such as the <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/1/e2022057990/188304/Sleep-Related-Infant-Deaths-Updated-2022?autologincheck=redirected">American Academy of Pediatrics</a>, the <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs37/chapter/Quality-statement-5-Safer-practices-for-bed-sharing">National Institute for Health and Care Excellence</a> and the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/reduce-the-risk-of-sudden-infant-death-syndrome/">NHS</a> either <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/1/e2022057990/188304/Sleep-Related-Infant-Deaths-Updated-2022">recommend that</a> infants “sleep in the parents’ room, close to the parents’ bed, but on a separate surface,” or, if bedsharing, to make sure that the infant <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs37/chapter/Quality-statement-5-Safer-practices-for-bed-sharing">“sleeps on a firm, flat mattress”</a> without pillows and duvets, rather than discouraging co-sleeping altogether. Researchers don’t yet know whether co-sleeping causes differences in sleep or, whether co-sleeping happens because of these differences. However, experiments in the 1990s suggested that co-sleeping can <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.20736">encourage more sustained and frequent bouts of breastfeeding</a>. Using sensors to measure brain activity, this research also suggested that infants’ and caregivers’ sleep may be lighter during co-sleeping. But researchers speculated that this lighter sleep may actually <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221325.2021.1905599">help protect against Sids</a> by providing infants more opportunities to rouse from sleep and develop better control over their respiratory system. Other advocates believe that co-sleeping <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163638319301237">benefits infants’ emotional and mental health</a> by promoting parent-child bonding and aiding infants’ <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/10253890.2012.742057">stress hormone regulation</a>. However, current data is inconclusive, with most studies showing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163638319301249?via%3Dihub">mixed findings</a> or <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616734.2024.2380427">no differences</a> between co-sleepers and solitary sleepers with respect to short and long-term mental health. <h2>Co-sleeping in childhood</h2> Childhood co-sleeping past infancy is also fairly common according to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945713011076?via%3Dihub">worldwide surveys</a>. A <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/126/5/e1119/65347/Relationship-Between-Bed-Sharing-and-Breastfeeding">2010 survey</a> of over 7,000 UK families found 6% of children were constant bedsharers up to at least four years old. Some families adopt co-sleeping <a href="https://capmh.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13034-023-00607-w">in response to</a> their child having trouble sleeping. But child-parent bedsharing in many countries, including some western countries <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2005.00358.x">like Sweden</a> where children often co-sleep with parents until school age, is viewed culturally as part of a nurturing environment. It is also common for siblings to share a room or even a bed. A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221325.2021.1916732">2021 US study</a> found that over 36% of young children aged three to five years bedshared in some form overnight, whether with caregivers, siblings, pets or some combination. Co-sleeping decreases but is still present among older children, with up to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fare.12955">13.8% of co-sleeping parents</a> in Australia, the UK and other countries reporting that their child was between five and 12 years old when they engaged in co-sleeping. Two recent US studies using wrist-worn actigraphs (motion sensors) to track sleep indicated that kids who bedshare may have <a href="https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.11352">shorter sleep durations</a> than children who sleep alone. But this shorter sleep duration <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221325.2021.1916732">is not explained by</a> greater disruption during sleep. Instead, bedsharing children may lose sleep by <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00221325.2021.1916732">going to bed later than</a> solitary sleepers. The benefits and downsides of co-sleeping may also differ in children with conditions such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945717303842">autism spectrum disorder</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10802-017-0387-1">mental health disorders</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dmcn.13300">chronic illnesses</a>. These children may experience heightened anxiety, sensory sensitivities and physical discomfort that make falling and staying asleep difficult. For them, co-sleeping can provide <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11325-018-1710-y">reassurance</a>. <h2>Adults sharing beds</h2> According to <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NSF_Bedroom_Poll_Report_1.pdf">a 2018 survey</a> from the US National Sleep Foundation, 80-89% of adults who live with their significant other share a bed with them. Adult bedsharing has shifted over time from pre-industrial <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/106/2/343/64370?redirectedFrom=fulltext">communal arrangements</a>, including whole families and other household guests, to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jdh/article-abstract/23/3/275/359439?redirectedFrom=fulltext">solo sleeping</a> in response to hygiene concerns as germ theory became accepted. Many couples find that bedsharing boosts their <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1978364/">sense of closeness</a>. Research shows that bedsharing with your partner can lead to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2017/8140672">longer sleep times</a> and a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article-abstract/17/4/308/2753131">feeling of better sleep</a> overall. Bedsharing couples also often <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00583/full">get into sync</a> with each other’s sleep stages, which can enhance that feeling of intimacy. However, it’s not all rosy. Some studies indicate that females in heterosexual relationships may struggle more with sleep quality when bedsharing, as they can be <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00320.x">more easily disturbed</a> by their male partner’s movements. Also, bedsharers can have less <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27624285/">deep sleep</a> than when sleeping alone, even though they feel like their sleep is better together. Many questions about co-sleeping remain unanswered. For instance, we don’t fully understand the developmental effects of co-sleeping on children, or the benefits of co-sleeping for adults beyond female-male romantic partners. But, some work suggests that co-sleeping can <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11325-018-1710-y">comfort us</a>, similar to other <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsr.14174">forms of social contact</a>, and help to enhance <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.20736">physical synchrony</a> between parents and children. Co-sleeping doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all answer. But remember that western norms aren’t necessarily the ones we have evolved with. So consider factors such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945716301265">sleep disorders</a>, health and age in your decision to co-sleep, rather than what everyone else is doing.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/241803/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/goffredina-spano-2240566">Goffredina Spanò</a>, Lecturer in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/kingston-university-949">Kingston University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gina-mason-2240569">Gina Mason</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Psychiatry and Human Behaviour, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/brown-university-1276">Brown University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/humans-evolved-to-share-beds-how-your-sleeping-companions-may-affect-you-now-241803">original article</a>. </div>

Body

How light tells you when to sleep, focus and poo

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/frederic-gachon-1379094">Frederic Gachon</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/benjamin-weger-1646210">Benjamin Weger</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> Exposure to light is crucial for our physical and mental health, as this and future articles in the series will show. But the timing of that light exposure is also crucial. This tells our body to wake up in the morning, when to poo and the time of day to best focus or be alert. When we’re exposed to light also controls our body temperature, blood pressure and even chemical reactions in our body. But how does our body know when it’s time to do all this? And what’s light got to do with it? <h2>What is the body clock, actually?</h2> One of the key roles of light is to re-set our body clock, also known as the circadian clock. This works like an internal oscillator, similar to an actual clock, ticking away as you read this article. But rather than ticking you can hear, the body clock is a network of genes and proteins that regulate each other. This network sends signals to organs via hormones and the nervous system. These complex loops of interactions and communications have a rhythm of about 24 hours. In fact, we don’t have one clock, we have trillions of body clocks throughout the body. The central clock is in the hypothalamus region of the brain, and each cell in every organ has its own. These clocks work in concert to help us adapt to the daily cycle of light and dark, aligning our body’s functions with the time of day. However, our body clock is not precise and works to a rhythm of about 24 hours (24 hours 30 minutes on average). So every morning, the central clock needs to be reset, signalling the start of a new day. This is why light is so important. The central clock is directly connected to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/07487304231225706">light-sensing cells</a> in our retinas (the back of the eye). This daily re-setting of the body clock with morning light is essential for ensuring our body works well, in sync with our environment. In parallel, <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-it-matter-what-time-of-day-i-eat-and-can-intermittent-fasting-improve-my-health-heres-what-the-science-says-203762">when we eat food</a> also plays a role in re-setting the body clock, but this time the clock in organs other than the brain, such as the liver, kidneys or the gut. So it’s easy to see how our daily routines are closely linked with our body clocks. And in turn, our body clocks shape how our body works at set times of the day. <h2>What time of day?</h2> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/627494/original/file-20241023-14-729bed.gif?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/627494/original/file-20241023-14-729bed.gif?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/627494/original/file-20241023-14-729bed.gif?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/627494/original/file-20241023-14-729bed.gif?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/627494/original/file-20241023-14-729bed.gif?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/627494/original/file-20241023-14-729bed.gif?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/627494/original/file-20241023-14-729bed.gif?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/627494/original/file-20241023-14-729bed.gif?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>Matt Garrow/The Conversation. <a class="source" href="https://delos.com/blog/why-natural-light-is-important-for-mental-and-physical-health/">Adapted from Delos</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></figcaption></figure> <h2>Let’s take a closer look at sleep</h2> The naturally occurring brain hormone <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30311830/">melatonin</a> is linked to our central clock and makes us feel sleepy at certain times of day. When it’s light, our body stops making melatonin (its production is inhibited) and we are alert. Closer to bedtime, the hormone is made, then secreted, making us feel drowsy. Our sleep is also <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00944/full">partly controlled</a> by <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-genom-121222-120306">our genes</a>, which are part of our central clock. These genes influence our <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-it-matter-what-time-i-go-to-bed-198146">chronotype</a> – whether we are a “lark” (early riser), “night owl” (late sleeper) or a “dove” (somewhere in between). But exposure to light at night when we are supposed to be sleeping can have harmful effects. Even dim light from light pollution can impair our <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2113290119">heart rate and how we metabolise sugar</a> (glucose), may lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00135-8">psychiatric disorders</a> such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, and increases the overall risk of <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2405924121">premature death</a>. The main reason for these harmful effects is that light “at the wrong time” disturbs the body clock, and these effects are more pronounced for “night owls”. This “misaligned” exposure to light is also connected to the detrimental health effects we often see in people who <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-night-shift-increase-the-risk-of-cancer-diabetes-and-heart-disease-heres-what-we-know-so-far-190652">work night shifts</a>, such as an increased risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. <h2>How about the gut?</h2> Digestion also follows a circadian rhythm. Muscles in the colon that help move waste <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1572-0241.2004.40453.x">are more active</a> during the day and slow down at night. The most significant increase in colon movement starts at 6.30am. This is one of the reasons why most people feel the urge to poo <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-poo-in-the-morning-a-gut-expert-explains-229624">in the early morning</a> rather than at night. The gut’s day-night rhythm is a direct result of the action of the gut’s own clock and the central clock (which synchronises the gut with the rest of the body). It’s also influenced by when we eat. <h2>How about focusing?</h2> Our body clock also helps control our attention and alertness levels by changing how our brain functions at certain times of day. Attention and alertness levels improve in the afternoon and evening but dip during the night and early morning. Those fluctuations <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/molecular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnmol.2012.00050/full">impact performance</a> and can lead to decreased productivity and an <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-40914-x">increased risk</a> of errors and accidents during the less-alert hours. So it’s important to perform certain tasks that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30923475/">require our attention</a> at certain times of day. That includes driving. In fact, disruption of the circadian clock at the start of daylight savings – when our body hasn’t had a chance to adapt to the clocks changing – <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982219316781?via%3Dihub">increases the risk</a> of a car accident, particularly in the morning. <h2>What else does our body clock control?</h2> Our body clock influences many other aspects of our biology, including: <ul> <li>physical performance by controlling the activity of our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-023-00805-8">muscles</a></li> <li>blood pressure by controlling the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-time-of-day-should-i-take-my-medicine-125809">system of hormones</a> involved in regulating our blood volume and blood vessels</li> <li>body temperature by controlling our metabolism and our level of physical activity</li> <li>how our body handles drugs and toxins by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17460441.2023.2224554">controlling enzymes</a> involved in how the liver and kidneys eliminate these substances from the body.</li> </ul> <h2>Morning light is important</h2> But what does this all mean for us? Exposure to light, especially in the morning, is crucial for synchronising our circadian clock and bodily functions. As well as setting us up for a good night’s sleep, increased morning light exposure benefits our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032721008612?via%3Dihub">mental health</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/101/9/3539/2806883">reduces the risk of obesity</a>. So boosting our exposure to morning light – for example, by going for a walk, or having breakfast outside – can directly benefit our mental and metabolic health. However, there are other aspects about which we have less control, including <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168952524001100">the genes</a> that control our body clock.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/236780/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/frederic-gachon-1379094">Frederic Gachon</a>, Associate Professor, Physiology of Circadian Rhythms, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/benjamin-weger-1646210">Benjamin Weger</a>, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow Institute for Molecular Bioscience, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-light-tells-you-when-to-sleep-focus-and-poo-236780">original article</a>. </div>

Body

MedicAlert: The life-saving service that just got even better

While traditional MedicAlert IDs have long been trusted for their reliability, the company that currently protects more than four million members worldwide has taken a huge step forward in enhancing emergency care and personal safety by <a href="https://www.medicalert.org.au/qr-code" target="_blank" rel="noopener">integrating QR codes</a> into their medical IDs. These QR codes are a modern addition that provide rapid, comprehensive access to critical medical information, ensuring timely and accurate assistance in emergencies. When a MedicAlert QR code is scanned, first responders and healthcare professionals can immediately access the wearer’s detailed medical history. This includes information on allergies, chronic conditions, medications and emergency contacts, as well as your uploaded documents like Advanced Care Directives and specialist letters. The quick retrieval of this data can be lifesaving, especially in situations where every second counts. MedicAlert’s QR codes are designed to be user-friendly and secure. Scanning the code with a smartphone or any QR code reader directs the user to a secure webpage containing the medical profile of the ID wearer. This ensures that sensitive information is both accessible when needed and protected from unauthorised access. One of the standout features of MedicAlert QR codes is their global functionality. No matter where you are in the world, emergency responders can scan the code and access the information in multiple languages. This is particularly beneficial for travellers, providing peace of mind that their medical information is always within reach. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-70799" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2024/10/MEDICALERT-22nd-May-2024-219_O60.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The information linked to a MedicAlert QR code can also be easily updated. This means any changes in medical conditions, medications or emergency contacts can be promptly reflected, ensuring that the most current information is available at all times. As a registered Australian charity, MedicAlert also ensures that all online data is securely stored within Australia, providing peace of mind regarding the privacy and protection of your personal medical information. Their commitment to safeguarding your health data while offering reliable and accessible emergency support makes them an invaluable ally in maintaining your wellbeing. For a limited time, get 60% off all stainless steel MedicAlert products with the discount code 60OVER60. For more information, visit <a href="https://www.medicalert.org.au/qr-code">https://www.medicalert.org.au/qr-code</a> <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HkmBEXerAFQ?si=FFtmmhywyzu6EPUr" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Images: MedicAlert This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with MedicAlert

Caring

An unbroken night’s sleep is a myth. Here’s what good sleep looks like

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-reynolds-424346">Amy Reynolds</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/claire-dunbar-1651340">Claire Dunbar</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gorica-micic-187159">Gorica Micic</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hannah-scott-424633">Hannah Scott</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicole-lovato-60684">Nicole Lovato</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a> What do you imagine a good night’s sleep to be? Often when people come into our sleep clinic seeking treatment, they share ideas about healthy sleep. Many think when their head hits the pillow, they should fall into a deep and restorative sleep, and emerge after about eight hours feeling refreshed. They’re in good company – many Australians hold <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2014.09.011">the same belief</a>. In reality, healthy sleep is cyclic across the night, as you move in and out of the different stages of sleep, often waking up several times. Some people remember one or more of these awakenings, others do not. Let’s consider what a healthy night’s sleep looks like. <h2>Sleep cycles are a roller-coaster</h2> As an adult, our sleep moves through <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/stages-of-sleep">different cycles</a> and brief awakenings during the night. Sleep cycles last roughly 90 minutes each. We typically start the night with lighter sleep, before moving into deeper sleep stages, and rising again into rapid eye movement (REM) sleep – the stage of sleep often linked to vivid dreaming. If sleeping well, we get most of our deep sleep in the first half of the night, with <a href="https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep/stages-of-sleep#:%7E:text=During%20REM%20sleep%2C%20your%20eyes,from%20acting%20out%20your%20dreams">REM sleep</a> more common in the second half of the night. Adults usually move through five or six sleep cycles in a night, and it is entirely <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2014.09.011">normal</a> to wake up briefly at the end of each one. That means we might be waking up five times during the night. This can increase with older age and still be healthy. If you’re not remembering these awakenings that’s OK – they can be quite brief. <h2>What does getting a ‘good’ sleep actually mean?</h2> You’ll often hear that adults <a href="https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/sleep-topics/how-much-sleep-do-you-really-need#:%7E:text=Sleep%20requirements%20stabilise%20in%20early,their%20best%20the%20next%20day">need between seven and nine hours</a> of sleep per night. But good sleep is about more than the number of hours – it’s also about the quality. For most people, sleeping well means being able to fall asleep soon after getting into bed (within around 30 minutes), sleeping without waking up for long periods, and waking feeling rested and ready for the day. You shouldn’t be feeling excessively sleepy during the day, especially if you’re regularly getting at least seven hours of refreshing sleep a night (this is a rough rule of thumb). But are you noticing you’re feeling physically tired, needing to nap regularly and still not feeling refreshed? It may be worthwhile touching base with your general practitioner, as there a range of possible reasons. <h2>Common issues</h2> Sleep disorders are common. Up to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35478719/">25% of adults</a> have insomnia, a sleep disorder where it may be hard to fall or stay asleep, or you may wake earlier in the morning than you’d like. Rates of common sleep disorders such as insomnia and <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleep-apnea/symptoms-causes/syc-20377631">sleep apnoea</a> – where your breathing can partially or completely stop many times during the night – also increase with age, affecting <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32280974/">20% of early adults</a> and 40% of people in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35082023/">middle age</a>. There are effective treatments, so asking for help is important. Beyond sleep disorders, our sleep can also be disrupted by chronic health conditions – such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012369218311139">pain</a> – and by <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsr.13075">certain medications</a>. There can also be other reasons we’re not sleeping well. Some of us are woken by children, pets or traffic noise during the night. These “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07420528.2021.2003375">forced awakenings</a>” mean we may find it harder to get up in the morning, take longer to leave bed and feel less satisfied with our sleep. For some people, night awakenings may have no clear cause. A good way to tell if these awakenings are a problem for you is by thinking about how they affect you. When they cause feelings of frustration or worry, or are impacting how we feel and function during the day, it might be a sign to seek some help. We also may struggle to get up in the morning. This could be for a range of reasons, including not sleeping long enough, going to bed or waking up at irregular times – or even your own <a href="https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/sleep-categories/circadian-rhythm-disorders#:%7E:text=The%20circadian%20rhythms%20throughout%20the,regulation%20of%20our%20sleeping%20patterns">internal clock</a>, which can influence the time your body prefers to sleep. If you’re regularly struggling to get up for work or family needs, it can be an indication you may need to seek help. Some of these factors can be explored with a sleep psychologist if they are causing concern. <h2>Can my smart watch help?</h2> It is important to remember sleep-tracking devices can <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-024-01016-9">vary in accuracy</a> for looking at the different sleep stages. While they can give a rough estimate, they are not a perfect measure. In-laboratory <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31277862/">polysomnography</a>, or PSG, is the best standard measure to examine your sleep stages. A PSG examines breathing, oxygen saturation, brain waves and heart rate during sleep. Rather than closely examining nightly data (including sleep stages) from a sleep tracker, it may be more helpful to look at the patterns of your sleep (bed and wake times) over time. <a href="https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.8356">Understanding your sleep patterns</a> may help identify and adjust behaviours that negatively impact your sleep, such as your bedtime routine and sleeping environment. And if you find viewing your sleep data is making you feel worried about your sleep, this may not be useful for you. Most importantly, if you are concerned it is important to discuss it with your GP who can refer you to the appropriate specialist sleep health provider.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/238069/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-reynolds-424346">Amy Reynolds</a>, Associate Professor in Clinical Sleep Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/claire-dunbar-1651340">Claire Dunbar</a>, Research Associate, Sleep Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gorica-micic-187159">Gorica Micic</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Clinical Psychologist, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hannah-scott-424633">Hannah Scott</a>, Research Fellow in Sleep Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicole-lovato-60684">Nicole Lovato</a>, Associate Professor, Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/flinders-university-972">Flinders University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-unbroken-nights-sleep-is-a-myth-heres-what-good-sleep-looks-like-238069">original article</a>. </div>

Body

"Can you sleep at night?" Frustrated shopper confronts Woolies CEO over price gouging

A frustrated Woolworths shopper has called out the supermarket's CEO in store to demand answers about Woolies' record-breaking profits during the cost of living crisis. Chief executive Amanda Bardwell was walking around a Woolworths store in Wollongong when the heated exchange took place, with the whole thing captured on camera. The customer fired off hard-hitting questions to the CEO and other senior staff members, asking, "What do you have to say to the fact that your company is profiting off price gouging during the cost of living crisis?" Ms Bardwell, looking visibly shocked by the confrontation, replied, "Thank you for reaching out to us, we're doing everything we can to recognise that customers are doing it tough to make sure that they're able to get great prices." The woman didn't accept her answer, firing back, "I really don't believe that. Millions of people in Australia right now have to skip meals in order to survive, while you continue to make big bucks and working class people suffer. Can you sleep at night knowing that?" Ms Bardwell replied, "Our team are doing everything that we can to support our customers. We understand that it is an incredibly difficult time right now." A staff member then intervened, adding, "We have lowered prices and you see that right throughout our store… that's great value for our customers." Ms Bardwell thanked the customer for sharing her views and said Woolworths was doing "everything we can" to keep prices low for customers, before another staff member chimed in to say "It's actually illegal to film people in NSW without permission, with the CEO walking away. Social media users were quick to praise the woman for confronting Miss Bardwell, while sharing their own stories of being stung by hefty supermarket prices. "I'm sick of paying nearly $300 a week on groceries. That's choosing the cheapest products. My fridge still looks half empty when I unpack," one said. "I'm sure Coles and Woolworth management don't have cost of living crisis as they are getting bigger and bigger bonus year after year," a second wrote. Others took aim at one particular comment in the video, pointing out, "'It’s illegal to film in NSW without permission', yet Woolworths has how many cameras in every store? Cameras in people’s faces in self serve on every screen. Did they get our permission?" Another added, "If only their empathy was as big as their prices." Image credits: TikTok

Legal

New study finds epilepsy drug could reduce sleep apnoea symptoms

New research has found that a drug used for epilepsy could be used to reduce the symptoms of sleep apnoea. Obstructive sleep apnoea, which affects about one in 20 people, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in England, includes symptoms like snoring and it causes a person's breathing to start and stop during the night, with many requiring an aid to help keep their airways open. An international study has identified that taking sulthiame, a drug sold under the brand name Ospolot in Europe, may help prevent patients' breathing from temporarily stopping. This provides an additional option for those unable to use mechanical breathing aids like the Cpap machines. “The standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea is sleeping with a machine that blows air through a face mask to keep the airways open. Unfortunately, many people find these machines hard to use over the long term, so there is a need to find alternative treatments,” Prof Jan Hedner from Sahlgrenska university hospital and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden said. Researchers conducted a randomised controlled trial of almost 300 obstructive sleep apnoea patients across Europe, who did not use Cpap machines. They were divided into four groups and given either a placebo or different strengths of sulthiame. The study measured patients’ breathing, oxygen levels, heart rhythm, eye movements, as well as brain and muscle activity while asleep. It found after 12 weeks, those taking sulthiame had up to 50% fewer occasions where their breathing stopped, and higher levels of oxygen in their blood. However, a bigger study needs to be done to confirm the beneficial effects on a larger group. The findings, were presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Vienna, Austria. Erika Radford, the head of health advice at Asthma + Lung UK said the findings were a positive step forward in moving away from having to rely on mechanical breathing equipment. “This potential alternative to the current main treatment would make it easier for people to manage their condition,” she said. Image: Shutterstock

Body

"Drivers deserve better": Huge win for motorists over parking fines

In a move to stop unsuspecting drivers being hit with unfair parking fines, NSW councils will soon be banned from issuing a fine without a physical ticket. Finance Minister Courtney Houssos will legislate to effectively ban ticketless parking fines after council raked in $155 million in sneaky fines last year. Ms Houssos will introduce legislation later in September, which will require parking rangers to attach an “on-the-spot notification” to a car which gets a fine either in the form of a sticker or a traditional parking ticket. Ticketless parking fines were first introduced under former Premier Gladys Berejiklian in 2020, with councils issuing a whopping 822,310 ticketless parking fines last financial year, up almost 50 per cent from the year before. Ms Houssos said forcing councils to leave a note telling drivers they had been fined, rather than waiting for a fine to come ion the mail weeks later, was a victory for common sense. "No one ever likes to get a parking fine, but the idea you only find out about a fine weeks later doesn’t pass the common sense test,” she said. “Frustration among drivers and community members about the ticketless parking system is high – and that’s fair enough. The ticketless parking fine system was introduced by the previous government without regard for the impact on drivers and families,” she said. NSW Premier Chris Minns also backed the move, saying, “Drivers deserve better than the current system." In certain limited circumstances, rangers will be able to issue a fine without leaving a ticket, but only if they install new-warning signs, which could include areas where there is no phone reception, like national parks, or in timed enclosed car parks. NRMA Spokesman Peter Khoury said the government’s changes will rebuild public confidence, saying, “Ticketless parking fines removed transparency and made it almost impossible for motorists to contest their fine if they felt they had a legitimate case.” Image credits: Shutterstock

Legal

You’re probably brushing your teeth wrong – here are four tips for better dental health

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/clement-seeballuck-583867">Clement Seeballuck</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-dundee-955">University of Dundee</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicola-innes-388237">Nicola Innes</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-dundee-955">University of Dundee</a> We all know the advice for healthy teeth – brush twice daily and don’t eat too much sugar. So why do those of us following these instructions find we sometimes need a filling when we visit the dentist? The truth is, there’s a little more to preventing tooth decay than these guidelines suggest. Here’s what you need to know. <h2>Brush up on your skills</h2> How you brush makes a big difference. The mechanical act of brushing removes the very sticky dental plaque – a mixture of bacteria, their acids and sticky byproducts and food remnants. It forms naturally on teeth immediately after you’ve eaten but doesn’t get nasty and start to cause damage to the teeth until it reaches a certain stage of maturity. The exact amount of time this takes isn’t known but is at least more than 12 hours. Bacteria consume sugar and, as a byproduct, produce acids which dissolve mineral out of the teeth, leaving microscopic holes we can’t see. If the process isn’t stopped and they aren’t repaired, these can become big, visible cavities. Taking two minutes to brush your teeth is a good target for removing plaque and you should brush at night and one other time daily. Brushing frequently stops the bacteria developing to a stage where the species which produce the most acid can become established. Electric toothbrushes can be <a href="https://www.cochrane.org/CD002281/ORAL_poweredelectric-toothbrushes-compared-to-manual-toothbrushes-for-maintaining-oral-health">more effective than manual brushing</a> and a small toothbrush head helps to reach awkward areas in the mouth, while medium-textured bristles help you clean effectively without causing harm to gums and teeth. The main thing, however, is to get brushing! <h2>Use fluoride toothpaste and disclosing tablets</h2> Most of the benefit from brushing comes from toothpaste. The key ingredient is fluoride, which evidence shows <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD002278/full#CD002278-abs-0003">prevents tooth decay</a>. Fluoride replaces lost minerals in teeth and also makes them stronger. For maximum benefit, <a href="https://www.cochrane.org/CD007868/ORAL_comparison-between-different-concentrations-of-fluoride-toothpaste-for-preventing-tooth-decay-in-children-and-adolescents">use toothpaste with 1350-1500 ppmF</a> – that’s concentration of fluoride in parts per million – to prevent tooth decay. Check your toothpaste’s concentration by reading the ingredients on the back of the tube. <a href="https://theconversation.com/childrens-toothpaste-the-facts-80508">Not all children’s toothpastes are strong enough</a> for them to gain maximum benefit. Your dentist may prescribe higher strength fluoride toothpaste based on their assessment of your or your child’s risk of tooth decay. Plaque is difficult to see because it is whitish, like your teeth. Disclosing tablets are available in supermarkets and chemists and they make plaque more visible, showing areas you may have missed when brushing. <h2>Spit, don’t rinse</h2> At night, you produce less saliva than during the day. Because of this, your teeth have less protection from saliva and are more vulnerable to acid attacks. That’s why it’s important to remove food from your teeth before bed so plaque bacteria can’t feast overnight. Don’t eat or drink anything except water <a href="https://www.sign.ac.uk/assets/sign138.pdf">after brushing at night</a>. This also gives fluoride the longest opportunity to work. Once you’ve brushed, don’t rinse your mouth with water or mouthwash – you’re washing away the fluoride! This can be a difficult habit to break, but can <a href="https://www.sign.ac.uk/assets/sign138.pdf">reduce tooth decay by up to 25%</a>. <h2>No more than four ‘sugar hits’</h2> Intrinsic sugars are found naturally in foods like fruit and they are far less likely to cause tooth decay than added or <a href="https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/sugar-salt-and-fat/free-sugars">free sugars</a>. Free sugars are generally those added to foods by manufacturers but also include honey, syrup and fruit juices. These are all easy for bacteria to consume, metabolise and produce acids from. However, it can be difficult to tell which are the worst sugars for teeth. For example, although normal amounts of fruit are fine, fruit juices have sugar liberated from the plant cells and heavy consumption can cause decay. <a href="http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/guidelines/sugars_intake/en/">The World Health Organization</a> and <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/how-much-sugar-is-good-for-me/">NHS</a> recommend free sugars should ideally make up less than 5% of your daily calorie intake. So what does this look like? For adults and children over about 11 years old, this is around 30g – about eight teaspoons – of sugar daily. A 330ml can of Coke has <a href="https://www.coca-cola.co.uk/drinks/coca-cola/coca-cola">35g of sugar</a>. The <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phe.c4lfoodsmart&hl=en_GB">change4life app</a> is helpful to track how much sugar you consume in your diet. Although not as important as how much, how often you eat sugar also matters. Simple carbohydrates like sugar are easier for bacteria to digest than proteins or complex carbohydrates. Bacteria produce acids after they metabolise sugar which causes demineralisation. Fortunately, through the actions of fluoride toothpaste and the remineralising effects of saliva, your teeth can recover from the early stages of these attacks. It’s like having a set of scales – trying to keep the balance between sugars on one side, fluoride toothpaste and cleaning on the other. Typically, your teeth can be exposed to four “sugar hits” – episodes of sugar intake – daily without irreversible damage to the teeth. Why not try counting how many sugary hits you have a day? This includes biscuits, cups of sugary tea or coffee and other snacks with refined carbohydrates like crisps. A simple way of cutting down would be to stop putting sugar in hot drinks and limiting snacking. Brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste, spit don’t rinse, eat and drink nothing after brushing, and don’t have sugar more than four times daily. Easy!<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103959/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/clement-seeballuck-583867">Clement Seeballuck</a>, Clinical Lecturer in Paediatric Dentistry, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-dundee-955">University of Dundee</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nicola-innes-388237">Nicola Innes</a>, Professor of Paediatric Dentistry, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-dundee-955">University of Dundee</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/youre-probably-brushing-your-teeth-wrong-here-are-four-tips-for-better-dental-health-103959">original article</a>. </div>

Body

Air traffic controller found asleep on the job

An air traffic controller has been found asleep on the job, with the incident prompting calls for better fatigue management, according to Australia's transport watchdog. The report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) dates back to December 2022, when the Airservices Australia controller was found lying across two chairs with a blanket covering them at 5am. The controller had worked multiple night shifts with reduced extended rest periods, "which likely reduced their ability to obtain restorative sleep", the report claimed. ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said the controller had increased their chances of falling asleep "by lying across two chairs, not moving, and not undertaking activities to maintain mental alertness". When a colleague discovered the snoozing worker, there was no traffic in the Cairns airspace they were responsible for managing, which was usual for that time of day, and there were no scheduled flights until after their shift. However, the report highlighted the possible problems the incident pay have caused, saying if the traffic controller was woken up by a radio broadcast, they may have experienced "sleep inertia", with the risk of delayed communications, or incorrect instructions or actions. "There were no negative consequences from this occurrence, but it does highlight areas for improvement in work scheduling and fatigue risk management," said Mitchell . Since the incident, Airservices Australia has increased its overall number of air traffic controllers, and has also drawn up new guidelines and training about fatigue risk assessment. "Fatigue remains one of the most relevant ongoing concerns for safe transport, despite increased awareness across the transport sector," said Mitchell. Image credits: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

Is still water better for you than sparkling water?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christian-moro-121754">Christian Moro</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charlotte-phelps-1187658">Charlotte Phelps</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> Still or sparkling? It’s a question you’ll commonly hear in a café or restaurant and you probably have a preference. But is there any difference for your health? If you love the fizz, here’s why you don’t have to pass on the sparkling water. <h2>What makes my water sparkle?</h2> This article specifically focuses on comparing still filtered water to carbonated filtered water (called “sparkling water” or “unflavoured seltzer”). Soda water, mineral water, tonic water and flavoured water are similar, but not the same product. The bubbles in sparkling water are created by adding carbon dioxide to filtered water. It reacts to produce carbonic acid, which makes sparkling water more acidic (a pH of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5747581/">about 3.5</a>) than still (closer to neutral, with a pH around 6.5-8.5). <h2>Which drink is healthiest?</h2> Water is the best way to hydrate our bodies. Research shows when it comes to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26702122/">hydration</a>, still and sparkling water are <a href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jnsv/58/5/58_333/_article">equally effective</a>. Some people believe water is healthier when it comes from a sealed bottle. But in Australia, tap water is <a href="https://www.waterquality.gov.au/guidelines/drinking-water">monitored very carefully</a>. Unlike bottled water, it also has the added benefit of fluoride, which can help protect young children against <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0002-8177(14)60225-7">tooth decay</a> and cavities. Sparkling or still water is always <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30354445/">better</a> than artificially sweetened flavoured drinks or juices. <h2>Isn’t soda water bad for my teeth and bones?</h2> There’s no evidence sparkling water damages your bones. While drinking a lot of soft drinks is linked to increased <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7071508/">fractures</a>, this is largely due to their association with higher rates of obesity. Sparkling water is more acidic than still water, and acidity can soften the teeth’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35635779/">enamel</a>. Usually this is not something to be too worried about, unless it is mixed with sugar or citrus, which has much higher levels of acidity and can harm teeth. However, if you grind your teeth often, the softening could enhance the <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/teeth-grinding#risk-factors-for-tooth-grinding">damage it causes</a>. If you’re undertaking a home whitening process, sparkling water <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39123328/">might discolour</a> your teeth. In most other cases, it would take a lot of sparkling water to pass by the teeth, for a long period of time, to cause any noticeable damage. <h2>How does drinking water affect digestion?</h2> There is a <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/digestion/faq-20058348">misconception</a> drinking water (of any kind) with a meal is bad for digestion. While theoretically water could dilute stomach acid (which breaks down food), the practice of drinking it doesn’t appear <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11045127/">to have any negative effect</a>. Your digestive system simply adapts to the consistency of the meal. Some people do find that carbonated beverages cause some stomach upset. This is due to the build-up of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939475309000787">gases</a>, which can cause bloating, cramping and discomfort. For people with an <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-44916-8">overactive bladder</a>, the acidity might also aggravate the <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpcell.00441.2022">urinary</a> system. Interestingly, the fizzy “<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34399552/">buzz</a>” you feel in your mouth from sparkling water fades the more you drink it. <h2>Is cold water harder to digest?</h2> You’ve chosen still or sparkling water. What about its temperature? There are surprisingly few studies about the effect of drinking cold water compared to room temperature. There is some evidence colder water (at two degrees Celsius) might inhibit <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7000532/">gastric contractions</a> and slow down digestion. Ice water may constrict blood vessels and cause <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0306362383900642">cramping</a>. However other research suggests drinking cold water might temporarily boost <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/88/12/6015/2661518">metabolism</a>, as the body needs to expend energy to warm it up to body temperature. This effect is minimal and unlikely to lead to significant <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/91/9/3598/2656772">weight loss</a>. <h2>Which water wins?</h2> The bottom line is water is essential, hydrates us and has countless other <a href="https://news.com.au/lifestyle/health/diet/fewer-than-25-per-cent-simple-question-most-aussies-cant-answer/news-story/04693f23f03d9e8b6483cf34b47d9fcb">health benefits</a>. Water, with carbonated bubbles or without, will always be the healthiest drink to choose. And if you’re concerned about any impact to teeth enamel, one trick is to follow sparkling water with a glass of still. This helps rinse the teeth and return your mouth’s acidity back to normal.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/237125/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christian-moro-121754">Christian Moro</a>, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charlotte-phelps-1187658">Charlotte Phelps</a>, Senior Teaching Fellow, Medical Program, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-still-water-better-for-you-than-sparkling-water-237125">original article</a>. </div>

Food & Wine

Passenger sparks debate over travellers sleeping in aisle seats

A heated debate has erupted online after a passenger suggested those sitting in an aisle seat should remain alert and awake for the entire flight, with the only exception being if it's a long-flight of seven hours or more. “A person sitting in an aisle seat on a plane should not be allowed to sleep," they wrote on Reddit. The reason behind it, according to the passenger, is to ensure that middle and window seat passengers can access the toilet, get served by flight attendants, and evacuate quickly in an emergency. “There are some exceptions and those would probably be on any flight longer than seven hours. “But anything shorter than that, you should not be sleeping. What if the middle or window passenger needs the bathroom, or if the flight attendant needs to hand them something – You’ll be in the way.” They added that a snoozing aisle seat passenger could potentially slow down evacuation during an emergency and put everyone at risk. “Now you would be risking people’s lives because you fell asleep,” they wrote. Social media users flocked to the Reddit thread to share their thoughts. “Nah, just poke me and wake me up if you need me to get up or do something," one wrote. “I’m well aware that I’m in the way, believe me. I’m certainly not there because I wanted to be in the aisle seat.” “If you sleep in an aisle seat, you deal with people getting up. That’s the unwritten rule," another added. A few others supported the idea, but shared their own take on plane etiquette. “My take on this: if you sleep in the aisle seat, you must be okay with being woken up multiple times to let the folks in your row get up. “Other flight rules: middle seat gets the armrest, and window seat must raise the window shade during taxi, takeoff, and landing so the rest of us in the row can watch.” Image: Shutterstock

Travel Tips

Gold medallist sleeps in Paris park to protest "disappointing" Olympic village conditions

A gold medallist has been spotted sleeping in a Paris park in protest of the conditions in the Olympic village. Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon was captured sleeping atop a white towel in a park located inside the Olympic village by Saudi rower Husein Alireza. Alireza posted the photo to Instagram with the caption, "Rest today, conquer tomorrow." The Italian swimmer, who won gold in the 100m backstroke, had already complained publicly about the accommodations in the Olympic Village, after he failed to reach the 200m backstroke final on Wednesday. Since the commencement of the Paris Games, many athletes have spoken out about the conditions in the Olympic village, saying the beds are uncomfortable, the rooms are poorly air conditioned and the food is poor quality. “There is no air-conditioning in the village, it’s hot, the food is bad,” Ceccon said, according to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/29673636/thomas-ceccon-sleeping-park-conditions-olympic-village-paris/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun. </a> “Many athletes move for this reason: it’s not an alibi or an excuse, it’s the reality of what perhaps not everybody knows." “I’m disappointed that I didn’t make the final, but I was too tired. It’s hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon. Here, I really struggle between the heat and the noise.” Andy Anson, the chief of the British Olympic Association, also voiced concerns about how the quality of the village is affecting athletes, telling The Times of London, “There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates.” “And then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes.” A number of athletes, including the entire US women’s tennis team (with the exception of Coco Gauff) have left the village and searched for alternate accommodation for the duration of the Games. Image credits: Instagram/Panoramic/SIPA/SIPA/Shutterstock Editorial

Travel Trouble

Poor sleep is really bad for your health. But we found exercise can offset some of these harms

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bo-huei-huang-1243280">Bo-Huei Huang</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emmanuel-stamatakis-161783">Emmanuel Stamatakis</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> Despite the well-known links between poor sleep and poorer health, getting enough good quality sleep has become a luxury in modern society. Many of us struggle to improve our sleep, while amid the COVID pandemic and recurring lock-downs, <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-sleeping-more-in-lockdown-but-the-quality-is-worse-155797">our sleep has deteriorated</a>. But <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-104046">our new study</a>, published today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, bears some encouraging news. We found doing enough physical activity (including exercise such as running or going to the gym) may counter some of the adverse health effects of unhealthy sleep patterns. Let us explain. <h2>Does poor sleep really harm our health?</h2> Unhealthy sleep patterns include: <ul> <li> not sleeping for long enough (less than seven hours per night for adults) </li> <li> sleeping for too long (more than nine hours per night for adults) </li> <li> snoring </li> <li> insomnia </li> <li> being a night owl, also known as “late chronotype”. This is people who naturally feel most awake and motivated in the evening, and are sluggish in the morning. </li> </ul> They are <a href="https://doi.org/10/ggjqrt">all associated</a> with poorer health. Recent research shows poor sleep may: <ul> <li> cause <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-019-0190-z">inflammation</a> </li> <li> impair the metabolism of glucose (also known as blood sugar) and reduce the number of calories burned, thereby increasing the risk of <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-sleep-is-so-important-for-losing-weight-145058">obesity</a> </li> <li> increase the risk of <a href="https://doi.org/10/gg6x87">heart disease</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10/ggnw5h">premature death</a>. </li> </ul> However, very few studies have examined how sleep and physical activity interact and impact our health. We set out to answer the question: if I have poor sleep but I do quite a lot of physical activity, can that offset some of the harms of my poor sleep in the long-term? Or would this not make any difference? <h2>What did we do?</h2> We analysed the information provided by 380,055 middle-aged adults in the UK Biobank study, recruited between 2006 and 2010. Participants reported their level of physical activity and five aspects of their sleep. We grouped people based on their sleep behaviour into healthy, intermediate or poor. We categorised people’s level of physical activity based on <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/54/24/1451">the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines</a>. People who met the upper bounds of the guidelines did 300 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week, or 150 minutes of vigorous exercise, or a combination of both. Those who met the lower bound did 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, or a combination. Moderate intensity physical activity usually makes you slightly out of breath if sustained for a few minutes and includes brisk walking or cycling at a leisurely pace. Vigorous exercise usually makes you breath hard and can include running, swimming, and playing sports like tennis, netball, soccer or footy. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408096/original/file-20210624-15-1qfe1ay.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408096/original/file-20210624-15-1qfe1ay.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408096/original/file-20210624-15-1qfe1ay.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408096/original/file-20210624-15-1qfe1ay.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408096/original/file-20210624-15-1qfe1ay.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408096/original/file-20210624-15-1qfe1ay.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408096/original/file-20210624-15-1qfe1ay.png?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>Doing at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, can offset some of the health harms of poor sleep. <a class="source" href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/336656/9789240015128-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">World Health Organization, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO</a></figcaption></figure> <h2>What did we find?</h2> We followed up with the participants after 11 years. By May 2020, 15,503 participants had died, of which 4,095 died from heart disease and 9,064 died from cancer. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-104046">We found</a> that, compared to healthy sleepers, people with poor sleep had a 23% higher risk of premature death, a 39% higher risk of dying from heart disease, and a 13% higher risk of dying from cancer. We then compared the data of people who slept well with those who slept poorly, and how much they exercised. We found people who had the highest risk of dying from heart disease and cancer were those who had poor sleep and didn’t meet the WHO physical activity guidelines. On the other hand, those who had poor sleep but did enough physical activity to meet the WHO guidelines didn’t have as high a risk of dying from heart disease or cancer, compared to those who slept poorly and didn’t meet the physical activity guidelines. For example, let’s look at the risk of dying from cancer. Those who had poor sleep and did no physical activity had a 45% higher risk of dying from cancer compared to those who had healthy sleep and exercised a lot. But among those who met the physical activity guidelines, despite poor sleep, they didn’t really have a higher risk of dying from cancer any more. We found physical activity levels which met at least the bottom threshold of the WHO guidelines could reduce or eliminate some of the health harms of poor sleep. So people who did at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week were to some extent protected against the detrimental health effects of poor sleep. Those who had both poor sleep and did no moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity had the highest risks of premature death. Our study wasn’t designed to find out how and why physical activity may counteract some of the bad physiological impacts of poor sleep. But other research provides theories. For example, adequate physical activity may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001179">reduce inflammation, help maintain a healthy glucose metabolism</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2018.07.014">increase the number of calories burned</a>. It’s important to note our study was what’s called an “observational study”. It shows an association between adequate physical activity and reduced harms from poor sleep, but we must be careful in interpreting causation. It can’t conclusively say adequate physical activity causes the reduction of harms from poor sleep, though there’s strong evidence for an association in the right direction. Our study offers a hopeful message, that even if you haven’t been able to improve your sleep, you can still offset some of the health harms by doing enough exercise. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S009174352030339X">Our previous research</a> has also shown physical activity may help improve poor sleep patterns, which are a serious health problem across the world. In addition to combating some of the negative outcomes of poor sleep, physical activity can also provide many other health benefits and extend our lives. For example, a 2019 study found people who met WHO’s physical activity target above <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-019-1339-0">lived three years longer on average</a> than those who didn’t. During lockdowns, access to parks, gyms, and swimming pools might be limited in many places. But there are still many ways to <a href="https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/publications-and-technical-guidance/noncommunicable-diseases/stay-physically-active-during-self-quarantine">to stay fit and active at home during the coronavirus</a>.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163270/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bo-huei-huang-1243280">Bo-Huei Huang</a>, PhD candidate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emmanuel-stamatakis-161783">Emmanuel Stamatakis</a>, Professor of Physical Activity, Lifestyle, and Population Health, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-sydney-841">University of Sydney</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/poor-sleep-is-really-bad-for-your-health-but-we-found-exercise-can-offset-some-of-these-harms-163270">original article</a>. </div>

Body

Want to sleep longer? Adding mini-bursts of exercise to your evening routine can help

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jennifer-gale-1548741">Jennifer Gale</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/meredith-peddie-1548807">Meredith Peddie</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> Exercising before bed has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352721815000157">long been discouraged</a> as the body doesn’t have time to wind down before the lights go out. But <a href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/10/3/e001774">new research</a> has found breaking up a quiet, sedentary evening of watching television with short bursts of resistance exercise can lead to longer periods of sleep. Adults spend almost one third of the 24-hour day sleeping. But the quality and length of sleep can affect long-term health. Sleeping too little or waking often in the night is associated with an <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article-lookup/doi/10.5665/sleep.1382">increased risk of heart disease</a> and <a href="https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/33/2/414/27149/Quantity-and-Quality-of-Sleep-and-Incidence-of">diabetes</a>. Physical activity during the day can help improve sleep. However, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352721815000157">current recommendations</a> discourage intense exercise before going to bed as it can increase a person’s heart rate and core temperature, which can ultimately disrupt sleep. <h2>Nighttime habits</h2> For many, the longest period of uninterrupted sitting happens at home in the evening. People also usually consume their largest meal during this time (or snack throughout the evening). Insulin (the hormone that helps to remove sugar from the blood stream) tends to be at a lower level in the evening than in the morning. Together these factors promote elevated blood sugar levels, which over the long term can be bad for a person’s health. Our <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2023/08000/breaking_up_evening_sitting_with_resistance.14.aspx">previous research</a> found interrupting evening sitting every 30 minutes with three minutes of resistance exercise reduces the amount of sugar in the bloodstream after eating a meal. But because sleep guidelines currently discourage exercising in the hours before going to sleep, we wanted to know if frequently performing these short bursts of light activity in the evening would affect sleep. <h2>Activity breaks for better sleep</h2> In our latest research, we asked 30 adults to complete two sessions based in a laboratory. During one session the adults sat continuously for a four-hour period while watching streaming services. During the other session, they interrupted sitting by performing three minutes of body-weight resistance exercises (squats, calf raises and hip extensions) every 30 minutes. After these sessions, participants went home to their normal life routines. Their sleep that evening was measured using a wrist monitor. Our research found the quality of sleep (measured by how many times they woke in the night and the length of these awakenings) was the same after the two sessions. But the night after the participants did the exercise “activity breaks” they slept for almost 30 minutes longer. Identifying the biological reasons for the extended sleep in our study requires further research. But regardless of the reason, if activity breaks can extend sleep duration, then getting up and moving at regular intervals in the evening is likely to have clear health benefits. <h2>Time to revisit guidelines</h2> These results add to <a href="https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1087079221001209">earlier work</a> suggesting current sleep guidelines, which discourage evening exercise before bed, may need to be reviewed. As the activity breaks were performed in a highly controlled laboratory environment, future research should explore how activity breaks performed in real life affect peoples sleep. We selected simple, body-weight exercises to use in this study as they don’t require people to interrupt the show they may be watching, and don’t require a large space or equipment. If people wanted to incorporate activity breaks in their own evening routines, they could probably get the same benefit from other types of exercise. For example, marching on the spot, walking up and down stairs, or even dancing in the living room. The key is to frequently interrupt evening sitting time, with a little bit of whole-body movement at regular intervals. In the long run, performing activity breaks may improve health by improving sleep and post-meal blood sugar levels. The most important thing is to get up frequently and move the body, in a way the works best for a person’s individual household.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/234896/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jennifer-gale-1548741">Jennifer Gale</a>, PhD candidate, Department of Human Nutrition, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/meredith-peddie-1548807">Meredith Peddie</a>, Senior Lecturer, Department of Human Nutrition, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-sleep-longer-adding-mini-bursts-of-exercise-to-your-evening-routine-can-help-new-study-234896">original article</a>. </div>

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Gold medallist sleeps in Paris park to protest "disappointing" Olympic village conditions

Poor sleep is really bad for your health. But we found exercise can offset some of these harms

Want to sleep longer? Adding mini-bursts of exercise to your evening routine can help

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