Sleep Junkies

Throughout human history, across different cultures, people have told tales about supernatural visitations during the night.

We now know that these stories refer to a condition known as sleep paralysis, a hybrid sleep/wake state whereby our muscles are largely paralysed but our brain 'wakes up'.

Today we speak to psychology professor Christopher French about this common, and often frightening sleep disorder - how its symptoms manifest, the fascinating cross-cultural background and some strategies to help manage and cope with sleep paralysis

 

This Episode's Guest

Professor Christopher French is the Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has published over 150 articles and chapters covering a wide range of topics. His main current area of research is the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. He frequently appears on radio and television casting a sceptical eye over paranormal claims.

Goldsmiths: https://www.gold.ac.uk/psychology/staff/french/

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christopher_French2

Twitter: https://twitter.com/chriscfrench

More Resources

Article in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/02/sleep-paralysis

Sleep Paralysis Project: https://sleepparalysisproject.wordpress.com

Cheyne et al Factor Analysis: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S105381009990404X

http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Paralysis-Historical-Psychological-Perspectives/dp/0199313806/

http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Paralysis-Night-mares-Connection-Anthropology/dp/0813548861

Article from Sleep Junkies: http://sleepjunkies.com/sleep-paralysis-demons-nightmares/

Episode Homepage: http://sleepjunkies.com/sleep-paralysis-explained/

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After experiencing chronic sleep deprivation after the birth of her first child, Vicki Dawson identified a need for social support services to people with sleep issues. Today, Vicki heads up the Sleep Charity, an award-winning organisation that reaches thousands of families with sleep needs, and offers accredited training to individuals and health professionals to further support the needs of the community.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeHDYOik9N4

This Episode's Guest

Vicki Dawson is the founder and CEO of The Sleep Charity (formerly, the Children's Sleep Charity). The charity use behavioural approaches to children's sleep issues and offers accredited training to both parents and practitioners around sleep issues, and trains NHS staff to deliver sleep services.The charity is involved with a range of innovative projects in partnerships with universities and hospitals nationally and internationally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrOi2lEzabk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicki-dawson-43094325/

More Resources

The Sleep Charity: https://www.thechildrenssleepcharity.org.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesleepcharity

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSleepCharity/

Episode Homepage: http://sleepjunkies.com/the-sleep-charity/

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Narcolepsy is a widely misunderstood sleep disorder which affects around 3 million people worldwide. Lack of awareness, and misrepresentation in the media has led many people to struggle not just with managing their condition, but also coping with the social stigmas and prevalent attitudes in society towards narcolepsy and sleep disorders in general.

In today's episode we talk to Julie Flygare, lawyer, advocate, award-winning author and CEO of Project Sleep, about the social experience of living with narcolepsy.

 

This Episode's Guest

Julie Flygare, JD is the founder of Project Sleep, a non-profit raising awareness about sleep health and sleep disorders. Julie is a leading narcolepsy spokesperson and award-winning author, diagnosed with narcolepsy with cataplexy in 2007. She received her B.A. from Brown University in 2005 & her J.D. from Boston College Law School in 2009. In 2013, “Wide Awake and Dreaming” won the First Prize Biography/Autobiography Award at the San Francisco Book Festival.

Upon recognizing that many doctors were unfamiliar with narcolepsy, Julie collaborated with Harvard Medical School researchers in 2009 to establish a 5-hour educational program based on her story now taught to all Harvard Medical School students.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXTd8xd_f8s

More Resources

Project Sleep: https://project-sleep.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/project_sleep

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/project_sleep/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/projectsleepvideos/videos

Julie's Website: http://julieflygare.com/

Julie @LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieflygare/

The Book: Wide Awake & Dreaming: A Memoir of Narcolepsy

Sleep Junkies Interview: Rising to the challenge: narcolepsy advocate Julie Flygare

Episode Homepage: http://sleepjunkies.com/narcolepsy-social-experience/

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We speak to author Lois Maharg about her book, The Savvy Insomniac, and the journey to conquering her fear of insomnia.

This Episode's Guest

Lois Maharg is a health journalist who writes about sleep, exercise, and food. Lifelong insomnia gave rise to her new book, The Savvy Insomniac: A Personal Journey through Science to Better Sleep. Her blog, http://www.thesavvyinsomniac.com, is dedicated to sharing new information about insomnia and sleep. She gives speaking presentations on how to get a better night’s rest.

The Book: The Savvy Insomniac: A Personal Journey through Science to Better Sleep

Website: https://thesavvyinsomniac.com/

Episode Homepage: http://sleepjunkies.com/taking-the-fear-out-of-insomnia/

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We speak to journalist and author about a new book Chasing The Sun, which explores the extraordinary significance of sunlight – from ancient solstice celebrations to modern sleep labs, and from the unexpected health benefits of sun exposure to what the Amish know about sleep that the rest of us don’t.

This Episode's Guest

Linda Geddes is a Bristol-based journalist writing about biology, medicine and technology. Born in Cambridge, she graduated from the University of Liverpool with a first-class degree in cell biology. She spent nine years as an editor and reporter for New Scientist magazine and has received numerous awards for her journalism, including the Association of British Science Writers’ award for Best Investigative Journalism, European School of Oncology’s Best Cancer Reporter, The Endocrine Society’s Health Writer of the Year, and BT’s Information Security Journalist of the Year. She was also shortlisted for the Paul Foot Award in 2011 and the Press and Periodicals Association’s Writer of the Year award in 2009 and 2011.

The Book: Chasing the Sun: The New Science of Sunlight and How it Shapes Our Bodies and Minds

Website: https://www.lindageddes.com/

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/linda-geddes-medical-writer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindaGeddes

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The American Sleep Apnea Association was founded in 1990 with a goal to administer and nurture a new model of sleep apnea peer support groups. Adam Amdur has been the Chief Patient Officer  since 2014 and in a wide ranging conversation we talk about the work of the ASAA, dispel some of the myths and misperceptions about sleep apnea, and discover how patients can find help and support from the ASAA.

This episode's guest:

Adam Amdur is the Chief Patient Officer of the American Sleep Apnea Association. He was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea in 2008, more than thirty years after he first showed symptoms. As the first patient principal investigator and co-founder of the Sleep Apnea Patient-Centered Outcomes Network, a part of the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, Adam worked to bring together patient leaders from other networks in order to discover a common patient voice as it relates to research best practices and collaboration with diverse stakeholders. He has increased awareness through multiple media interviews and has been a lead presenter at the National Institutes of Health’s Precision Medicine Initiative.  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-amdur-7b794310/

More Resources:

American Sleep Apnea Association: https://www.sleepapnea.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sleepapneaorg/

Twitter : https://twitter.com/sleepapneaorg

SleepApnea.org Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI_rc835UoOe-r_J7mJYzNA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/american-sleep-apnea-association/

Episode Homepage: http://sleepjunkies.com/sleep-apnea-org/

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The Sociology of Sleep Group was founded at Surrey University over 20 years ago and has published widely on many sleep related topics including ageing, sleep and gender.

We talk to Dr Robert Meadows about his research at Surrey, looking at sleep from a sociological perspective, along the way talking about gender, relationships, work, addiction, the media and many other ways that sleep can be regarded in a social context. 

This episode's guest:

Dr Robert Meadows is a Reader in Sociology at the University of Surrey. His interests include social relations and health with particular emphasis on the sociology of sleep, sociology of mental health, body and embodiment and (quantitative) methodology.

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert_Meadows

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertMeadows16

More Resources:

Surrey University Sociology of Sleep Dept: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/sociology-of-sleep

Sociology of Sleep (Chapter from Sleep, Health, and Society) : https://bit.ly/2MnGqvI

Episode Homepage: http://sleepjunkies.com/a-sociology-of-sleep/

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We discuss 4 recent publications from the world of sleep science with Dr Jonathan Cedernaes. Discussing weekend sleep recovery, shift work & cancer, daylight saving time, and the inter-individuality in light response of the human circadian system

Publication discussed in this episode:

1) Ad libitum Weekend Recovery Sleep Fails to Prevent Metabolic Dysregulation during a Repeating Pattern of Insufficient Sleep and Weekend Recovery Sleep. 

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(19)30098-3

2) Why Should We Abolish Daylight Saving Time? 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0748730419854197

3) Shift work and cancer

Carcinogenicity of shift work

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(19)30455-3/fulltext

Night shift work and risk of breast cancer in women: the Generations Study cohort

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-019-0485-7

4) High sensitivity and interindividual variability in the response of the human circadian system to evening light 

https://www.pnas.org/content/116/24/12019

 

This episode's guest:

Jonathan Cedernaes MD, PhD is a senior researcher at Uppsala University where he completed both his medical degree and his PhD in the Department of Neuroscience.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-cedernaes-176b3159

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JCedernaes

Sleep Science Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/495466987134152/

More Resources:

Society for Research on Biological Rhythms: https://srbr.org/

Sleep 4 Performance podcast with Sean Cain: https://bit.ly/2nGEhme

Episode Homepage: http://sleepjunkies.com/research-roundup-sep-2019/

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>> Prefer to read, download the full episode transcript here

For the last few decades, a grass-roots movement across the United States has been raising awareness and campaigning to change the situation in many schools, whereby early bell times are forcing kids to get out of bed extremely early in order to make it through the school gates on time.

With bus times scheduled as early as 5 am, as well as causing disruption to family lives, early school start times fail to recognize the vast body of scientific research demonstrating that adolescent sleep needs are fundamentally different to adults and younger children. 

In 2011, Dr Terra Ziporyn Snider started a petition to lobby the government to recognise the biological incompatibility between early school times and adolescent sleep needs. This resulted in the founding of Start School Later, which brought together all of the grass-roots activists across the States, to join with researchers and health professionals to further raise awareness and bring about change regarding the relationship between sleep and school hours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJboKaGmYcg

In this episode we speak to Dr Terra Ziporyn Snider, co-founder and Executive Director of Start School Later about the history and social context of America's early school start times, the science of adolescent sleep, and the California Bill SB328 which is pushing for a mandate to ensure schools are legally obliged to start no earlier than 8.30am.

This episode's guest:

Dr Terra Ziporyn Snider is an award-winning novelist, playwright, science writer and the co-founder and Executive Director of Start School Later, a coalition of health professionals, sleep scientists, educators, parents, students, and other concerned citizens dedicated to increasing public awareness about the relationship between sleep and school hours and to ensuring school start times compatible with health, safety, education, and equity.

A former associate editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), she is the author of many popular health and medical publications including The New Harvard Guide to Women’s Health. Terra has a BA in both history and biology from Yale University, where she studied playwriting with Ted Tally, and a PhD in the history of science and medicine from the University of Chicago.

Start School Later website : https://www.startschoollater.net/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terra-ziporyn-b442911/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/terraziporyn

More Resources:

Sleep in Adolescents: The Perfect Storm (publication by Dr Mary Carskadon) : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3130594/

Interview with Phyllis Payne: http://sleepjunkies.com/start-school-later-interview/

Episode Homepage: http://sleepjunkies.com/start-school-later-movement/

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Full Transcript

Jeff Mann (JM): Good afternoon, and I'm very excited to have on the other end of the line Dr. Terra Ziporyn Snider. Today we're going to talk about a pretty hot topic, “Start School Later.

Getting a child to sleep through the night is one of the biggest challenges that parents face. In recent years, online wars have erupted between parents who advocate for behavioural sleep training methods and those who choose 'baby-led' parenting styles.

Much of the antagonism stems from the misunderstanding that sleep training is synonymous with so-called 'Cry It Out' techniques (aka extinction), most famously popularised by Dr Richard Ferber. But as our guest Dr Craig Canapari explains in this episode, sleep training encompasses much more than extinction methods, and includes a wide array of strategies and techniques for tackling sleep problems in babies, toddlers and even school-age kids.

Join us as we bust the myths, the stigmas and the misconceptions of what sleep training really is, and explore some of the techniques that Dr Canapari uses in his practice at Yale and in his book, It's Never Too Late to Sleep Train.

This episode's guest:

Dr. Canapari is an Associate Professor and the director of the Pediatric Sleep Program at the Yale University School of Medicine. He is Board Certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Pulmonology, and Sleep Medicine. His interests include general pulmonary issues, pediatric sleep problems, and the respiratory issues of children with neuromuscular disease, as well as the use of emerging technology to disseminate useful information about sleep disorders to families.

Dr Canapari's website: https://drcraigcanapari.com/

The book: https://www.amazon.com/Its-Never-Late-Sleep-Train-ebook/dp/B07GD4NN48

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-canapari-b7247350/

Yale: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/craig_canapari/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/drcanapari

More Resources:

Ferber vs Sears: http://sleepjunkies.com/sleep-training-cry-it-out/

Baby Sleep Training Basics: https://www.babycenter.com/0_baby-sleep-training-the-basics_1505715.bc

Episode Homepage: http://sleepjunkies.com/redefining-sleep-training/

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