Sleep4Performance Podcast

In this episode, I talk to Professor Theresa Jones. Her main area of research is in the field of behavioural ecology, with a particular focus on understanding the causes and consequences of variability in mating systems, the role of chemical cues, and, most recently, the impact of artificial night lighting on individual fitness and community structure. She completed an undergraduate at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (UK) and a PhD at the Institute of Zoology (UK). During her PhD, she spent a year at the Instituto Evandro Chagas in Belém, Brazil, conducting field observations and experiments. She commenced postdoctoral research in 1999 at Uppsala University (Sweden), exploring alternative male mating strategies in vertebrate (the ruff, Philomachus pugnax) and invertebrate (Hawaiian Drosophila) lekking species. In 2001, she was awarded a Royal Society Travelling Fellowship to conduct research at the University of Melbourne.

Email: [email protected]

https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/7996-theresa-jones

Twitter: @ubanlightlab

Contact me at [email protected]  or www.sleep4performance.com.au  and check out the YouTube channel.

Check out our sponsor, LMNT. Click on the link to order and get a free LMNT Sample Pack when you order through the custom link below.

Key details:  

The LMNT Sample Pack includes 1 packet of every flavour.

This is the perfect offer for anyone interested in trying all our flavours or wanting to introduce a friend to LMNT.

This offer is exclusively available through VIP LMNT Partners – you won’t find this offer publicly available.

This offer is available for new and returning customers

They offer refunds on all orders with no questions – you don’t even have to send it back! http://drinklmnt.com/sleep4performance

This is a reading of a blog on our website entitled "Mouth taping and sleep apnea, shut your mouth about shutting your mouth." https://sleep4performance.com/mouth-taping-and-sleep-apnea-shut-your-mouth-about-shutting-your-mouth/

Contact me at [email protected] or www.sleep4performance.com.au and check out the YouTube channel.

Check out our sponsor LMNT. Click on the link to order and get a free LMNT Sample Pack when you order through the below: Key details:

The LMNT Sample Pack includes 1 packet of every flavour. This is the perfect offer for 1) anyone interested in trying all of our flavours or 2) someone who wants to introduce a friend to LMNT. This offer is exclusively available through VIP LMNT Partners – you won’t find this offer publicly available. This offer is available for new and returning customers.

They offer refunds on all orders with no questions – you don’t even have to send it back! DrinkLMNT.com/sleep4performance

In this episode, I sit down with James Hewitt. James is a human performance scientist with a passion for making complex science digestible and practical. He established this site to share evidence-based, actionable insights from his 15+ years of work and research with some of the most demanding and high-performing clients.

https://jameshewittperformance.com/

We discuss; developing healthy, sustainable habits for 2023, practical ways to combine health and physical activity, how to be kind to yourself and achieving human performance optimisation in 2023.

Enrol in the Sustainable Performance Academy today to get inspired and energised with new ideas to improve your well-being and performance, gain confidence and clarity about what will work for you and be equipped with practical tools to put good ideas into action. Listeners use the code S4P25, they'll get 25% off the course.

Participants have experienced:

•  23% reduction in stress experiences

https://sustainable-performance-academy.teachable.com/p/spa-sales-page

Contact me at [email protected]  or www.sleep4performance.com.au  and check out the YouTube channel.

Check out our sponsor LMNT. Click on the link to order and get a free LMNT Sample Pack when you order through the custom link below.

Key details:  

The LMNT Sample Pack includes 1 packet of every flavour.

This is the perfect offer for anyone interested in trying all our flavours or wanting to introduce a friend to LMNT.

This offer is exclusively available through VIP LMNT Partners – you won’t find this offer publicly available.

This offer is available for new and returning customers

They offer refunds on all orders with no questions – you don’t even have to send it back! http://drinklmnt.com/sleep4performance

Changes in reindeer sleep regulation across the year: a central role for rumination? In this episode, I am joined by Melanie Furrer, who recently presented her study on sleep in reindeer.

Most non-hibernating animals maintain daily “circadian ”rhythms of sleep across the year, as well as “homeostatic” sleep-wake patterns in which increasing time awake is followed by increased sleep amount or intensity. Strikingly, ruminant reindeer in the Arctic show 24-h rhythmicity at the equinoxes but none at either solstice; summertime activity greatly exceeds wintertime activity. So far, nothing is known about their sleep or how it might be seasonally modulated.

Methods: We simultaneously recorded non-invasive electroencephalography EEG in four adult female reindeer for four days at The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, Norway in July, September, and December. Rapid eye movement, REM sleep, non-REM NREM sleep, and rumination were visually identified from the EEG, and slow-wave activity SWA, EEG power 1–18 4.5 Hz during NREM sleep, the classic marker for homeostatic changes in sleep pressure, was calculated.

Results: Although sleep in reindeer generally resembled that of other mammals, key novel adaptations were observed in July/September: n=4, December: n=3. Like most species, sleep-wake distribution paralleled daily activity during seasonally changing light-dark conditions and SWA during NREM sleep increased after prolonged wake periods.

Surprisingly, total sleep duration was roughly equal across seasons, and prolonged waking produced a lower SWA response in summer than in winter. As reported for some domestic ruminants, EEG during rumination showed typical characteristics of NREM sleep. Furthermore, rumination appeared to substitute for sleep under all observed conditions. Accordingly, SWA decreased across rumination, and total rumination and NREM sleep durations were negatively correlated. Homeostatic modelling of SWA further suggested that rumination was equivalent to sleep. Conclusions: We suggest that less pronounced SWA increases across waking in summer might indicate higher baseline sleep pressure during this season, possibly resulting from increased activity, food intake and light exposure. Within this context, rumination might partially substitute conventional sleep, permitting near-constant feeding in the arctic summer while compensating for increased sleep pressure.

Contact or follow Melanie https://www.kispi.uzh.ch/forschungszentrum/person/furrer-melanie.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Melanie-Furrer-2

Contact me at [email protected] or www.sleep4performance.com.au and check out the YouTube channel.

Check out our sponsor LMNT. Click on the link to order and get a free LMNT Sample Pack when you order through the custom link below. Key details: • The LMNT Sample Pack includes 1 packet of every flavour.

This is the perfect offer for anyone interested in trying all of our flavours or who wants to introduce a friend to LMNT. • This offer is exclusively available through VIP LMNT Partners – you won’t find this offer publicly available. • This offer is available for new and returning customers • They offer refunds on all orders with no questions – you don’t even have to send it back! DrinkLMNT.com/sleep4performance

A brief 10-minute meditation for our sleep4performance listeners led by Alexis Santos, a meditation teacher. https://www.alexissantos.io/

Please do not listen while operating machinery, driving or undertaking any safety-critical role. This mediation is designed to support having a nap or initiating sleep in a safe, comfortable environment.

Sleep Well!!!!

Ian 

Today I am joined by Alexis Santos. Alexis has been in the field of mindfulness and meditation since 2001. After graduating from Harvard University in 1995, he spent several years in medical school before leaving his chosen doctor career to seek a different path. It was while travelling in India that he was introduced to insight meditation.

Since that time, Alexis has practised in many meditative styles and traditions, including with Sayadaw U Tejaniya, the Thai Forest tradition with Ajahn Sumedho, the Tibetan tradition with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and within the lay Western insight community where he continues to learn from the growing diversity of voices.

Alexis's primary teacher has been Sayadaw U Tejaniya, from the Burmese Theravada tradition, with whom he was ordained as a Buddhist monk from 2003 - 2005. Sayadaw encouraged Alexis to teach in 2012. Alexis also completed the Spirit Rock/IMS four-year teacher training program with Jack Kornfield and others, including mentors Joseph Goldstein and Carol Wilson. 

Alexis teaches meditation at retreat centers around the world. He is featured on the Ten Percent Happier meditation app and is co-founder of Open Door Meditation Community in Portland, Maine, where he is a guest teacher. Alexis's teaching style is natural and uncrafted. He brings a practical, intuitive and compassionate approach to the development of wisdom.

https://www.alexissantos.io/

Contact me at [email protected]  or www.sleep4performance.com.au  and check out the YouTube channel.

Check out our sponsor LMNT. Click on the link to order and get a free LMNT Sample Pack when you order through  the custom link below

Key details:

• The LMNT Sample Pack includes 1 packet of every flavour. This is the perfect offer for 1) anyone who is interested in trying all of our flavours or  2) wants to introduce a friend to LMNT.

 DrinkLMNT.com/sleep4performance

Today I am joined by Dr Cassie Hilditch from San José State University Research Foundation. In this episode, we will be discussing Cassie's work around sleep inertia. 

Some of Cassie's papers 

Hilditch CJ, Arsintescu L, Gregory KB, Flynn-Evans EE. Mitigating fatigue on the flight deck: how is controlled rest used in practice? Chronobiol Int. 2020 Sep-Oct;37(9-10):1483-1491. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2020.1803898. Epub 2020 Aug 24. PMID: 32838563. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32838563/  

Kovac K, Vincent GE, Paterson JL, Reynolds A, Aisbett B, Hilditch CJ, Ferguson SA. The impact of a short burst of exercise on sleep inertia. Physiol Behav. 2021 Dec 1;242:113617. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113617. Epub 2021 Oct 1. PMID: 34606883. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34606883/ 

Hilditch CJ, Flynn-Evans EE. Fatigue, Schedules, Sleep, and Sleepiness in U.S. Commercial Pilots During COVID-19. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2022 May 1;93(5):433-441. doi: 10.3357/AMHP.6031.2022. PMID: 35551720. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35551720/ 

Hilditch CJ, McHill AW. Sleep inertia: current insights. Nat Sci Sleep. 2019 Aug 22;11:155-165. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S188911. PMID: 31692489; PMCID: PMC6710480. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31692489/ 

Hilditch CJ, Short M, Van Dongen HP, Centofanti SA, Dorrian J, Kohler M, Banks S. Sleep inertia during a simulated 6-h on/6-h off fixed split duty schedule. Chronobiol Int. 2016;33(6):685-96. doi: 10.3109/07420528.2016.1167724. Epub 2016 Apr 14. PMID: 27078176. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27078176/ 

Connect with Cassie

LinkedIn 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassie-hilditch-phd-817a1816/ 

Google Scholar 

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uUJGxwoAAAAJ&hl=en

Contact me at [email protected]  or www.sleep4performance.com.au  and check out the YouTube channel.

Hailey is a psychologist and research scientist internationally certified in behavioural sleep medicine. She practices clinically at St Vincent’s Hospital Sleep Centre in Melbourne, predominantly working with clients experiencing insomnia. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne and is completing her research PhD at Monash University with Dr Melinda Jackson. Her PhD focuses on advancing healthcare providers' training in evidence-based insomnia treatments. For this project, she won the 2021 “Innovation in Behavioral Sleep Medicine Advocacy” award from the U.S. Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine. Hailey has worked in a range of research and clinical settings, including Melbourne Sleep Disorders Centre with Dr David Cunnington and Dr Moira Junge, The Institute for Breathing and Sleep at Austin Health, and Monash University’s Project REST with Professor Sean Drummond.

Hailey is an active member of the Australasian Sleep Association. She co-chaired the Insomnia and Sleep Health Council for five years. She established the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Online Community of Practice for sleep clinicians to stay connected and up to date with behavioural sleep medicine treatments. She now serves on the Behavioural Management of Sleep Disorders Education Sub-Committee, working to enhance sleep education for psychologists. She is actively involved in the U.S. Society for Behavioral Sleep Medicine (SBSM), serving as a past student member of their Accreditation Committee and helping to organise an Australia/New Zealand special conference session in 2021.

In this episode, we discuss Hailey’s paper entitled “Strange themes in pandemic dreams: Insomnia was associated with more negative, anxious and death-related dreams during the COVID-19 pandemic” The full reference and access to the paper is here.

Meaklim H, Burge M, Le F, Bains SK, Saunders W, Ghosh S, Junge MF, Varma P, Rehm IC, Jackson ML. Strange themes in pandemic dreams: Insomnia was associated with more negative, anxious and death-related dreams during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Sleep Res. 2022 Jun 14:e13655. doi: 10.1111/jsr.13655. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35699296; PMCID: PMC9350044.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9350044/

Items we discuss

• #27 with Dr Rachel Menzies "Mortals: How the Fear of Death Shaped Human Society" https://learningtodie.com.au/podcasts/27-dr-rachel-menzies-mortals-how-the-fear-of-death-shaped-human-society/

Contact or follow Hailey

Twitter @SleepPsych_Aus

https://www.haileymeaklimpsychology.com.au/

Contact me at [email protected]  or www.sleep4performance.com.au  and check out the YouTube channel.

This is a reading of a blog on our Melius Consulting website https://meliusconsulting.com.au/understanding-the-sleep-of-ultra-marathon-swimmers-guidance-for-coaches-swimmers/ 

and Sleep4performance https://sleep4performance.com/understanding-the-sleep-of-ultra-marathon-swimmers-guidance-for-coaches-swimmers/

Contact me at [email protected] or www.sleep4performance.com.au, and check out the YouTube channel

Dean of Research UniSA Justice & Society

Jill Dorrian is a Professor in Psychology with a PhD in sleep and chronobiology research and a Master of Biostatistics. From the beginning of her PhD, Jill conducted laboratory and field studies with a consistent focus on collaboration and translation. Her PhD and early post-doctoral work were supported by the Australian Shiftwork and Workload Consortium, a 10-year collaboration with Australian Rail Industry operators and safety regulators. This work informed fatigue risk management (the over-arching term to describe risks relating to sleep loss and performance impairment in the industry) in rail.

Following a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, Unit for Experimental Psychiatry, she continued to conduct in-workplace studies for rail, emergency services, and health. More recently, having also worked with mining, construction, ports, and forestry, providing research and education to promote fatigue management.

As a champion for the importance of sleep for healthy development, she also works closely with colleagues in nursing and midwifery, investigating the relationship between sleep during pregnancy and maternal and fetal health. She has collaborated closely with Resilient Youth Australia, a not-for-profit dedicated to promoting health and learning for school students in Australasia.

Jill is heavily involved with research student supervision and training in publishing and other forms of research communication and was recognised by the Australian Graduate Research Council for excellence in graduate research supervision.

Much of her current work is focused on behavioural coping strategies for remaining healthy despite exposure to sleep loss. In particular, along with colleagues in psychology, nutrition, and activity, we study chronobehaviour – investigating the health impacts, not only of what we do but when we do it.

Contact Jill at [email protected] 

Twitter: @JillDorrian 

Contact me at [email protected] or www.sleep4performance.com.au and check out the YouTube channel.