“The Old Order Amish is a large rural group descended from the Amish Mennonites who self-impose severe restrictions on dress and use of modern technology. As such, they are not exposed to light from televisions or computers. This lack of LAN (light at night) may help explain why the Amish have greatly reduced rates of cancer, depression, and other psychiatric disorders compared with the general population.” (p. 55)
Sara Mednick, a sleep researcher, presents evidence that our lives and health would improve with better sleep. Since Edison invented the light bulb, various health problems like cancer, depression, and other psychiatric disorders have increased. Mednick shows it could be because we’re exposed to light at night when we should be sleeping.
“The long-term consequence of betraying Nature’s rhythms are abysmal. Living life out of sync increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, depression, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, and more. Shift workers are especially at risk, facing abnormally high rates of these conditions as they ask their bodies and brains to constantly battle Nature’s will.” (p. 53)
Mednick advances a number of suggestions to improve your sleep. She’s a big advocate of melatonin. Mednick suggests taking a low dose (1 mg) one hour before you head for bed may result in more restful and restorative sleep (p. 117-118).
Mednick is NOT a fan of alcohol in any form. She cites evidence that shows alcohol can disrupt sleep patterns and impact memory. Her other recommendations involve regular exercise and a healthy diet. Following these suggestions, Mednick claims, will result in more energy, better health, and a longer Life. How’s your sleep? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Author’s Note xi
Introduction 1
Part 1 Getting in the Right Ratio 13
1 Everything You Know About Balance Needs an Upgrade 15
2 Get in Sync with Your Inherent Rhythm 37
Part 2 Activating the Downstate 63
3 Replenish, Revitalize, Rebuild, Restore! 65
4 Join the Rest-o-lution, Deepen Your Sleep 91
5 Exercise Your Right to Recovery 128
6 You Are What and When You Eat 161
7 Guess What? You Are Aging Now! 190
Part 3 Hitting the Reset Button 213
8 The Downstate RecoveryPlus Plan 215
9 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Future of the Downstate (but Were Afraid to Ask) 242
10 Becoming a Downstate Maven 257
Epilogue 267
Domains of Action Items 271
RecoveryPlus Daily Journal 273
Acknowledgments 275
Notes 277
Index 321
I don’t get enough sleep. Falling asleep is not a problem. Staying asleep is. I usually awake after about two hours and have a lot of trouble falling back asleep. Then, after a few hours I’ll get another three- or four-hours sleep. Melatonin does not help. Ambien does not help. Benadryl helps a little, but it leaves me sluggish. Reducing caffeine intake makes no difference. I’ve been this way for about the last fifteen years, so I just live with it.
Steve, the best sleeping pill I’ve ever used is hydrocodone. About once a month I encounter the same problem you have: I fall asleep easily, but then wake up a few hours later and can’t fall back to sleep. That’s when I take a hydrocodone tablet and a few minutes later I’m sound asleep for about four hours.
Not much new here! I sleep like a baby–cry and crap my pants!
Bob, you’re a lucky guy!
Fortunately, I’m usually able to fall asleep easily. I do wake up at least once (more often, twice) every night—but that pattern extends back to childhood and is not a recent development. I usually drift back to sleep afterwards without a problem. I do try to get to bed around the same time every night and get up the same time in the morning (I get up early, even on weekends or when I’m not working). If I do occasionally have difficulty falling asleep, I will get up: I hate tossing & turning to no avail.
Deb, Sara Mednick suggests we all try to go to sleep at the same time each night…and wake up around the same time in the morning. She calls it smart “sleep health.”
I’m generally a pretty good sleeper with regular hours: to bed around 12:30 and up between 6:00 and 7:00., with generally one brief wake-up during the night. With no real reason to be up at any particular time I could sleep later than that but for some reason I can’t sleep much more than six hours at one time. Throw in an afternoon nap that brings me up to eight hours.
Michael, Sara Mednick’s previous book was Take a Nap! Change Your Life. According to Mednick, taking a nap reduces your blood pressure and reduces the chances of a heart attack or stroke.
I have had insomnia since age seven with a long period of good sleep from the teen years through my thirties. But since then I have had trouble-both getting to sleep and staying asleep. So I take ambien. I wish I didn’t and I have tried things-like melatonin, benadryl zanax but ambien works best. If this doctor retires I am in trouble.
Patti, your sleep experience reminds me of Jay-Z’s song, “New York”:
Came here for school, graduated to the high life
Ballplayers, rap stars, addicted to the limelight
MDMA got you feeling like a champion
The city never sleeps better slip you a Ambien
I’ve always been a good sleeper, for the most part. Jackie used to say as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out, and stayed out. Even now, there can be a violent thunderstorm or people playing loud music (rarely), and I will sleep right through it. There was a time when I was waking up every couple of hours, but since the laser prostate surgery, I sleep either straight through or wake up once. When I do, I often just go back to sleep immediately. Jackie has had an insomnia problem for years. Usually she reads in bed for 30-60 minutes, occasionally longer. I know she wakes up several times a night – she’s too cold or too hot – and sometimes can’t get back to sleep for an hour. Occasionally – rarely – I have that problem. Melatonin never did anything. Benadryl does work.
Jeff, I tried melatonin years ago and experienced a minor improvement in my sleep. However, it did nothing when I would wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to get back to sleep. That’s when I turned to hydrocodone which solved that problem.
There is a antihistamine product called xyazal (probably misspelled) that helps me. I also try CBD gummies and chocolate. That helps Melatonin helps me a bit, but not enough. Sadly, getting up in the night for a “pit stop” is the worst for me as falling back asleep is hard. Last week I did sleep thru the night once, but went to sleep at 1130 and got up around 645
Maggie, several of the people at the Pool tell me about CBD gummies helping them with pain and sleep. But, in NY State, there’s a lot of hurtles you have to jump in order to qualify for a prescription. Like you, I usually have a “pit stop” mid-way through the night. Most of the time I fall back to sleep. But about once a month, sleep eludes me and that’s when I take the hydrocodone. I’m at the point in my Life when I can’t function during the day if I don’t get adequate sleep at night.
George, I fall asleep quite easily and stay asleep through most of the night. However, I have difficulty sleeping on days when I’m over-thinking, when my mind is in overdrive. I have realised that the quality of our thoughts has a huge impact on how we sleep.
Prashant, you are exactly right! I try to clear my mind before I go to sleep. My wife occasionally ponders the news of the day and finds it takes her an hour (or more!) to fall asleep! I hope your daughter’s move to Canada goes well!
Thank you, George. My daughter and son-in-law got their PR only recently, over two years after they applied. They’d have gone earlier if it wasn’t for the pandemic. They’re moving to Vancouver, which I know to be a beautiful city.
Prashant, I’ve been to Vancouver and you’re right: it is a beautiful city!