Let Your Kids Sleep, More Rested Kids Means More Well Behaved Students...and Happy Teachers!

Every child has a different tolerance for optimal performance and attention in school.  Every teacher wants to capitalize on a child's best learning strengths so that he or she can not only succeed but excel in his/her classroom.  In "Teacher Ratings" by Mary Carskadon, volunteers participated in a home-based study that lasted 3-weeks.  Conditions were modified from self-selected baseline, optimized, and finally restricted sleep.  The restricted schedule was characterized by substantial decreases in sleep opportunities for all participants.  The optimized schedule was designed to offer optimal estimated sleep needs for school-aged juveniles, per participant age parameters.  Participants attended school as usual during the study, and ratings were obtained from educators at the end of every week, scheduled to avoid holidays.  Lastly, participant students had to be medically healthy and academically average or above average to participate.

Ratings were given based on a comprehensive 26 item teacher questionnaire, divided into 4 focus areas: academic trouble, hyperactive-impulsive behavior, internalizing symptoms (i.e. sadness, anxiety), and oppositional-aggressive behavior.  Only 6 of 84 total children's data sets has to be excluded from review because 1 or 2 experimental conditions were not met.  Within the available data, results showed significantly more teacher-reported academic problems for the restricted sleep condition, relative to both baseline and optimized conditions, an impressive finding.  Attention problems also were noted to be higher in the restricted sleep condition, even though the article conceded that values only approached significance, but did not reach it.  No significant differences in sleepiness ratings were observed across conditions.  Teachers generally reported increases in academic difficulty as well as in attention maintenance for restricted sleep conditions.

Given this information, I think the article addressed the academic implications of poor sleep health, but could have also delved farther into studying potential solutions for the 21st-century technology-saturated typical child, with the exception of course of those who cannot afford such luxuries or live a lifestyle free of it.  I would like to see more research performed that focuses on bedtime habits maybe as they affect sleep efficiency more so than being focused sleep-deprivation and its effects on academic performance.

For example, I would love to lead a study in rural Indiana, "Amish country," where my aunt and uncle own a lake house, focused on the sleep habits of the Amish compared to "regular" families that live in the area.  Since both groups are exposed to the same geographical environment, experimental controls would be fairly easy to manipulate.  They are not exposed to the same kinds of distractions to sleeping well that most of us are.  They do not have phones or other devices, internet, and many of them still do not have electricity, or cars for that matter.  I wonder if there is a word in their vocabulary for attention-deficit problems like ADHD?  Maybe not, because maybe there is no need to discuss this issue.  I wonder what ratings schoolhouse teachers would give their students in baseline, optimized, and restricted conditions in the Amish community.  I have been working to move back my bedtime recently, making a more routine schedule.  Some days I have been more successful than others but I know that I should really take a cue or two from the Amish -- although I cannot see myself getting up at the crack of dawn everyday...

This week, I commented on Madison and Brandee's blogs.

Don't Sleep. Go to jail. No really it's possible!

False confessions are a pervasive part of our criminal justice system.  The article "False Confessions" by Elizabeth F. Loftus states that at least 4% of people in the U.S. who receive the death sentence are actually innocent.  Interrogators use effective psychological coercive interrogation strategies to increase the likelihood of false confessions in innocent candidates.  Sleep deprivation is known to impair the cognitive skills required for resistance to such a coercive environment.  It is noted that potentially as much as 17% of interrogations occur during usual sleep hours.  This percentage is disturbingly high in my opinion.  Perhaps interrogation of of sleep-deprived and unrested suspects is not that rare and in fact could be alarmingly common.

In this article, research was conducted on already available laboratory techniques for examining false confession processes.  Participants completed computer-based tasks, writing exercises, and questionnaires.  This process occurred over three laboratory sessions.  Beginning with session 2, study participants either slept for 8 hours in a laboratory bedroom or stayed awake throughout the night.  Then participants were asked once, then twice if they at first refused, to sign a falsely accusatory statement about their actions ruining their data (pressing the escape key during the duration of the trials).  It was found that 8 of the total 44 rested participants, or 18%, signed the statement.  22 of the 44 sleep-deprived participants (50%) did the same -- half!

This information really floored me.  Sleep-deprivation has an even more dramatic adverse effect than I would think on cognitive discriminating ability.  I know that I have been sleep-deprived for about the last week as I try to return to a more regular academic schedule, previously disrupted by periodic extracurricular events that I've attended.  I am still getting over being sick as well... and they say "sleep is the best medicine."  I have a more typical schedule this week so I should be able to get back into a healthy sleep routine.  It seems that in fact I must do so...so that I do not falsely take the blame for something I didn't do or didn't do correctly.  Interestingly, this issue actually came up recently for a group assignment where I was told I answered a portion of questions incorrectly when it turns out that I did in fact answer them correctly.  The reviewer simply had slightly different numbers from rounding.  I initially assumed that truly I was incorrect, because I was aware of my sleep-deprivation and its probable effect on my cognitive abilities.  I should have checked my process and stuck with it instead of giving my 'false confession.'


Sleep deprivation's effects on the outcomes of criminal trials have here and in a myriad of other sources been discussed.  It is evident then that suspects are unfairly taken advantage of, using coercive questioning measures, while they are not rested.  I call for more research into this area of the criminal justice process as it relates to the sleep health of involved suspects.  A tired defendant is not an accurate defendant, and a lack of accuracy in any criminal trial is not helpful to the potential victims involved or to the accused.

Your Grandma Needs her Many Naps

Your grandparents probably sleep a lot.  This habit is probably kept up out of necessity.  I know my grandmother (granted, 95+ years old) sleeps away probably 2/3 of her days now.  I am concerned by her increase in daily TST (total sleep time) in the last several years, but I also know that sleep inherently is healthy for her tired body in ways that I cannot explain.

According to Jeanne F. Duffy, and Charles A. Czeisler's paper titled "Tolerate Sleep Deprivation," sleep quality and duration both decrease as we age.  Because of this deterioration (measured in items such as sleep continuity and intensity), wakeful mental functioning also appears to generally decrease.  I can attest to this decline as I see it in my grandmother, although sometimes more pronounced than others.  It is worth noting that she also has been diagnosed with dementia, so is going of course to be consistently forgetful and often confused about her day-to-day surroundings.  However, there are days I have visited her when we have carried on fluid, "heady" conversations with her actually able to keep up.  Other days, her sentences are do not connect well and she is sleepy, wanting to "close [her] eyes for just a few minutes."  She has low blood pressure and is wheelchair bound, so many of her struggles do not come as s surprise to me, but for 95 years old, I like to consider my family blessed that she is present and comfortable every day.

The article mentioned that despite the logical conclusion of the aforementioned decline of mental functioning and alertness during wake time as a correlate to sleep deprivation and lack of sleep quality as we age, a lot of research points to associations between medicine or other medical conditions and decreased mental daytime functioning.  To consider the effects of sleep deprivation as people age, the study considered 37 largely older participants for review in a 9-day inpatient set of circadian rhythm studies.  Subjects were taking no medications, reported no chronic medical issues, and were in typically good medical and psychological health for their age groups.  These parameters were determined by urinalysis, complete blood count, electrocardiogram, and psychological questionnaires.  The constant routine was characterized by 26-hour monitored vigil of wakefulness, with hourly snacks for subjects and consistent dim light.  Sustained attention was tested every two hours using the Psychomotor Vigilance Task, or PVT, in which subjects respond as quickly as possible to visual stimuli for 10 minutes with random interstimulus intervals.

Results showed that older participants actually rated themselves as more alert than younger participants on the KSS (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale).  This finding definitely surprised me because in my experience, young people tend to rebound from sleep deprivation more readily (i.e. coming back from the "all-nighters") than do older adults.  Young people however I think tend to rely on more alertness aids than do older adults as well (caffeine, monster, Heaven forbid Four Loco).  The study found few attentional failures in their procedures, another interesting result considering how sleep deprived subjects were.  It was found that younger adults are in fact more susceptible to the effects of sleep deprivation than are young-old adults.  Specifically, younger adults were at greater risk for falling asleep and had slower response times.

This information challenges the traditional notion, including my own, that older people are more sleepy and less alert than young adults.  I know that my grandmother gets frustrated with her lack of mental functioning, as she has always been a conversational and scholarly woman, but if she had total mental ability, I can assure you she would out-debate me any day on many subjects.  Seeing as I have been both sick and sleep-deprived for the last few days, maybe I should realize that I am only a weak young person, unable to cope with sleep deprivation as well as my grandmother.  She has a controlled bedtime and wake time as she lives in an assisted living facility.  Perhaps I myself would benefit from a more routine schedule so as to achieve better sleep quality.

This week I commented on Bisma Ikram's and Kaitlyn Peterson's blogs.

Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Sleep-Deprived

Willie wants you to have good sleep habits.

We all have had trouble sleeping but many of us have not had to see a doctor about it.  In today’s youth, about 20-30% of infants and toddlers are reported to have some kind of problem sleeping.  In the study discussed here, “Bedtime Routine” by Jodi A. Mindell, 405 mothers and their children participated in one of two study paradigms.  The first study involved infants while the second involved toddlers.  In the infant study, a one-week baseline which followed normal bedtime procedures set the stage.  Following baseline, mothers were asked to institute a 3-step nightly bedtime routine, and to follow the routine for 2 weeks.  This routine includes 1) bath with provided (unlabeled) wash product, 2) message with provided (unlabeled) product, and 3) quiet activities such as cuddling or singing a lullaby.  The toddler study was identical to the infant study aside from the use of lotion rather than a massage for each child.  Again, control group families followed normal home bedtime routine practices for the full 3-week duration of the study.

The findings of the studies showed no significant difference for all sleep variables across the duration of both the infant and toddler studies.  However, in the infant study, several differences were observed including decreased onset latency, decreased number (and duration) of night wakings, increased sleep continuity, and decreased perception of sleep as a problem by mothers involved.  In the toddler study, similar results were noted.  Specifically noted were improvements in number/duration of night wakings (a decrease), sleep continuity, and parent perception of sleep as a problem or issue in her child.  Improvements in morning mood were also observed in many cases.  Lastly, mothers reported decreases in crying out over night as well as decreases in the number of times children climbed out of bed.

In other words, these experimental studies provided a means of positive intervention for participating families.  Implementing a consistent bedtime routine here resulted in shorter sleep onset latency, decreased wakefulness after sleep onset, and finally in increased sleep consolidation.  Parents reported subjective positive perceptions of their children’s sleep following the studies as well.

I am not all that surprised that a consistent bedtime routine has such a positive impact on sleep health, but does having a daily, same-to-the-tee bedtime routine improve your sleep health that much?  Apparently it does!  However, I regret to confess that as a college student, I find it extremely difficult to implement such a strict bedtime procedure.  With tests, projects, reading, homework, and, in my case, lacrosse, Community Leader (RA) commitments as well as Baylor Student Foundation demands, it is no wonder why I don’t have the same daily bedtime process, let alone the same daily bedtime.  As I continue to progress through this predicament, I am optimistic that one day I can brag about the efficiency of my nightly sleep habits!

Last night, I laid my head on my pillow at about 1:30 am.  (I am blaming this result on CL on-call responsibilities but the truth is I just lost track of time.)  I had a hard time falling asleep.  I have not had difficulty falling asleep recently, so what could be the issue?  Warning: sleep scholars prepare to be shocked, I did not have my phone near my bed and in fact had not touched it since 8 pm.  So the lack of light put out by my phone while I surf through Facebook in bed kept me awake?  Preposterous.  Nonetheless, I conclude that this change in routine (the one common part of my daily bedtime routine) negatively affected my sleep onset latency time.  Maybe my “quiet time,” per Mindell’s article, is my phone, although I am sure the author would cringe at those words.

Many busy Americans would benefit from the information presented in this article, especially those with kids.  Single mothers, who perhaps work third shift, and cannot seem to get into a regular daily bedtime routine, would benefit from reading and understanding the contents of Mindell’s article.  She would realize the importance of consistency in her sleep habits even at the sacrifice of other tasks.  A full house with 6 children, all under the age of 10, usually is headed by tired parents.  These tired parents need to read this article and understand the importance of consistency at bedtime.  My parents, with a puppy at home (like a new baby), should understand the positive impact that consistent day-to-day bedtime habits can have on their sleep health.  Finally, I, myself need to take these results to heart, and understand that despite the challenges of my busy college life, my sleep health takes a certain priority.

Your Kindle Fire Could be Lighting a Fire in Your Tired Brain

A lot of recent public inquiry has come up about technology's effects on our sleep habits, but as the presence of devices like smartphones, ereaders, and tablets increases, there will need to be more research on the effects of using such devices so often -- as we all do -- yes you, admit it!  I bet you are reading this blog on your smartphone, and maybe you are even about to hit the sack.

 

The article "eReaders" by Charles S Czeisler, compares book reading to the use of an ereader as it relates to sleep habits.  Six healthy young women participated in the study; each given a condition of dim light for reading -- half of the participants using ereaders while others read print books, each group reading her part about 4 hours before bedtime, for 5 consecutive nights.  Sleep onset latency was increased by roughly 10 minutes in the ereader group -- even though TST (total sleep time) remained the same in both groups.  The other notable difference was a lack of REM sleep in the ereader group, although nonREM sleep and sleep efficiency remained relatively stable.  Does that mean that ereaders prevent you from dreaming (per dreams typically occurring during REM sleep, paper by Dement in 1057)?  I am always entertained and intrigued by my dreams so it looks like I will just have to keep reading my old fashion print books!

 

I do not have a Kindle or other ereader and generally do not read on my tablet or smartphone unless it is a quick and relevant-to-me article that a friend has shared on social media.  If anything, I largely read email (brief reading exposure).  I also am not an avid reader, period, so I do not have a lot of experience to draw from regarding the naturalistic observation of my own sleep habits and patterns when it comes to reading before bed (i.e. tablet versus book).  I try to do academic reading during the day.  That being said, I still get on Facebook/ snapchat or other “apps” at night when I go to bed – and I can say that I have in fact noticed an increase in my alertness when laying in bed on my phone (for more than usually about 10 minutes).  Last night I went to bed around my average bedtime (12-1 am), but after about 5-10 minutes of scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook, I noticed an increase in my attention level to the content I was seeing.  I decided to turn my phone off and try to sleep – I did, but didn’t feel as tired as when I first got into bed, weird!

 

Today I took the first nap I have taken this semester, but also had lacrosse practice.  So when I go to bed, and allow myself a few minutes on my phone, I will see how factors such as physical fatigue and prior sleep today affects my sleep onset latency.  Aside from me, I know many people my age “play” on their phones for extended time before sleep, a habit that it is surely detrimental to sleep onset, quality, and efficiency.  I would like to see more research in this area with young people so that they can be properly educated about the detrimental effects of their myriad devices on sleep health.

Even Football Players aren't invincible to Jet Lag

The Article titled "Football" by Roger S. Smith sheds a whole new light on the meaning of "home field advantage."  This study conducted a review of NFL games between the East Coast and West Coast to find that even a three-hour time difference has an effect on athletic performance.  For one, the body's average peak performance is in the afternoon: an interesting note given that almost all major [most popular] professional games -- football or otherwise -- are played in the evening hours, so as to have the best publicity for Prime Time air on Television.  In this study, West Coast teams showed a hefty advantage over East Coast teams due to the time difference.  Respective point spreads were used as the measure of impact for each time zone.  The West Coast teams beat the point spread in 70 games as opposed to only 36 games for east coast teams (for evening games only).  This outcome aligns with the present literature on the import impact of circadian rhythms on athletic performance.  It has been noted historically that not only does sleep deprivation hinder performance but so too does blatant disrespect for the body's natural daily rhythms.  Therefore, the best time to compete in high profile sporting events is in fact not the evening...when most events are, but rather in the afternoon, and at a time that is close to "afternoon hours" for both teams involved, especially when they hail from opposing sides of the nation.

The study's finding that the best time to participate in athletics is in the afternoon hours really surprises me because I would think that the typical afternoon dip in energy is in fact the worst time to task your body with strenuous physical activity.  I also was surprised by the large difference in performance between the East Coast and West Coast teams.  I would think this effect has an impact on performance, but one that is much less eminent.

Lastly, I can largely agree with the claims of the study, even though it concedes limitation in scope, because of my own offered experiences.  Again, I play lacrosse, and I can confidently say that I play much better during the day than in evenings, especially in the morning hours.  I still perform better in the afternoon than at practice or at evening games -- I think due simply to the lack of events having yet happened at that point in the day.  The longer the day continues, the more that has transpired, and taxed the body.  I also feel that I do not perform as well when I am lacking sleep; a good observation to note for any athlete or person in a place of need for peak performance.  This is the tricky thing about athletics: you have to perform your best at the given planned opportunities -- one cannot choose to play at 2 pm when the tournament starts at 8 am; therefore, rest is key for optimal performance at any time of day.

Listen Up Ladies: Alcohol and its Effects on You

The Study titled "Ethanol" focused on an area of study related to alcohol consumption and sleep that historically has been only minimally addressed: presenting a full examination of the dose-response effects of single alcohol (ethanol) doses on sleep in young and healthy women.  The mentioned that in men, consuming up to one gram of alcohol per kg of body weight suppresses REM sleep {see my other blog about REM and dreams for more reference} in the first half of a given night's sleep to roughly 2/3 of the control group's values.  This is true for the rest of the night and for TST (total sleep time) as well -- depending on time period and rate of alcohol consumption.  The same pattern was noted for alcoholics as well.  For the conduction of the study itself, 11 young female participants, who self- reported to be healthy, were paid and tested between the 4th and 21st days of their menstrual cycles.  Subjects ranged from ages 19 to 21, each participant completing the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) and an alcohol history questionnaire.  Subjects reported to the lab a total of 3 times with 5 nights between each visit; and with each visit, participants consumed 0.00, 0.50, or 0.75 of 95% ethanol per kg of body weight beverages as well as two drops of tincture of gentian with orange juice.  This consumption is totaled at 400 ml; participants ate main evening meals by 7 pm, and it was a light meal at that.

The results showed expected findings, i.e. which body sway increased with dose, as did reporting of negative morning symptoms.  BAC's correlation to alcohol intake is linearly related.  Onset of REM was in fact delayed by alcohol intake, but in such a quantity that is not statistically significant.  I would think that REM (deep sleep) would in fact be more negatively affected by alcohol intake that which the study reports.  This observed decrease took place in the first 3 hours of sleep; a finding which I find highly logical and expected.  A great decline in general sleep-onset latency was also observed with increased doses of ethanol intake.  This finding is not at all surprising to me because of my own observed experience: even a small dose of alcohol intake makes me sleepier than I would otherwise be.  I have consistently observed this pattern.

 

BACs for this study were on average 1.7 times higher than that of men consuming the same amount of alcohol.  Other conclusions of the study, like increased impairment in participants with increased alcohol intake, are not surprising or interesting really.  The BAC of the participants' bodies being 1.7 times higher than that of men in a similar study is fascinating to me; I would think that there is a presented increase but not one of this magnitude – which I find to be rather dramatic and unconvincing – but maybe I should just trust the scientific method!  Also interesting was the fact that participants' places in each of their menstrual cycles also seemed to have an effect on BAC alcohol effect, although this study did not specifically examine this phenomenon.  This article offered good applicability to my own life and to women who choose to drink alcoholic beverages because it offered a concrete review of its effects on the body.  However, I would like to see more in-depth research about alcohol’s effects on women of different ages or those with different drinking habits.  I definitely found this article to be insightful but also found myself bored at times with information found in the study for which I was already aware.

 

This week, I commented on Brett and Bisma's blogs.

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) is What Allows you to "Dream Big"

Today I am reviewing the article entitled "The Relation of Eye Movements During Sleep to Dream Activity: An Objective Method for the Study of Dreaming" by William Dement and and Nathaniel Kleitman.  This paper addresses dream activity as it relates to REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.  Various physiological measures were used to determine the proper environment (or lack thereof) for dreaming.  Seven adult males and two adult females participated in the study -- focused data coming from only five of these participants, the other four used for confirmation related to the findings of the first five.  EEGs recorded REM cycles: defined as "discrete periods during which [one's] eyes exhibit rapid movements" (Dement, Kleitman 340).  These sleep segments are identified by their low-voltage, fairly fast EGG patterns.  Absence of this phenomena indicated deeper sleep, perhaps pre-high voltage.  REM's were not recorded during initial sleep onset, following the traditionally self-reported pattern of dreams occurring later on in sleep rather than at the beginning.  The average REM period recording occurred roughly every 92 minutes, on par with the average assumed in the field.  Participants were aroused abruptly from sleep, often during apparent REM sleep, and asked to report if they were just dreaming and if so to describe/ recount the dream he or she just experienced.  It was noted that dream recall dropped quickly off when awoken out of a sleep that did not present as REM.  The study concluded, without total certainty, but with a fair amount of confidence that in fact dream cycles are directly related to onset of REM sleep and that dreams then in fact may only occur during REM, a phenomenon not altogether frequent during an average night's sleep.  This final point explains why we recall never more than one dream when we wake up in the morning -- if that.

In other words, the ability to dream requires a lot of sleep, because REM is not how we spend most of our limited sleep time.  Why shouldn't be different for lofty dreams about our lives and future?  The answer is apparently always to get a good night sleep.  I know that I am only able to recall dreams every so often, and when I do, I see it as a "big deal" because to me, the presence of a dream means that I was in a deep enough sleep to have REM cycles...I just wonder what I look like with eye balls that shake and move while the rest of my is still.  I am sure we do in fact look possessed or other-worldly during REM.  No matter, I am glad to dream because, if I remember a given dream, I am afforded an avenue through which to evaluate the previous day and psycho-analyze whatever thoughts were apparently running through my head.  Do I take these dreams with a grain if salt?  Is there some value to them, or meaning?  I think that its somewhere in the middle.  It is no wonder that people have historically (in some cultures) kept dream journals or prayed to the god or goddess of dreaming...because dreams allow us an escape from reality that is close enough to our lives for reflection and sometimes application.  Some of the best musicians say they wake out of sleep with a song idea and write down in the middle of the night before they forget about it.  My mom says she remembers important things she has to accomplish the next day in the wee hours of the morning.  I have before woken out of a dream and fell back asleep to the same one, waiting for its conclusion.  It is no surprise that human curiosity is peaked at the phenomenon of dreaming, because we can rest and recover from reality when we dream.  We aim to "keep dreaming" as they say; and must always look for more, reaching beyond our biggest dreams.