With the Winter Quarter quickly beginning and the New Year fast approaching, we want to remind you of some content to prioritize your sleep and overall health before 2023 begins. We hope these tips can assist you in creating a healthy and happy remainder of the academic year!
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This newsletter is intended to provide some helpful reminders from the Refresh Sleep program along with some new content to help you continue to prioritize your sleep and overall health.
The Sleep Foundation encourages creating a bedtime routine to ease your mind and body to relax before bed (read more here). "The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a sleep loss epidemic in industrialized nations. The developing nations are also experiencing the greatest increases of physical diseases and mental disorders." (Sleepless in America, National Geographic). According to Matthew Walker in his book "Why We Sleep", he shares that "society's apathy towards sleep has, in part, been caused by the historic failure of science to explain sleep and why we need it."
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There are five different stages of sleep including rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. These five stages make one sleep cycle and usually repeat every 90-110 minutes, they are:
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Stage 1 NREM marks the transition from wakefulness to sleep. It's marked by a slowing of your heartbeat, breathing, and eye movements, as well as, the relaxation of your muscles.
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Stage II NREM sleep is a period of light sleep before you enter deeper sleep. It is characterized by continuing to slow your heartbeat and breathing and your brain begins to produce rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity known as sleep spindles.
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Stages III and IV are the final stage of NREM sleep. This is the deepest part of sleep where your heartbeat and breathing slow to their lowest levels and your muscles are so relaxed that it may be hard to awaken you.
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REM sleep occurs 90 minutes after sleep onset and is a much deeper sleep than any of the stages of NREM sleep. REM sleep is defined by rapid eye movements and an almost complete paralysis of the body and tendency to dream.
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Caffeine does not give our bodies energy in the way we might think. Our body uses a neurotransmitter called adenosine. Caffeine has a really unique ability to fit into the receptor sites because it looks structurally similar. With caffeine in those receptors, it mutes your adenosine receptors and your body does not always recognize that your body is tired.
Caffeine intake later in the day can interfere with good sleep quality. In healthy adults, caffeine has a half-life of five hours, which means that around half of the caffeine consumed will be eliminated from the body in five hours.
We suggest setting a caffeine curfew - this is a deadline that you follow that makes sure that you can eliminate as much caffeine from your body by the time bedtime comes. For most people, it's generally before 2 PM. So, start there and see how you feel!
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The Importance of Bedtime Relaxation
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Matthew Walker is a professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley, the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science, and a former professor of psychiatry at Harvard University.
In this video, Matthew Walker speaks about the caffeine half-life and how caffeine can change your quality of sleep during your REM cycle. He also speaks about alcohol and how it is problematic to your sleep because alcohol has sedation effects which does not allow for natural sleep.
In the two-part series podcasts episodes below, Matthew unpacks the world of coffee and caffeine. He takes a deep dive into ways that caffeine negatively impacts your sleep. He then talks about the health benefits of caffeine, despite the negative impact on sleep.
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Ideal Sleeping Environment
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We understand that our beds are comfy, but our beds should be our sanctuary, meaning for sleeping and sex. You want your bed to always be able to signal to your brain that it is time to relax. With comfort also comes noise levels, while you sleep try to create white noise, whether through a machine, fan, or even an app to eliminate loud noises. Lighting is also important to consider in your bedroom. You want a darker room to avoid the chemical signals that our body produces with light (even artificial). Consider investing in blackout curtains or a sleep mask to keep any unwanted light out.
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Sleep Talk Podcast discusses lighting, sleep, and health. Check it out below!
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Sleep Strategies to Calm the Mind
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Taking time to unwind before bedtime can help improve your quality of sleep. Some of the strategies the program provided guidance on:
You can explore the plethora of videos related to mindfulness and mediation that are on our YouTube Channel.
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Student Wellness is excited to announce a new partnership with RISE, an energy and sleep tracker subscription app created by the team of sleep experts at Rise Science. It helps you unlock better sleep and enjoy more energy, day after day.
RISE is build around two principles that researchers believe affect how we feel and perform: sleep debt and circadian rhythm. The app tracks how much sleep you owe your body and helps you pay it back while also predicting a daily energy schedule which allows you to optimize your schedule and increase performance. There is also a wealth of informational materials under the learning tab to help utilize the app to the fullest potential. Anyone with a UChicago email can download the app free until 2026 by visiting www.risescience.com/uchicago.
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Our sense of smell decreases when we are asleep. Studies have shown that noise can wake us up as we slumber, but smells won't, which is one of the reasons fire alarms were invented. (Sleep Foundation)
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If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Bridget Marley (bmarley@uchicago.edu). If at anytime you feel the need for additional support for your sleep concerns, please contact UChicago Student Wellness (wellness.uchicago.edu or 773.834.WELL) to set up an appointment.
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