Dr. David Neubauer, M.D. from Johns Hopkins Hospital presented a lacture last week on the benefits of sleep for improving academic performance. Here we present parts of his lecture for those of you who missed it. Also check out Dr. Neubauer’s blog at health.yahoo.com/experts/depression
The Q& A from our lecture with Dr Neubauer, a sleep expert here at Hopkins:
“Everybody sleeps, everybody sleeps ….” Classic lines from my favorite song from waaay back on Sesame Street! (ok, I realize I’m dating myself now). But it is true isn’t it? Everybody sleeps. I mean, how much self efficacy do you require to perform one of the most basic of human behaviors? Sleeping is easy right? Like taking candy from a narcoleptic baby. How hard could it be to tuck in under a warm blanket, lay your head onto a soft pillow, snuggle up with another one and drift off into oblivion? It requires no thinking or effort, that’s why we say stuff like, “….it’s so easy I could do it in my sleep.” But is it really? The fact is, one in seven Americans have been diagnosed with a chronic sleep disorder and approximately one third of the people in the developing world have some difficulty going to sleep at night.
Butters shows us his sleep routine
It’s easier than you think.
If Butters can do it so can you.
When: Wednesday, April 2nd at NOON
Where: W2008
Dr. David Neubauer, M.D. from Johns Hopkins Hospital will be presenting a seminar on the benefits of sleep for improving academic performance. There will also be a lengthy Q&A session for participants to ask all their burning questions about sleep. Check out Dr. Neubauer’s blog at health.yahoo.com/experts/depression
Research suggests that performing the same steps every night right before going to bed can help your body and mind relax and trigger sleep responses in your brain. Developing a sleep ritual can be as basic as brushing your teeth, washing your face, praying/meditating, or even just deep breathing a few minutes before you want to fall asleep.
AND
Blue light from your television and computer monitor have been shown to “power up” your brain. Get your brain ready for bedtime by turning off your TV and computer at least 30 minutes before bedtime – it will thank you in the morning!
Just to give you guys an idea of what bedtime routines can look like, here’s the first of many bedtime routine videos to come. Keep checking back to see more!
Welcome to our Sleep Smarter Blog where we hope to be of service helping you achieve better sleep habits so that you too may have a better night’s sleep.
As grad students we all all know the stress of being sleep deprived, and we all feel the effects of sleep-less nights spent tossing and turning worrying about how in the world you’re going to be able to get 3 papers and a capstone done by Friday when you’ve spent the weekend partying. The bags under the eyes, the weight gain, the nodding off just as the professor you need the important recommendation from looks your way…we all know the symptoms.
But there are only a limited number of hours in a day, so how does one maximize those few precious hours alloted to sleep?
That’s what we’re here to tell you. Browse the site, read the research, change your ways (just remember to do the reading 30 minutes before bedtime, unless you print it all out!)
Research suggests that performing the same steps every night right before going to bed can help your body and mind relax and trigger sleep responses in your brain. Developing a sleep ritual can be as basic as brushing your teeth, washing your face, praying/meditating, or even just deep breathing a few minutes before you want to fall asleep.
Stay tuned, we will soon be posting up videos of our bedtime routines. As you start to develop and get comfortable with yours, send them to us, and we’ll link them to our website.
