I join the chorus to applaud this fantastic conversation. Just brilliant. As any highly stimulating conversation would do, this raises some questions/observations out of the "anecdata" of my own experience and that of friends (particularly older women):
>I find it necessary to take a sleep medication from time to time, though I do so as rarely as possible. The negative observations about Zolpidem, which is all that currently seems to be available to those of us on Medicare, really struck home. In my observation, an after effect of Zolpidem is that it may actually make it harder to get to sleep the next night. Is this borne out in any studies?
>I was heartened to have confirmed, as Dr. Topol has noted before, that DORA drugs like Belsomra are a better option for assistance with sleep. It's an ongoing frustration that this drug is not available through Medicare, and I would be interested to learn if there is anything that can be done to overcome this problem.
>Are there any studies available and/or in process that focus specifically on difficulties older women face with sleep (not related to menopause, but well past that period)? From “anecdata” culled from my friend group in our 70s-80s-90s, it seems there most be something physiological (as opposed to psychological that might benefit from CBT) going on that is not being addressed.
> I very much appreciated learning about naps (I am a bad napper, and felt validated in my view that I'm better off taking naps😎) and also about waking up during the night (I'm so glad to learn awakenings can be normal).
> I'm curious to know whether there's any evidence that excessive salt in an evening meal disrupts sleep. I've seemed to notice a correlation. Just yesterday we went out to dinner with a friend to a ramen restaurant. I could tell the salt content was likely high. Both I and my spouse (who is normally a good sleeper), were on and off awake all night.
>It does worry me that 7+ hours is noted as the standard. Ryan McCormick's most recent post suggests this may not be sound science. I'd welcome your thoughts. https://substack.com/home/post/p-189695743
Many, many thanks for a thorough-going, knowledgeable conversation on this important topic.
I listened to the podcast twice & really enjoyed it, particularly being a surgeon with lifelong sleep disturbances & Sleep Apnea. I tried CPAP 30 years ago & again recently at my PCP’s request. My subjective sleep score worsened markedly! My AHI in the supine position was 40 (severe sleep apnea) but was only 1 non-supine. I was surprised that there was no air time in the podcast regarding sleeping aids that keep you from being supine. I had one prescribed to me from my PCP that works great & I sleep just fine with it.
Thank you for all your podcasts/videocasts and blogs
FYI, I have been experimenting with mouth tapping and nasal strips for 2 weeks now. I have been waking up later during the night and feeling better in the morning. My Oura ring is also indicating the same. A low-tech way of improving sleep?
Thanks so much for hosting such a fascinating conversation! I was relieved to hear your perspectives on circadian rhythms. I’m a psychotherapist who works late hours, but have always been a night owl, so this serves me (and my clients) well. But I also stay on a fairly typical sleep/wake schedule so I can exercise and participate in volunteer activities in the morning, and not lose part of the day I’d spend with my husband on weekends. I teach sleep hygiene and practice it myself. I also advocate habits I find helpful in promoting sleep: vigorous exercise, mostly whole food (so I don’t get energy spikes and crashes) and no caffeine after noon. But I am naturally still very energetic when it’s time to sleep. What has helped me is taking hydroxyzine. If I take it at least an hour before sleep, it has the slightly sedating impact I need. And I have allergies, making it an added bonus. Based on what my PCP and others have said, this seems to be one of the safest alternatives. It’s been a game changer!
Fantastic conversation on sleep! Thank you.
thanks Naomi!
I join the chorus to applaud this fantastic conversation. Just brilliant. As any highly stimulating conversation would do, this raises some questions/observations out of the "anecdata" of my own experience and that of friends (particularly older women):
>I find it necessary to take a sleep medication from time to time, though I do so as rarely as possible. The negative observations about Zolpidem, which is all that currently seems to be available to those of us on Medicare, really struck home. In my observation, an after effect of Zolpidem is that it may actually make it harder to get to sleep the next night. Is this borne out in any studies?
>I was heartened to have confirmed, as Dr. Topol has noted before, that DORA drugs like Belsomra are a better option for assistance with sleep. It's an ongoing frustration that this drug is not available through Medicare, and I would be interested to learn if there is anything that can be done to overcome this problem.
>Are there any studies available and/or in process that focus specifically on difficulties older women face with sleep (not related to menopause, but well past that period)? From “anecdata” culled from my friend group in our 70s-80s-90s, it seems there most be something physiological (as opposed to psychological that might benefit from CBT) going on that is not being addressed.
> I very much appreciated learning about naps (I am a bad napper, and felt validated in my view that I'm better off taking naps😎) and also about waking up during the night (I'm so glad to learn awakenings can be normal).
> I'm curious to know whether there's any evidence that excessive salt in an evening meal disrupts sleep. I've seemed to notice a correlation. Just yesterday we went out to dinner with a friend to a ramen restaurant. I could tell the salt content was likely high. Both I and my spouse (who is normally a good sleeper), were on and off awake all night.
>It does worry me that 7+ hours is noted as the standard. Ryan McCormick's most recent post suggests this may not be sound science. I'd welcome your thoughts. https://substack.com/home/post/p-189695743
Many, many thanks for a thorough-going, knowledgeable conversation on this important topic.
I listened to the podcast twice & really enjoyed it, particularly being a surgeon with lifelong sleep disturbances & Sleep Apnea. I tried CPAP 30 years ago & again recently at my PCP’s request. My subjective sleep score worsened markedly! My AHI in the supine position was 40 (severe sleep apnea) but was only 1 non-supine. I was surprised that there was no air time in the podcast regarding sleeping aids that keep you from being supine. I had one prescribed to me from my PCP that works great & I sleep just fine with it.
Thank you for all your podcasts/videocasts and blogs
FYI, I have been experimenting with mouth tapping and nasal strips for 2 weeks now. I have been waking up later during the night and feeling better in the morning. My Oura ring is also indicating the same. A low-tech way of improving sleep?
Thanks so much for hosting such a fascinating conversation! I was relieved to hear your perspectives on circadian rhythms. I’m a psychotherapist who works late hours, but have always been a night owl, so this serves me (and my clients) well. But I also stay on a fairly typical sleep/wake schedule so I can exercise and participate in volunteer activities in the morning, and not lose part of the day I’d spend with my husband on weekends. I teach sleep hygiene and practice it myself. I also advocate habits I find helpful in promoting sleep: vigorous exercise, mostly whole food (so I don’t get energy spikes and crashes) and no caffeine after noon. But I am naturally still very energetic when it’s time to sleep. What has helped me is taking hydroxyzine. If I take it at least an hour before sleep, it has the slightly sedating impact I need. And I have allergies, making it an added bonus. Based on what my PCP and others have said, this seems to be one of the safest alternatives. It’s been a game changer!