(INTRO MUSIC) (BACKGROUND MUSIC) OK, it's the last video of the playlist, Craig.
And I think I've got this sleep thing figured out.
Get a couple hours of sleep, wake up, two cups of coffee, grab a nap on the train on the way to work, then another cup of coffee, then a sleep jog, 10 minute snoozer, another cup of coffee, power through the rest of the day, boom goes the dynamite.
Have you been listening to the playlist at all?
Uh, yeah, I have, obviously.
We need our sleep, Matt.
In this video we're going to find out why.
DR. RAFAEL PELAYO: Good morning.
CRAIG: Good morning.
Kind of nervous to find out how I sleep.
DR. RAFAEL PELAYO: Did you sleep better here than you do at home?
CRAIG: Maybe.
Because you should see better than anywhere else.
You had all these wires on your head.
So it's a very weird environment to be in.
And a lot of people with sleep problems sleep better here than they do at home.
And that's because their home environments are unpleasant to them.
You don't like your spouse, for example.
Right?
That person wasn't there.
I love my fiancee.
Exactly.
Exactly.
But it's a whole different environment, right?
Yeah.
I did have a good sleep, Matt, which is kind of rare these days.
I know.
You won't shut up about it.
Yeah.
And you know who else is getting less and less sleep?
David Hyde Pierce?
Yes.
Probably.
And everyone.
People are probably sleeping less.
We're getting as little sleep as possible.
The vast majority of human beings are sleep-deprived.
And we're not paying enough attention to it as much as other things like nutrition and exercise.
Probably would make society respect sleep the way they think of nutrition and exercise, where we say it's not acceptable to sleep-deprive a teenager.
It's not acceptable to make employees work double shifts.
It's not safe.
Whoa.
This sounds like a real problem.
It is, a very big problem.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, about 10% of people have insomnia.
And up to 30% have symptoms of insomnia.
What's causing this?
I don't know.
But it might have something to do with how little we care about sleep.
Well, I care about sleep.
I know you do.
But I'm talking about we as in everyone.
Our civilization kind of doesn't make that a high, high priority.
We've got all-night television, the internet.
And the only thing with a lot of people with sleeping is that they view sleep as an inconvenience to begin with.
If you were to invent a robot to replace humans, you wouldn't make a robot that would sleep.
If I offered you a medication today that said you'll get the benefits of eight hours of sleep but only have to sleep four, would you take the medication?
CRAIG: I absolutely would.
You didn't even ask me the side effects.
CRAIG: Nope.
You don't care.
CRAIG: Well-- Your penis could fall off, you don't care.
I'm taking it.
CRAIG: I mean, I would also ask that.
Remind me never to get medication advice from you.
OK. Good idea.
Also a good idea?
Getting more sleep.
OK, so we're not sleeping.
That's obvious.
And we've talked about dreaming and how that's useful.
And we've talked about what happens when we sleep.
But what happens when we don't get enough sleep?
Why's it so important?
Well.
Sleep is tied into emotions and regulation of emotions.
We know that.
People who are not getting enough sleep tend to be cranky in the morning.
First thing I tell my patients is that if you get better sleep, you'll be easier to live with.
You know, back when we were roommates, there were many days that you were not easy to live with.
Yep, can't argue with that one.
Finally, he doesn't argue.
All right, shut up for once.
There are many reasons to get the right amount of sleep aside from being cranky.
Oh, don't I know it.
There are several problems that many studies have shown to be the result of lack of sleep, like increased likelihood of obesity.
MATT: Greater risk for diabetes, heart problems.
CRAIG: Depression, substance abuse.
MATT: Memory retention, attentiveness.
And when it comes to driving.
The moment of drowsiness is red alert.
Drowsiness is very easy to define.
It's the moment you are aware that your eyelids are heavy or your eyelids want to close.
That moment get out of harm's way.
CRAIG: In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year.
This results in an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries and $12.5 billion in monetary losses.
About 25% of teenagers fall asleep in class during the week at any given point.
And we know that lack of sleep is associated with increased suicide rates.
Kids who don't get enough sleep are impulsive.
They're emotional.
The American Academy of Pediatrics this past summer specifically requested that all schools allow the students to start later, that schools should start after 8:30 in the morning.
My son starts school at 7 o'clock in the morning.
And it's just too early for them.
People who are cynical will say, well, if you start later, they'll just stay up later.
But the data is that they don't.
We want the kids to get more sleep and less homework.
You kids are going to love this video, aren't you.
All right, I get it.
We need to get more sleep.
But how do we do that?
Well, I'm not good at it myself.
But I did do a sleep study.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
Your overall sleep is pretty good.
Yeah!
Yeah!
Nice work, Craig.
Real good job, there.
But I think you have the potential for it to get worse as you get older.
No!
Aah.
Grr.
Mm.
Disappointed.
Are you a smoker?
No.
Your oxygen should be a little higher.
Are you asthmatic?
I have asthma.
Yeah.
Your oxygen should be a little higher.
I also had a congestion problem.
OK. You know, Matt, we're not only former roommates, but we're also bandmates.
And we've toured the country.
And I've had the opportunity to sleep in the same room as you.
And you snore.
You snore bad.
No, that's Sam.
Nah, it was you.
Sam.
You both do.
Sam snores.
You both did it.
But I don't snore.
Do you know what that is?
Um, I'm going to guess.
Is that snoring?
Yes.
No!
No!
I think it's because I'm stuffed up.
That's why I was snoring.
Sure.
Yeah.
It's totally because I was stuffed up.
Mm-hm.
Whatever.
Anyway, the breathing problems could be a sign of things to come.
The congestion worries me.
So you imagine yourself just getting older and the muscles in your throat getting atrophied, when you hit middle age in your 40 years or so-- I'm 23 right now, so.
In each leg, as they say.
Haha, I'm old.
Hah.
So, anyway, the reason I was there was to find out why I had trouble falling asleep.
But while I was there, I was kind of like, ahh.
You're kind of like aah, zzz.
And now you're asleep.
You take about eight minutes to fall asleep when they turn off the lights.
So what gives, Craig?
What gives?
I don't know.
Dr. Pelayo did say that people often fall asleep easier doing the sleep study than they do at home.
It might have to do with something very important to falling asleep.
Did they drug you?
No.
Well, I don't think so.
I'm talking about being comfortable.
Dr. Pelayo did have some helpful things to say about that particular problem.
If I were to point a gun to your head and say, Craig, stay awake or I'll shoot you, you're going to stay awake, right?
Yeah.
If I put a gun to your head and say, fall asleep or I'll shoot you.
You're going to pretend you're sleeping, but you can't.
There a gun pointed to your head.
So the key thing, if you want to have a regular falling asleep time is have a regular wake up time.
When you were a little boy you probably didn't have this problem, right?
Well, I kind of always had this problem.
So your parents put you to bed too early.
I guess so.
I'll talk to my mom about that.
So why did you put me to bed too early?
If we tried to put you to bed too early, you wouldn't sleep.
So we didn't even bother usually until 9:00 or 10:00.
That was too early, mom!
I was a bad mother.
You were a bad mother.
There it is.
She was a bad mother.
No, no, we kid, we kid.
My mom was a great mom.
I was just a problem child.
And a problem adult.
So basically, if you want to fall asleep earlier, you've got to set your wake time earlier.
But setting your alarm earlier might not cut it.
How do you get yourself to wake up earlier?
Well, duh, think about the suprachiasmatic nucleus.
OK.
I'm thinking about the super kayak miasma-- It's a nucleus-- well, I'll let Dr. Kushida explain.
There's a nucleus in the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus that is your sleep-wake pacemaker.
So it sets your schedule.
And that nucleus is very sensitive to bright lights.
If you get a bright light in the morning, say, within five minutes of getting up for about 30 minutes, that can help to synchronize your internal clock.
So what he's talking about is the circadian rhythm.
It's our body's biological sleep clock that all animals have.
It's hard-wired into us.
It basically regulates when we should be asleep and when we should be awake.
And it's affected by external cues like light and darkness.
Aha.
So bright light, keep the shades open.
What else you got, Craig?
Well, Dr. Pelayo also had some interesting advice on how to get up early that I think all the kids will love.
What I ask the kids to do is play video games first thing in the morning.
That's interesting.
Yeah.
Do the fun stuff first.
Yeah.
I need a reason to get up in the morning.
Whatever you like to do.
I'll have a beer right when I get up.
No, no.
OK, all alcoholism aside.
Those are some good ways to wake up early.
But what if despite all attempts at waking up early you still can't fall asleep early, like is my problem?
Well, Craig, as avid sleeper, I have several things that you can do.
One, avoid bright light at least an hour before going to sleep.
Reserve your bed for sleep only, no reading or watching TV.
Make your bedroom a comfortable sleeping environment.
Establish consistent sleep and wake schedules.
Finish eating at least two to three hours before your regular bedtime.
Exercise regularly.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol products close to bedtime.
Give up smoking.
If you can't fall asleep, get up and do something that relaxes you.
And write down what's bothering you before you go to sleep, so you don't have to think about it.
Robot apocalypse.
Zombie apocalypse.
Robot zombie apocalypse.
I don't know how to know if I'm sleep deprived.
Oh, really?
Well, actually, that one's pretty simple.
Good.
The absolute best way to determine if you have adequate sleep is the way you feel in the daytime.
You know, you should be wide awake and alert all day long.
You should wake up feeling good.
You should wake up feeling refreshed.
CRAIG: Do you wake up feeling refreshed?
Yeah, of course I do.
CRAIG: What do you do?
I get a good night of sleep.
And I sleep next to a sleep doctor.
That's it?
So if you feel tired, that means you didn't get a good night's rest?
What about all that other stuff?
Other stuff?
Yeah, what about that whole idea that if you wake up in the middle of REM sleep, you'll feel more groggy throughout the day.
There is no evidence that waking in REM versus non-REM makes any difference, that I know of.
I don't think so.
What about food coma?
We did a study with 40 different lunches.
The sleepiness in the afternoon was the same for everybody, no matter what they ate or didn't eat.
Or if they didn't eat at all?
Yeah.
RYAN: And so, what like a solution?
Because I get really drowsy mid-afternoon.
I do, too, usually.
RYAN: You know, sometimes I take a little nap.
But does that mean I'm not getting enough sleep at night, or is that just something that I-- Ah, yeah.
RYAN: Yeah.
OK.
Yes it does.
I guess there you have it.
Yeah, what else is there?
I think we've said all we need to say on the topic.
Yeah.
We need to get some sleep.
I need sleep.
They probably need sleep.
You need sleep.
Let's go to sleep.
Let's go to bed.
CRAIG: Wait, someone's got to do the annotation screen, though, at the end.
MATT: Well, yeah.
Just one of us, though.
CRAIG: Yeah.
Did you want to do it?
MATT: Yeah, I'm kind of tired, though.
Maybe we could rock paper scissors for it?
CRAIG: I don't know.
MATT: Just, well, yeah, just rock-paper-scissor, OK?
Let's go.
Ready?
CRAIG: Oh, OK. Ready?
MATT: One, two- on three, OK?
[together] One, two, three.
CRAIG: Oh!
You-- Scissors, my paper.
Thank you for watching our sleep playlist.
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you did, you can go to our channel and watch more playlists.
There's the previous one, linked right down there.
And you can like this video.
You can subscribe, which is linked right up there.
Also, we do have a patreon page.
If you really like our show and you want to support it, you can go subscribe over there.
It's linked right up there.
Thank you.
I usually end with a joke.
But I'm just really sleepy.
So I'm not going to this time.
I guess that, in itself, was a joke, kind of.
So, success.
[snore] [music playing]