Secrets of the Bedroom: What ... Video Transcript

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If you're a seven-and-a-half hour sleeper, you'd probably have five. And if you're a nine-hour sleeper, you'd have six. REM sleep could also be called "the different sleep." It is as different from non-REM sleep as sleep is from wakefulness.

The cortex of the brain -- what we're using right now to communicate with, that's awake when we're awake. Is actually very activated. And that's reflected in the fact that, if you wake someone up from REM sleep, they're almost always dreaming. About 85% of the time, if you wake someone up -- even somebody who says, "I never dream." They'll be dreaming. And that's probably not the function of REM sleep, but it is one of its side effects, in a sense.

And so, the brain is actually very activated during REM sleep. Whereas during non-REM sleep, it's kind of deactivated. The brain waves are much slower. Breathing is slower, heart rate is slower, blood pressure is lower. And our physiology, how these various organs function while we're asleep is very stable in non-REM sleep.

In REM sleep, everything kinda can go sort of haywire, and you can't necessarily tell from one minute to the next what your heart rate might be or how deeply your breathing -- for that matter, what you might be dreaming about.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: And Dr. Zak, how does this all relate to circadian rhythms?

SHELLEY ZAK, MD: First off, what is a circadian rhythm? Most people are probably not familiar with the term. "Circadian," "circa dia," "approximately a day." These are rhythms that go along approximately a twenty-four hour period. And there are lots of things that you'd be surprised were circadian. Some of the hormones that come out at certain times of day or night. Your temperature. Your temperature doesn't stay static. It kinda goes up and down, it has a circadian rhythm.

But perhaps, most importantly, to those of us in the sleep world. Your REM has a circadian rhythm. Dr. Wagner alluded to one's first REM cycle coming on after about 90 minutes and being short. As one goes through the night, the REM cycles get longer and longer and longer. Again, there's sort of this circadian cycle to rapid-eye movement sleep.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Do you have any suggestions, how people can get a good night's sleep?

SHELLEY ZAK, MD: Number one, have a regular sleep and wake schedule. Number two, be very aware of how much sleep you need. You need the amount of sleep you need to function during the day. That means to feel rested and to not fall asleep during boring meetings. You're not falling asleep because it's boring. You're falling asleep because you're sleep deprived. And then avoid things that will inhibit sleep. Smoking before bedtime, nicotine. Alcohol can cause disrupted sleep. Too much caffeine. And make sure your sleep environment is comfortable. You don't want it too hot, you don't want it too cold, too noisy, etc.

DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Okay, well, that's all the time we have. I want to thank the doctors. I'm David Folk Thomas and we'll see you next time.

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