Shift work can add a layer of complexity to your daily routine, setting you apart from the typical 9-to-5 crowd. Daily activities, like when to eat, can become a question that you don’t have time to answer. That’s where the magic of circadian science comes in. Increasingly, it looks like shift workers can do better […]
Here’s a weird thing about shift workers: Their sleep duration doesn’t always predict how sleepy they feel. Which is weird because… shouldn’t it? After all, somebody who sleeps for a longer period of time should feel less sleepy than someone who sleeps only for a short period of time, right? This paradox isn’t actually that […]
Thanks for joining me today. You have such an impressive resume. Would you mind telling me about yourself and how you got into sleep medicine? While studying for my undergraduate in biology, I took a class in abnormal psychology, and one of the lectures was about dreams, which piqued my interest in psychology and sleep […]
Welp, here we are yet again. We are once more setting our clocks forward one hour to have more evening light. Why? That’s a good question. The history of Daylight Saving Time (DST) is complex and goes back to 1918 (in the United States). But lately more and more people are asking if it’s even […]
“I didn’t get nearly enough sleep last night.” “I need to get to bed sooner.” “I just can’t wake up in the morning, and I’m not a morning person.” We often think of sleep as a debt to be paid to some mysterious collector. Sleep evades us when we most want it and won’t let […]
Our apps tell you when to avoid light because light exposure is the number one input to your body’s circadian clock (which regulates sleep, metabolism, immune response, DNA repair, physical performance and more). Light at some times speeds up your clock and helps you fall asleep faster, while light at other times can slow down […]
Don’t use your phone before bed! Turn off overhead lights in the evening! Block blue light as you wind down! There are tons of recommendations out there for helping you get to sleep at night that deal with light and technology, and—spoiler alert—I think they’re right on the money. But missing from the standard advice […]
Imagine you’re on a boat. This boat has a sail, which you can put up or pull down. You’re on the ocean, and you’re trying to get to the sweet, sweet island of sleep. You can control the boat’s sail as much as you want. The only problem is: you can’t control the wind. But […]
Ah travel—booking tickets, hopping on a plane, immersing yourself in a new locale, and…feeling more tired than you’ve ever felt before. Jet lag is our name for all of the circadian disruption—and subsequent fatigue—that comes from traveling and changing time zones. While we can’t help with the physical toll being in an airplane seat for […]
When are you most productive? Are you an early bird, a night owl, or somewhere in between? Your prime productivity window each day may be different from mine, and it may even shift during your lifetime. For example, my current prime productivity period is from roughly 9am to 12pm each day, but ten years ago […]
