>> >>AMITA: SCIENTISTS ARE GETTING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW CRUCIAL QUALITY SLEEP
IS IN FORMING MEMORIES.
UC RIVERSIDE PSYCHOLOGIST SARA MEDNICK HAS MADE WHAT'S BEING CALLED A GROUND BREAKING
DISCOVERY ON THIS LINK WHICH IS PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE.
SHE JOINS ME NOW.
WELCOME.
YOU'VE MADE A CRITICAL DISCOVERY BETWEEN BRAIN ACTIVITY DURING SLEEP AND MEMORY, WHAT DID
YOU FIND?
>> >>SARA MEDNICK: WE KNEW THAT CERTAIN FEATURES OF SLEEP ARE CORAL AUDIT WITH CERTAIN KINDS
OF MEMORY IMPROVEMENT, BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD MANIPULATE THOSE FEATURES OF SLEEP
AND SEE CHANGES TO MEMORY.
THESE SLEEP FEATURES WERE CAUSALLY RELATED TO THESE PROCESSES.
SE WHAT WE DID IS WE USED A VERY COMMON DRUG, AMBIEN, AND GAIRVE IT TO PEOPLE DURING DAY
TIME NAPS.
WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT THEIR PERFORMANCE SPECIFIC KIND OF MEMORY TASK IMPROVED.
WE LOOKED AT WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE BRAIN, WE SAW AN INCREASE IN SLEEP SPINDLES.
THOSE ARE VERY SHORT, ACTIVE PERIOD OF SLEEP WHICH OCCUR DURING NOT NON REM SLEEP.
WE FOUNDATION THOSE WERE INCREASED IN THE GROUP THAT HAD THE AMBIEN, AND THAT WAS THE
GROUP THAT HAD THE INCREASE IN VERBAL MEMORY.
>> >>AMITA: IS THAT THAT'S NOT A SUGGESTIONS FOR PEOPLE TO GET A SUBSCRIPTION TO AMBIEN.
>> >>SARA MEDNICK: WE'RE NOT THERE YET.
IT'S NOT AMBIEN PER SE, BUT IT IS A POSSIBILITY THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY START TO THINK ABOUT
HOW SLEEP COULD BE TAILORED TO IMPROVE CERTAIN KINDS OF MEMORY DEFICITS BECAUSE SPECIFICALLY
OLDER ADULTS, PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER'S PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE
THIS KIND OF MEMORY DEFICIT.
IS IT POSSIBLE WE COULD USE SLEEP TO TREAT THESE MEMORY DEFICITS WITH PHARMACOLOGY OR
SOME OTHER MEANS IS KIND KIND OF THE DIRECTION I THINK THESE THINGS ARE GOING IN.
>> >>AMITA: WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP IN YOUR RESEARCH?
>> >>SARA MEDNICK: WE'RE TRYING TO SEE WHAT CAN WE START TO USE THIS PARTICULAR DRUG UNPEOPLE
WITH THESE KIND OF MEMORY DEFICITS TO FIND HOPEFULLY SOME SORT OF IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR
MEMORY RELATED THAT WOULD BE SORT OF EITHER DECREASING THAT LONGÊ THAT DOWNWARD SLOPE
OF MEMORY DECREASES.
>> >>PEGGY: >> >>AMITA: I WANT TO SWITCH GEARS TO DAY
LIGHT SAVINGS TIME.
THIS TRANSITION ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE A LOT HARDER THAN WHEN WE GO THE OTHER WAY.
IS IT JUST LOSING ONE HOUR OF SLEEP THAT'S SO HARD ON THE BODY?
>> >>SARA MEDNICK: ON AVERAGE WE LOSE ABOUT 40 MINUTES OF SLEEP, BUT THE QUESTION IS NOT
JUST THE TIME OF SLEEP OR THE AMOUNT OF SLEEP, IT'S THE TIMING OF THE SLEEVMENT SO WE ARE
DRIVEN BY RHYTHMS WHICH TELL US WHEN WE SHOULD BE AWAKE AND BE ASLEEP.
THERE'S A PROBLEM THERE BETWEEN WHAT OUR NATURAL TIMING SHOULD BE DURING THE DAY, AND WATT
WHAT OUR SOCIAL TIME IS.
THERE'S A GROUP IN GERMANY THAT CALLS THIS SOCIAL JET LAG.
BETWEEN YOUR NATURAL LIGHT M, AND WHAT YOUR SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTS DO.
THE DISCREPANCY BETWEEN YOUR INTERNAL CLOCK AND YOUR SOCIAL TIME IS CALLED SOCIAL JET
LAG.
WHEN WE HIT DAY LIGHT SAVINGS, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A MASSIVE SHIFT IN OUR SOCIAL JET LAG
WHICH IS IN A RECENT STUDIED LOOKED THAT IT CORRELATES WITH INCREASE SAID IN OBESITY AND
OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS.
THIS IS THE REASON I THINK IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO TRANSITION.
IT'S NOT JUST THE AMOUNT OF SLEEP, BUT IT'S THE TIMING WE SHOULD BE SLEEPING IN.
>> >>AMITA: WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO TO ADJUST IN.
>> >>SARA MEDNICK: ONE THING I DID IS I SLEPT IN TODAY.
I KNOW IT'S DIFFICULT FOR A LA LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT IS THERE ANY WAY PEOPLE CAN TACK TO THEIR
BOSSES.
CAN YOU SLEEP IN 15 MINUTES, 30 MINUTES, CHANGE A LITTLE BIT JUST TO TRANSITION THROUGH THIS
WEEK, BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TRAVEL TO EUROPE, TO NEW YORK, YOU HAVE JET LAG,
AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO WAKE UP.
THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME THING.
IT'S LIKE TRAVELING TO TEXAS OR SOMETHING.
SO YOU WANT TO SORT OF TRANSITION SLOWLY THROUGH THIS PERIOD INSTEAD OF HAVING THIS ABRUPT
SHIFT.
>> >>AMITA: DOLLAR IS AN EFFORT TO GET RID OF DAY LIGHT SAVINGS TIME, WHAT DO YOU CARE
DO YOU THINK OF THAT IDEA?
>> >>SARA MEDNICK: I'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE HISTORY OF DAY LIGHT SAVINGS AND I SEE THAT
THERE WERE SOME ECONOMIC REASONS TO DO IT, SOME REASONS TO SAVE ENERGY, BUT NOW WE'VE
GOT SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS WE CAN SAVE ENERGY.
I DON'T THINK THE ECONOMIC REASONS PAY OFF FOR ALL THE POSSIBLE DETRIMENTS TO OUR HEALTH.
I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO SIGN THAT PETITION THAT'S GOING TO THE WHITE HOUSE.
>> >>AMITA: WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP?
>> >>SARA MEDNICK: FOR ME, THE DEFINITION OF A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP IS WHEN YOU WAKE UP
AND YOU FEEL G.THAT COULD BE THAT YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE NIGHTÊ
IT'S NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU SLEEP, WHEN YOU SLEEP, IT'S WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU SLEPT
WELL.
THAT CAN BE ANY NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
I WOULD NEVER PRESCRIBE ONE KIND OF SLEEP FOR EVERYBODY.
>> >>AMITA: SARA MEDNICK, THANK YOU FOR COMING IN AND TALKING WITH US TODAY.