WIDLIMS ep #22 – Better health? Sleep on it!
In this week’s episode, I welcome the brilliant Dr Mike Farquhar (he/him) who works as a consultant paediatric sleep physician in London. This means he works with children and adolescents who have sleep difficulties! We discuss why sleep should receive more attention, how to improve sleep and challenges night shift workers face which I find is often not discussed.
So what do we cover? A lot, including alien abductions and ‘caffeine naps’… But broadly, this episode covers:
- what sleep is, how much we need, and how to tell what your sleep quality is like
- ‘hacks’ for better sleep – and the role of caffeine
- sleep routines for night shift workers, both on/off nights
TECHNICAL ISSUES – sadly, the sound quality in this episode is just not the best – sorry about that… we were almost not going to be able to record due to computer issues on my guest’s end, so I am just glad we managed in the end. There is some weird feedback noise, my own mic sounds a bit off and so on but I really hope this does not detract too much from your listening, it is a great informative episode overall!
Mentioned in the episode
- Dr Mike Farquhar’s BMJ article with tips for improving sleep in relation to shift work: click HERE
- Dr Matthew Walker on sleep on Feel Better Live More podcast by Dr Rangan Chatterjee: click HERE
- More about Dr Matthew Walker’s book, Why We Sleep HERE
- Arianna Huffington’s sleep revelation… more resources HERE
Why sleep?
I first listened to an episode of Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s podcast Feel Better, Live More with Dr Matthew Walker in the summer of 2020, when the world was in lockdown and my days consisted of remote studying for my medical school exam, and daily walks in the forest to keep myself entertained. It was episode #70 (linked here), and it was the first time anyone had convinced me that sleep is important. I knew about it before, obviously, but I did not fully understand why or just how important sleep is for our general wellbeing. As someone interested in lifestyle medicine, I delved deeper into the topic and started to put changes in place when it came to my own sleep routine.
You can read more about that here, in a blog post I wrote around that time.
So sleep deprivation is a serious problem, affecting our metabolism and with the possibility to cause a whole host of problems, from type 2 diabetes mellitus to cancers to mood disorders (1, 2). We know that diet and exercise are important factors for our health, but when did your doctor last emphasise the importance of sleeping better, and/or more?
As someone entering a profession where night shift, involving working against my body clock, is inevitable, I was interested in hearing what I could do to mitigate the risks of poor sleep for my health and wellbeing. We know that physician performance is worse at night, and that working while tired is similar to working under the influence (of alcohol!!) which is just… mad? (3, 4, 5)
But wherever I looked for sleep advice, most of it was tailored toward people who do not regularly have to work at night instead of follow a regular sleep routine. That is why I wanted to create this episode, to highlight how to sleep better and more in general, but also to cater to the sleeping needs of all of us shift workers! I hope you enjoy it. There is more reading and listening to be found below!
Finally, a quote from Dr Farquhar:
Sleep is that regular chance for your body to do repair and maintenance that keeps every other aspect of your brain and body functioning at its best. If you are a little bit sleep deprived most nights of your life, you will carry on functioning, but you will not be functioning at your best.
Dr Michael Farquhar, Consultant Sleep Physician at Evelina London – on WIDLIMS episode #22
Further reading & listening
- Sharp scratch podacst about sleep for shift work and more HERE
- BMA – a junior doctor writing about the danger of sleep deprivation and consequences they faced HERE
REFERENCES
1) James SM, Honn KA, Gaddameedhi S, Van Dongen HPA. Shift Work: Disrupted Circadian Rhythms and Sleep-Implications for Health and Well-Being. Curr Sleep Med Rep. 2017 Jun;3(2):104-112. doi: 10.1007/s40675-017-0071-6. Epub 2017 Apr 27. PMID: 29057204; PMCID: PMC5647832. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5647832/
2) Sharma S, Kavuru M. Sleep and metabolism: an overview. Int J Endocrinol. 2010;2010:270832. doi:10.1155/2010/270832 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2929498/
3) Howard, Steven K. “Sleep deprivation and physician performance: why should I care?.” Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center) vol. 18,2 (2005): 108-12; discussion 112-3. doi:10.1080/08998280.2005.11928045 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200708/
4) BMJ 2017;359:j4547 https://www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j4547/rr
