This week in sleep news:
The sleep science behind MLB playoffs
After splitting the first two away games against the San Diego Padres last Tuesday and Wednesday, MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies decided to fly home immediately, rather than sleep another night in Southern California. The team, which had been on the road for 22 out of 24 days, made this decision after learning they would be playing an afternoon game in California, rather than a night game. That focus on getting home to sleep and returning to the time zone earlier could be why the Phillies swept the next three games, taking the National League Championship and advancing to the World Series. Neurologist and Sleep.com advisor Dr. Chris Winter, sleep consultant for the Phillies, Padres, Dodgers, Guardians, and Red Sox, was interviewed about the importance of sleep for athletes in The New York Times this week. Winter confirms that there are certainly benefits to sleeping in your own bed. “Some 5-foot-8 sleep doctor can say one thing, but a player’s belief plays into it a lot. To me, the science is one of the metrics an organization can use, like ‘Do we go with a guy who is a left-hander or right-hander?’” Winter told The New York Times.
While sleep is only one of many metrics teams pay attention to, it's clear it's something the Phillies take seriously. On Winter's advice, they now have a “recovery room," which includes a quiet space with a bed with a cooling mattress, zero-gravity recliners, and special lighting. Head coach Paul Fournier detailed to the Philadelphia Inquirer that it's in this recovery room that players employ Winter's "nap strategy" which involves drinking caffeine before a 20-minute snooze.
Toddlers stop napping when their brains have developed
All children transition out of naps eventually, but the ages vary drastically from child to child. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that toddlers drop naps when their brains are ready, rather than at a certain age. The study has been centered on the brain's hippocampus, which plays a major role in developmental learning and memory processes. So far, the findings have shown a "relation between nap transitions and underlying memory and brain development." Researchers hope this study shows educators and parents how nap opportunities should not only be protected for some children, but actively supported and of sufficient length, since napping improves children’s health and cognition.
Autistic people at increased risk for sleep problems
Children on the autism spectrum are more likely to have rare variations in genes linked to circadian rhythms and insomnia than their unaffected siblings, according to a new study published in Nature. It’s not news that a lot of people with autism have trouble with sleep, but this study supports a genetic link between sleep, circadian rhythms, and autism. The study found that compared with their unaffected siblings and unrelated controls, the children with autism contained more copy number variants (deletions or duplications of large chunks of DNA) in 312 genes that govern the circadian cycle and in 1,053 genes associated with insomnia.
Sleeping less than 5 hours is bad for your health
A new study from PLoS Medicine found those who sleep five hours or less around the age of 50 have a 30% greater risk of multiple illnesses than those who sleep seven hours. This study looked at data over the course of 25 years and studied the relationship of sleep duration and the prevalence of a first chronic disease as well as multimorbidities. Researchers found short sleep duration to be associated with the risk of chronic disease and subsequent multimorbidity but not with progression to death.
In sleep-centric social media...
TikTok user @mommacusses shares our favorite hack for children’s mattresses: layering mattress protectors. Not only will it not impact the mattress, but it saves you from searching for bedding at 2 a.m.
