Love these questions on both counts. Melatonin I know has been associated with some issues which Huberman has pointed out in his podcasts on sleep. I will ask.
Second question also important bc I absolutely love to end the day with a nice comedy or drama show on TV. Hope it's not causing any issues. Will also ask!
I’m interested in this also because as a psychiatric prescriber in LTC, I find the medical providers prescribe it almost routinely, where my first approach is to target basic sleep hygiene. Then it becomes almost an arm wrestling match to d/c the melatonin. Please explore the best role for melatonin and how it should optimally be used. (Ps I’m a subscriber- please keep up your fantastic work! )
I had this issue for years on and off. Last year I decided to take it in my own hands bc I was getting up 4-5 times (brutal!). Lots of different potential causes.
In my case, it amazingly ended up being psychosomatic. In line with other psychosomatic symptoms I had such as heart palpitations and chronic indigestion. If you have this, it means the cause is your stress and anxiety. It’s a manifestation of that. When a prominent psychosomatic doctor told me this was the case (I didn’t believe him!), my fear about it gradually dissipated and the problem resolved on its own.
Do your struggle with stress, fear patterns, anxiety etc? I will be doing another podcast on psychosomatic issues. Could be other causes too.
Either way, I will ask this for the sleep podcast as well.
I have struggled with this problem as well. I had adrenal fatigue a while back and as a result could not sleep due to aldosterone levels. My body would purge salt causing me to crave water which would case me to loose even more salt. I learned to sip water and when really bad add salt or electrolytes to my water. I had to have a meal in the middle of the night to be able to sleep.
Now I am mostly recovered from that, but still get dehydrated every night. I can't get back to sleep unless I drink some water. Too much and I keep waking up to urinate. too little and I lay there wired and unable to sleep.
I have found a careful balance, but often end up sleeping for 5 hours, then laying awake for 2 hours unable to sleep while the small sip of water slowly hydrates my body, then sleep for another three hours to wake up needing to urinate and hydrate again.
I feel that if I could stop my body from urinating out the water I could sleep all night.
No fear. Often thinking about things I enjoy. Just can't turn off the brain unless the hydration is just right. I also tend to sleep after a meal if I am behind on sleep. If I don't eat/ drink I can easily stay awake. I think it is the electrolyte balance.
I have similar issues after a prostatetomy seemed to make it worse. Things that seem to help:
Drink more water earlier in the day, cut back fluid intake later in the day.
If I am having a hard time getting back to sleep, listen to something soothing to quiet my thoughts. Listening to Bible verses (read by David Suchet) helps me.
I struggle with a cycle of pain and urge to urinate. In my case, bladder is shot due to 5 big babies including twins. I also have upper extremity nerve damage after five surgeries on elbow, hand, and shoulder (prosthetic humerus bone). Cycle goes: urge to urinate wakes me up, pain keeps me from falling asleep, REPEAT. Any help would be so much appreciated! Thanks for all you do ❤️
Sorry to hear about this. I will endeavour to ask about this in the interview.
See my response above to another individual struggling with frequent urination at night. It may not be relevant to you, unless you also struggle with anxiety and fear patterns (in which case this issue could be psychosomatic).
I have heard that you need a completely dark room to get the most beneficial sleep. Is that true? I struggle with sleep but I don't have window treatments on the large windows in my room - so I use a mask that makes me feel like I'm in darkness. Will that have the same effect or will the light that comes into the room at night still impact my sleep negatively?
While I can't accept psychosomatics as total etiology and mechanism for ongoing pain with fibromyalgia, I also appreciate you mentioning this for chronic pain in general. The Way Out looks like a very good read and the method of treatment with apparent amazing results certainly sounds worth looking into further. So, thank you for this.
If someone has bipolar disorder with difficulty sleeping due to racing thoughts, does the doctor have recommendations in addition to psychiatric medication for this problem?
I will ask about this. Not sure how well she’s informed on bipolar disorder but racing thoughts before bed is common I hear. I also have this, though it’s manageable.
To what degree can we rely on gadgets like AutoSleep on the Apple Watch, or Fitbit watches? How accurate are they and to what degree should we use those tools?
I am frequently almost “shaken” or “startled” awake around dawn. Feels like a shot of adrenaline. I happened to start propranolol for migraine prophylaxis and it stopped. Why was this happening in the first place
What are your thoughts on the proper amount of melatonin? I have heard no more than 3 mgs or it will disrupt your body’s natural ability to produce melatonin on its own.
Even when I was young I would wake up after only a few hours of sleep and would have to read or watch TV for 2-3 hours before falling asleep again. As an adult I hardly ever sleep for more than 4 hours and end up taking a nap later in the day. I have always wondered why this is. Additionally my many years in the military had conditioned me to be up early usually before sunset.
I don't take any drugs or supplements and I replaced exogenous melatonin with 2 glasses of red wine sipped over time before going to sleep, which works for me. Any comments?
Haha. Scientific literature is pretty clear alcohol negatively impacts sleep…but the power of placebo and mental comfort derived from various things is real too. I doubt wine is helping.
Brilliant question. Hadn’t thought of this, though already planned to ask which ones we should take before bed. I will also make a note of this. Thanks!
What are the side effects of using melatonin long term? Also, is it harmful to good sleep to listen to podcasts or watch tv right before bed?
Love these questions on both counts. Melatonin I know has been associated with some issues which Huberman has pointed out in his podcasts on sleep. I will ask.
Second question also important bc I absolutely love to end the day with a nice comedy or drama show on TV. Hope it's not causing any issues. Will also ask!
I’m interested in this also because as a psychiatric prescriber in LTC, I find the medical providers prescribe it almost routinely, where my first approach is to target basic sleep hygiene. Then it becomes almost an arm wrestling match to d/c the melatonin. Please explore the best role for melatonin and how it should optimally be used. (Ps I’m a subscriber- please keep up your fantastic work! )
I often wake up to urinate. I have a hard time falling back asleep. Any tips?
I had this issue for years on and off. Last year I decided to take it in my own hands bc I was getting up 4-5 times (brutal!). Lots of different potential causes.
In my case, it amazingly ended up being psychosomatic. In line with other psychosomatic symptoms I had such as heart palpitations and chronic indigestion. If you have this, it means the cause is your stress and anxiety. It’s a manifestation of that. When a prominent psychosomatic doctor told me this was the case (I didn’t believe him!), my fear about it gradually dissipated and the problem resolved on its own.
Do your struggle with stress, fear patterns, anxiety etc? I will be doing another podcast on psychosomatic issues. Could be other causes too.
Either way, I will ask this for the sleep podcast as well.
I have struggled with this problem as well. I had adrenal fatigue a while back and as a result could not sleep due to aldosterone levels. My body would purge salt causing me to crave water which would case me to loose even more salt. I learned to sip water and when really bad add salt or electrolytes to my water. I had to have a meal in the middle of the night to be able to sleep.
Now I am mostly recovered from that, but still get dehydrated every night. I can't get back to sleep unless I drink some water. Too much and I keep waking up to urinate. too little and I lay there wired and unable to sleep.
I have found a careful balance, but often end up sleeping for 5 hours, then laying awake for 2 hours unable to sleep while the small sip of water slowly hydrates my body, then sleep for another three hours to wake up needing to urinate and hydrate again.
I feel that if I could stop my body from urinating out the water I could sleep all night.
Unless you struggle with fear patterns and anxiety (see my comment above about psychosomatic issues), wonder what the issue is.
I will ask about this issue in the conversation.
No fear. Often thinking about things I enjoy. Just can't turn off the brain unless the hydration is just right. I also tend to sleep after a meal if I am behind on sleep. If I don't eat/ drink I can easily stay awake. I think it is the electrolyte balance.
I have similar issues after a prostatetomy seemed to make it worse. Things that seem to help:
Drink more water earlier in the day, cut back fluid intake later in the day.
If I am having a hard time getting back to sleep, listen to something soothing to quiet my thoughts. Listening to Bible verses (read by David Suchet) helps me.
Yes, falling back asleep is quite hard.
Is magnesium (anything but oxide) good for helping sleep? Any recommendations on that or other supplements? Is melatonin recommended? CBD? Thanks
We’re going to be covering this in-depth. In my plan already.
Cause of waking every 1-2 hours? Opinion on progesterone and hormone replacement in sleep.
Will ask about this. Thank you!
I struggle with a cycle of pain and urge to urinate. In my case, bladder is shot due to 5 big babies including twins. I also have upper extremity nerve damage after five surgeries on elbow, hand, and shoulder (prosthetic humerus bone). Cycle goes: urge to urinate wakes me up, pain keeps me from falling asleep, REPEAT. Any help would be so much appreciated! Thanks for all you do ❤️
Sorry to hear about this. I will endeavour to ask about this in the interview.
See my response above to another individual struggling with frequent urination at night. It may not be relevant to you, unless you also struggle with anxiety and fear patterns (in which case this issue could be psychosomatic).
Much appreciated! Sleepless in NC
Does more dreaming correlate with better quality sleep?
I have heard that you need a completely dark room to get the most beneficial sleep. Is that true? I struggle with sleep but I don't have window treatments on the large windows in my room - so I use a mask that makes me feel like I'm in darkness. Will that have the same effect or will the light that comes into the room at night still impact my sleep negatively?
Brilliant question. Will ask
Just curious if there is an answer to this question and the others? Thank you!
While I can't accept psychosomatics as total etiology and mechanism for ongoing pain with fibromyalgia, I also appreciate you mentioning this for chronic pain in general. The Way Out looks like a very good read and the method of treatment with apparent amazing results certainly sounds worth looking into further. So, thank you for this.
If someone has bipolar disorder with difficulty sleeping due to racing thoughts, does the doctor have recommendations in addition to psychiatric medication for this problem?
I will ask about this. Not sure how well she’s informed on bipolar disorder but racing thoughts before bed is common I hear. I also have this, though it’s manageable.
To what degree can we rely on gadgets like AutoSleep on the Apple Watch, or Fitbit watches? How accurate are they and to what degree should we use those tools?
We will 100% talk about sleep trackers!
I am frequently almost “shaken” or “startled” awake around dawn. Feels like a shot of adrenaline. I happened to start propranolol for migraine prophylaxis and it stopped. Why was this happening in the first place
This happens to me too! Every now and then. I will ask this in the interview. Thank you.
Hope you gain some clarity when you listen to her response in the podcast.
What are your thoughts on the proper amount of melatonin? I have heard no more than 3 mgs or it will disrupt your body’s natural ability to produce melatonin on its own.
Great question. We'll cover it tomorrow.
Have u seen Huberman talk about the dangers of using melatonin? Some reasons to avoid it.
Even when I was young I would wake up after only a few hours of sleep and would have to read or watch TV for 2-3 hours before falling asleep again. As an adult I hardly ever sleep for more than 4 hours and end up taking a nap later in the day. I have always wondered why this is. Additionally my many years in the military had conditioned me to be up early usually before sunset.
Sorry to hear. I assume you’re saying you feel this system is suboptimal and you don’t feel well rested when u wake up?
Sometimes I feel well rested and other times not.
I don't take any drugs or supplements and I replaced exogenous melatonin with 2 glasses of red wine sipped over time before going to sleep, which works for me. Any comments?
Haha. Scientific literature is pretty clear alcohol negatively impacts sleep…but the power of placebo and mental comfort derived from various things is real too. I doubt wine is helping.
Is a word iatrogenic (or iatrogenesis) in your vocabulary? I learned it recently; its MW definition/meaning is... fascinating!
Tums (peppermint) put me right to sleep, I wonder why?
Acid reflux or digestive issues can negatively affect sleep so addressing that could promote better quality sleep?
Are there certain supplements / vitamins that should NOT be taken before going to bed at night?
Brilliant question. Hadn’t thought of this, though already planned to ask which ones we should take before bed. I will also make a note of this. Thanks!