GMA 40: Watch Dan Childs Stay Awake for 40 Hours Straight

3rd & 7 37yd

ICYMI: See who isn't getting enough sleep in America.

by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 11:58:00 AM
Segmented Sleep: The idea that we need eight hours of uninterrupted sleep is relatively new, since the Industrial Revolution

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 12:00:00 PM
Roger Ekirch, at Virginia Tech, has unearthed numerous examples of “first sleep” and “second sleep” in pre-industrial literature -- what is called “bimodal sleep” or “segmented sleep” (published findings in book: At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past)

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 12:05:00 PM
Examples of Segmented Sleep:
1. Thomas Jefferson would take books on moral philosophy to bed with intention of waking up after first sleep to “ruminate” on them.

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 12:07:00 PM
2. In between sleep a common time for prayer in world religions: in Christianity, numerous midnight masses, in Islam, the prayer Tahajjud; the existence of the “witching hour”; time for monks and nuns to meditate

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 12:09:00 PM
3 Famous people: B.F. Skinner (famous psychologist) kept paper and pen at bedside for night ideas

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 12:11:00 PM
4. More famous people: Frank Lloyd Wright woke at four and worked before going back to bed

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 12:12:00 PM
by Dan.Childs via YouTube 11/18/2015 12:12:32 PM
Segmented Sleep: Study at NIH looked at volunteers transferred from 16 hours of light to 10 hours of light. Sleep expanded into two symmetric sections, each of several hours in duration, and a 1-3 hour waking interval in between. The subjects also had a longer duration of melatonin secretion -- showing that internal processes of sleep regulation were affected. Source: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2869.1992.tb00019.x/abstract

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 12:20:00 PM
Fun Fact: The advent of the industrial revolution killed off biphasic sleep -- artificial light, and then clocks at home (prior to affordable clocks, there was no way to keep track of time during the night, and candles, then gas lights kept people up later, and made them wake earlier -- hence the phrase “burning the candle on both ends”).

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 12:30:00 PM
Good to know: Some thought that sleep disorders, anxiety, and depression may be due to our sleeping schedules

by Joshua Steinberg, MD edited by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 1:00:00 PM
There’s an app for that! New apps are available that basically set an alarm to try and get you back on a “smart sleep” schedule.

by Joshua Steinberg, MD edited by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 1:15:00 PM
Fun Fact: Before color television, it is thought that around 15% of people would dream in color, but today it could be as many as 75% of us.

by Angela Anderson, MD edited by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 1:40:00 PM
Get out much? Nocturnal Wandering (Or sleepwalking!) The scientific name is somnambulism and it is a type of parasomnia.

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 2:00:00 PM
Early riser: Sleepwalking originates in Stage 3 of sleep (slow wave sleep). Because this happens more in the first half of the night, this is where most sleepwalking happens.

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 2:10:00 PM
Mythbuster! It is a common myth that it is dangerous to not wake a sleepwalker. NOT TRUE! There’s no harm in waking them, and it can be much more dangerous to let them go at their activities.

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 2:20:00 PM
FYI: Sleepwalking is not dangerous in and of itself, only if behaviors lead to danger, aka driving.

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 2:30:00 PM
Dan is having another EEG to see how his brain is responding to no sleep.

by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 2:31:49 PM
Looks like morning Jenga is a little more difficult without sleep.

by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 2:39:56 PM
Unclear how many people sleep walk. Best guesses -- up to 4% of adults, and as high as 17% in children.

by Joshua Steinberg, MD 11/18/2015 2:40:00 PM
Walkie Talkie:
- Sleep talking is a closely related activity -- as many as HALF of children will sleep talk!
by Joshua Steinberg, MD edited by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 2:50:00 PM
Order in the court! Sleepwalking has been used as a MURDER defense.

by Joshua Steinberg, MD edited by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 2:55:00 PM
You can see for yourself if Dan is going to fall asleep while counting.

by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 3:45:52 PM
Dan isn't drunk, but his motorskills may be impaired the longer he stays up.

by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 3:46:41 PM
Stages of sleep: There are four stages of sleep -- 1, 2, 3, and REM. These repeat several times a night -- stage 3 becomes less as time goes on, and REM becomes longer.

by Jennifer.Hoffmann.MD 11/18/2015 4:00:00 PM
You may read about five stages of sleep; however, in 2008 the American Sleep Foundation combined the former stages 3 and 4 into stage 3.

by Jennifer.Hoffmann.MD 11/18/2015 4:05:00 PM
Stage 1 is the lightest stage of sleep, between sleep and wakefulness. It is very easy to be awakened. Very short, and nothing super exciting happens here (as far as we know). People have muscle twitches in this stage of sleep called “hypnagogic jerks”.

by Jennifer.Hoffmann.MD 11/18/2015 4:10:00 PM
Stage 3 is “slow wave sleep”, so named because on EEG brain waves are slow and wide. This is our deepest, most restorative sleep, and the most difficult to awaken people from. Our heart rates continue to decrease, as does blood pressure. This is where most of the tissue growth and repair occurs (e.g., building muscle after exercising). A number of essential hormones are released during this stage of sleep, most importantly growth hormone.

by Jennifer.Hoffmann.MD 11/18/2015 4:15:00 PM
Stage 2: Where sleep really starts. About half of our night is spent here. Breathing and heart rate slow down. Your body temperature drops (why it’s good to sleep in a cool room). You start to become disengaged from your surroundings and more difficult to awake. On EEG, brain waves are slow and regular with some spikes.

by Jennifer.Hoffmann.MD 11/18/2015 4:15:00 PM
REM Sleep. The fun stage of sleep! REM stands for rapid eye movement, so named because our eyes start to quickly dart back and forth.This is where our crazy and vivid dreams happen. Our blood pressure and heart rate now go through wild swings. But our muscles become paralyzed and we can’t move (which is good, otherwise we would act out our dreams). When you look at brain waves, the EEG looks exactly like it does when we are awake.

by Jennifer.Hoffmann.MD 11/18/2015 4:20:00 PM
Just left Dan's dance party. What a trooper!

by kschreibs 11/18/2015 4:33:58 PM
ICYMI: See if people in your part of the country are getting enough sleep.

by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 4:45:00 PM
Dan's prompt: What myth or urban legend would you like to test scientifically?

by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 4:45:00 PM
We just let Dan drift into a couple of micro sleeps….the scientists at Mount Sinai say he slipped into them within 60 seconds….!

by Julie.Barzilay 11/18/2015 5:31:27 PM
We're having Dan do some free association and writing exercises to see how his manipulation of language and creative juices are doing….we'll share some of those with you later!

by Julie.Barzilay 11/18/2015 5:32:06 PM
Did you know that an estimated 50 to 70 million Americans have chronic sleep disorders, and nearly 40 percent of adults report falling asleep without meaning to at least once a month? The National Department of Transportation estimates drowsy driving to be responsible for 1,550 fatalities and 40,000 nonfatal injuries annually in the United States. Don't not sleep and drive!

by Julie.Barzilay 11/18/2015 5:33:31 PM
We left Dan in a dark room with a bed for a few minutes….watch what happened to his brain waves!

youtu.be

by Julie.Barzilay 11/18/2015 5:37:19 PM
Looks like Dan had his first microsleep!

by Gillian.B.Mohney 11/18/2015 5:40:00 PM
by Dan.Childs via YouTube 11/18/2015 5:46:27 PM
Sleep Paralysis: Phenomenon where someone who is either falling into or out of REM sleep experiences paralysis (meaning that muscles lose their tone) and often experiences a sensation of fear and hallucinations -- most commonly, an intruder in the room.

by Jennifer.Hoffmann.MD 11/18/2015 6:00:00 PM
The frequency of sleep paralysis is not precisely known -- the best estimate is 6.4% of the population will experience it at least once.

by Jennifer.Hoffmann.MD 11/18/2015 6:10:00 PM
by Dan.Childs via YouTube 11/18/2015 6:19:42 PM
Sleep paralysis is strongly associated with narcolepsy (30-50% of patients with narcolepsy will experience sleep paralysis), but also associated with anxiety and depression.

by Jennifer.Hoffmann.MD 11/18/2015 6:20:00 PM
The cause of sleep paralysis is not completely clear -- some thought that it might be due to “overlap” of other stages of sleep with REM.

by Jennifer.Hoffmann.MD 11/18/2015 6:30:00 PM
MT @Respiratory_NYC: Join us for LIVE Twitter chat TODAY 1-2pmET at #danisawake. Top experts answer all your Questions! @DanChildsABC #GMA40

by DanChildsABC via twitter 11/18/2015 6:38:30 PM