You have been reading about some of the things I find interesting about sleep, however, today I thought I would hand it over to you and let you ask me questions.
Have you been experiencing problems with sleep, or do you have any sleep related questions you would like answered? Here is your opportunity to ask Dr Juan.
Information provided in this blog is to be used for educational purposes only. It should NOT be used as a substitute for seeking professional diagnosis or treatment of any disorder.
Hi Dr Juan
A couple of weeks ago, my 7 year old son watched Dr Who for the first time. That night he had terrible nightmares about the masked characters he saw. Has there been any research relating to why little kids in particular have such vivid nightmares and why it wakes them up?
I obviously haven’t allowed him to watch Dr Who since then.
Hi Dr Juan,
I’ve got two questions that have come up recently:
1) Can the phasing of the moon affect our quality of sleep? A friend has told me that around the full moon he sleeps very poorly. We began to discuss the way lunar phases have traditionally influenced many of our bodily functions and went from there.
2) Do men and women’s sleep cycles differ in any way?
Many thanks
Hi Michael and thank you very much for your questions
Question Number 1
Some scientific studies point to an influence of lunar cycles on sleep. For example in the study “Sleepless night, the moon is bright: longitudinal study of lunar phase and sleep, by Röösli M, and et al* they demonstrated that:
a.- Subjective sleep duration varied with the lunar cycle, from 6 h 41 min at full moon to 7 h 00 min at new moon .
b.- Average sleep duration was shortened by 68 min during the week compared with weekends.
c.- Men slept 17 min longer than women and sleep duration decreased with age.
d.- The rating of fatigue in the morning was associated with moon phase, with more tiredness at full moon.
Although lots of research needs to be performed, I am not surprised to learn that natural cycles like moon cycle, menstruation cycle and the seasons influence our main system (sleep) in charge of our own internal cycles.
Question Number 2
Yes there are. Sleep studies, polysomnographic studies, demonstrate that middle age and elderly adults show gender differences in general sleep parameters. As you know, one of the main differences occurring at this age is the menopause influencing in many women the vast majority of their physiological functions. During this period, women face many physical and psychological challenges.
It is Interesting to know that young adults also have gender sleep differences. In sleep studies, across nights, women showed better sleep quality than men: they fell asleep faster (shorter sleep onset latency) and had better sleep efficiency, with more time asleep and less time awake.*
In relation to gender differences and sleep, what has been a subject of lots of research and discussions is the question Why do guys get sleepy after sex?
I think that each head has its own explanation, however there seems to be that the cocktail of hormones and neuro transmitters produced by women are different to the ones we produce after an orgasm. In the case of many men they produce an almost anesthetic effect in us!
I guess that the lucky ones having a receptive female partner will have a nice and cozy sleep “after it”… for the others, I hope someone will find something that will help…. In the mean time keep your chin up… or should I say….
Let me please know if you need more information.
Be wise and have fun
Juan
*J. Sleep Res. 2006 Jun;15(2):149-53
** GOEL N, KIM H, LAO RP.
Chronobiol Int 2005;22(5):905-15.
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