Lagoon | Sleep & Fitness News - December 21st, 2023

Hey packlings 👋

How early are your kids waking you up on Christmas morning? Is it true that soon blue light may  help your sleep?  We’ve got the answers in this week’s  edition of sleep & fitness news, so let’s get into it… 

🎁 New Survey Shows Kids Can't Help Waking Up Early On Christmas

A recent survey of 2,000 participants, reveals that children are typically waking up too early on Christmas morning.  This early wake-up time, on average 6:44 am, may be crushing some parents' hopes for sleeping in on Christmas morning. In contrast, teenagers seem less inclined to rise early, with only 15% waking before 7 a.m., even with the prospect of presents.  For those children popping out of bed early, clinical psychologist Chralynn Ruan suggests: minimizing emotional and social stimulation before bedtime; avoiding high mental and physical activities in the evening; reducing children's consumption of sugary foods and drinks;  and most importantly emphasizes the importance of sticking to normal bedtime routines.  These strategies aim to provide a more restful Christmas for both children and parents, and will make everyone a little more merry.

💡 New LED Research Could Enable Blue Light to Help Sleep

In a significant development, researchers have designed a new generation of LED lights that can potentially control sleep patterns. Traditional blue light from LED lamps and electronics (particularly in the wavelength range of 460 to 500 nanometers) have been shown to disrupt melatonin production, thus negatively impacting people’s 24-hour circadian rhythm.  To address this, researchers have developed two types of LEDs emitting different blue light wavelengths. One, for daytime use, emits blue light close to 475 nm, while the other, for evening use, emits light near 450 nm… which does not disturb sleep. These LEDs were tested on volunteers over three days, and results showed the new LED lights increased nighttime melatonin levels by 12.2% and decreased daytime melatonin by 21.9%, compared to regular LED exposure. This breakthrough suggests that these innovative LEDs could enhance daytime alertness and efficiency while promoting better relaxation and sleep quality at night - seriously amazing stuff!

🎵 The Best Holiday Songs for Deep Sleep

Alright well here it is… the top Christmas songs, most effective for inducing sleep - based on an algorithmic analysis of over 300 tracks from Spotify’s 'sleep' playlists. The research focused on key characteristics such as beats per minute (BPM), danceability, happiness, liveness, and acousticness. The findings revealed that the ideal songs for sleep have an average BPM of 94, low danceability, low happiness, low liveness, and high acousticness. The top ten Christmas songs for sleep include tracks by a mix of classic and modern artists like Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, Kelly Clarkson, and Mariah Carey, among others. Topping the list was The Secret of Christmas by Mother’s Daughter, Beck Pete, Ryan James Tillema. So if you’re feeling in the holiday spirit and carry the good tidings into your bedtime routine - go ahead and give this playlist a listen when you hop into bed.

🧠 A New Hope in the Fight Against Alzheimers 

A recent study by Penn Medicine researchers has shown promising results in reversing signs of Alzheimer's disease using a molecular compound called PBA, or 4-phenylbutyrate. PBA is known as a "chemical chaperone,"  and has shown that it can slow down the formation of problematic proteins in the brain. In a study of mice, PBA injections led to significantly improved memory performance, even when administered later in the disease’s progression. Previous studies had shown that PBA treatment improved sleep quality and cognitive performance in mice modeling human brain aging - further pointing to the interrelatedness of sleep and Alzheimers.  It’s so encouraging to see the progress that the medical community is making on Alzheimer's, which currently affects over 6 million Americans. 

That's it for this week's sleep news highlights. Stay tuned for more exciting updates on optimizing your sleep and health, and remember to follow @lagoonsleep on Instagram for your daily dose.