Ep 124 - Power of Downstate: Rest Doesn’t Just Mean Sleep with Dr. Sara Mednick

OVERVIEW

Aligning sleep with the nervous system’s downstate can be more important than sleep duration in terms of restoration. Understanding breathing, meal timing and exercise are essential to improving overall sleep and physical performance. 

In today’s episode, we are joined by Dr. Sara C. Mednick, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California, Irvine and author of The Hidden Power of the Downstate and Take a Nap! Change Your Life. (Workman). She will share her findings on how the brain works through her research into sleep and the autonomic nervous system.

Listen in and learn about Power of Downstate and how we can recharge our life using our own body’s restorative systems.


Click here to find out more about Dr. Yishan Xu’s Insomnia Treatment Course (CBT-I). 


WHAT WILL WE LEARN


  • 1:18: Background of the Power of Downstate

  • 3:00: Culture pushes us to fit into the "Upstate".

  • 4:41: Wave-like model of the "Downstate" and "Upstate".

  • 5:54: Restorative sleep and deep sleep.

  • 7:45: Can we access parasympathetic activities during the day?

  • 9:41: How to amplify more restorative work during the day.

  • 10:47: Start with deep breathing

  • 12:32: Reconciliation with our natural powerful self.

  • 13:39: Questions specialists ask that contribute to a balanced lifestyle.

  • 14:38: In-sleep and out-of-sleep tracking as a cultural discussion and shift.

  • 16:38: Heart rate increases as a factor of how deep your sleep will be.

  • 17:52: Exercise as a predictive of your slow-wave sleep amounts.

  • 18:55: Advantages of timing your exercise during the day

  • 22:26: High REM sleep

  • 24:05: Where to find the book "The Power of the Downstate


RESOURCES

Yishan Xu, PhD, DBSMsleep, sleep disorder, sleep better, sleep apneaComment