Sleep and sleep disorders are one of the great civilisational issues of our time. Some factors are already embedded in in the very essence of society, others we can relatively easily influence ourselves. For example, with high quality bedding. That's why we also decided to cooperate with and introduceKatarína Evans, , who founded the Sleep with Scientists project. Katarina will regularly contribute to the "Sleep Wellness" section of our blog and you will surely meet her at our events.
Read a short interview about what led her to start the project and why "sleep".
Katarina, you have founded and run the SLEEP with SCIENTISTS project. What exactly does that entail? What do you mean by this?
Sleeping with Scientists is one of many subprojects and directions that my colleagues and I have embarked on. We focus primarily on education about sleep, chronotypes, sleep hygiene, etc. The goal is to show people how important sleep is, to explain the neurobiological connections - that it's not eight lost hours (some individuals have only five) but it's an important process that if it's not of good quality, it will take a toll on the person, their health and their mind.
What led you to do this? And what are you building on, where do you get your resources, your knowledge?
I was led to do this by people - participants and patients with whom I met and still meet during studies and practice, and I build on that. I have a degree in Psychology and I am currently completing my doctorate in Neuroscience at the Faculty of Medicine 3, Charles University. I also completed an internship in the Netherlands, where these methods are implemented more than in the Czech Republic/Slovakia. This knowledge is both theoretical and backed by years of research and an international and interdisciplinary team.
What did you do before? Or how long have you been "studying" the concept of sleep?
I have been doing sleep research pretty much since the beginning of my studies, it started with electives at school, research on memory in chronotypes (chronotype = whether you are an owl or a bird), then I was awarded a grant to extend this research, I also collaborated on non-pharmacological methods to improve sleep and memory in the elderly.
OThus, since I started my PhD, I have been working not only on chronotypes, but also on non-pharmacological solutions for sleep problems, and this year I was awarded another grant just for chronotherapy, which includes, let's call it, "sleep therapy". So, it's been ten years and the last six have been very intense.
What is the goal of the project and who is your target group?
The goal is for people to sleep :D
To realise that sleep is not a waste of time, but a time when the body regenerates and the brain works, albeit differently than when we are awake. Many people do not realise how important good sleep is, but then complain that they are inefficient, irritable, unable to concentrate, and so on.
I would probably say that we don't have a specific target group, but we have programs for specific groups - depending on the requirements of those interested, we create a short intensive course for managers where we focus on a specific area and how to improve it - a little introduction and specific procedures.
For the staff in nursing homes, we focus both on elderly sleep patterns and to better understand the changes in sleep due to age. We have sleep education for seniors. It always depends on whether they want to solve problems, prevent them or educate themselves. Sleep is a fascinating and complex topic that can't be explained in just two hours, but we can highlight the essentials that will help the group.
Sleep is everyone's primary need, but everyone needs "their duration" - how do you feel about it from a professional point of view?
It is true that everyone needs their duration, but it is often bad timing that is just as, if not more, important than duration.
However, our society is set "for the mornings" and that pretty much determines the functioning of everyone. Authorities are open in the morning, working hours are from 8am and this is a problem in the timing of sleep according to individual preferences. We can illustrate this with an example: I had a participant who was a distinct owl, which means that her circadian phase (timing of sleep and wakefulness) is delayed compared to birds or non-distinct individuals. Thus, her biological clock in her brain adjusted all the processes accordingly, and her ideal time for sleep was from 3am to 11am. If she went to bed at 10pm and got up at 6am, it would also be eight hours but from the point of view of the body and settings of a distinctive owl, it would be like forcing the bird to get up around 3am. .
TThe bird would get a little used to it over time, but the sleep wouldn't be nearly as good and it would have repercussions on health and psychology. But getting up at 6am is "normal" - not for everyone, so it's great that many employers have started to take this into account. It makes more sense to let people work from 9-10am because when they arrive at 7am, it's not sure if their brain is awake or just their body.
How many hours do you sleep? Is it easy to maintain, do you have some fluctuations or are there "no ifs, ands or buts" and you adapt your life and day around sleep?
I try to get those eight hours in if I'm having a busy day and lots of new activities, even nine hours , to recharge my mental and physical strength so my brain can remember and process more. However, I'm an owl and that's not easy, because our company is set up primarily for the early birds, and I'm an extreme owl, so I work at my best from 5pm and have the greatest ideas at 3am. However, this is not exactly ideal, so I use various tricks to keep my sleep rhythm regular from 1 to 9am, because I feel freshest when I get up at 9am, and I just don't fall asleep before 1am. . I also minimise blue light, I have lights at home that automatically change intensity and chromaticity according to the time I set.
So it's not about adapting to sleep, but finding a compromise between today's times, technology, society's demands and what my body needs. Because with a good night's sleep I can handle tasks more efficiently and at ease - for this reason we don't have 8:30am meetings anymore :D
In an article on zena.aktualne.cz zentrepreneur Vít Horký (considered one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Czech Republic. His technology company, Brand Embassy, had become the top in its field in its eight years of existence) that he was able to work 14 hours a day, sleep deprived, and unfortunately, I paid a "price" for my health. How do you perceive it, is it a problem of today's “generation”?
I don't believe this is just a problem for today's generation. People are trying to juggle work, personal life, education, perform to the highest degree, and for entrepreneurs this is compounded. Working fourteen hours a day is of course not recommended, but, if necessary, a good night's sleep is both alpha and omega.We can't ask our body to work at 110%, our brain to remember everything, and at the same time not let it process it all at night. It's like constantly opening folders on a PC, entering computational processes, never turning it off or updating the software, and then getting mad after a month that it's crashing.
It is great that Mr. Horký has realised why this is the case, improved it, realised the connections and the consequences. He is correct, however, that this is not unusual for entrepreneurs or top managers. The pressure on performance, stress and responsibility will manifest itself not only during the day, but also at night. They often reach for sleeping pills, which may take a while, but they cannot be considered as a long-term solution.
I think it is better to reach the goal a little later, but to save yourself stress and subsequent mental and physical problems, because it will put a person "out of the game" for a much longer time than an "extra" hour of sleep a day.