Wifey: “When are you going to run out of sleep blogs to write about?”

Prof MG: “Never”

In 2018 I saw a terrific conference talk by Dr Lau Esther Yuet Ying in Hong Kong. She was asked to provide a talk demonstrating how sleep is related to … everything. And she did just that.

A whole bunch of constructs that were related to areas of research that other academics in my Department study, including eyewitness testimony, happiness and hope (amongst others).

It was one of the best, punchiest talks I’ve ever seen. It makes you realise that there’s tons of sleep topics to write about.

This week’s idea comes from reading Mollie McGlockin’s sleep newsletters.

Mollie has mentioned the 1st Night Effect a couple of times recently.

It’s a phenomenon not many people are aware of.

Nor are they aware of the opposite phenomenon - the Reverse First Night Effect.

What Is The 1st Night Effect?

Imagine you sleep well. If you do, then milk yourself and sell it ‘cause there’s plenty of people that need your sleep juice!

Well what happens when you take a good sleeper out of their usual routine - out of their usual bedroom environment.

Amazingly, some still sleep well no matter where they sleep.

But there’s some good sleepers who don’t sleep well when they sleep somewhere else - for example, when they’re camping, when they travel and sleep at a hotel, or … when they come into a sleep lab and have their sleep measured.

Despite being a good sleeper, their sleep is bad the first night they sleep in a sleep lab.

As a sleep researcher, that sucks, because sometimes you wanna compare good sleepers to those interesting folks who don’t sleep well most of the time.

Those who experience insomnia…

What Is The Reverse 1st Night Effect?

Prof MG: “So tell me, step-by-step, what happens in the lead-up to your bedtime?”

Person w/ Insomnia: “Well, I’m often lying on the couch in the lounge room watching TV. And then I almost fall asleep on the couch. So I think I better go to bed so I can grab this feeling quickly and go to sleep. So I get up, go to the bedroom, get into bed, lie down, and put my head on the pillow. And then I’m wide awake!”

Unlike the good sleeper, the bed has become a trigger for people with insomnia to become awake.

Most nights of the week, they sleep real bad.

And so then when they come into a sleep lab to have their sleep measured, they sleep better on the 1st night.

This is the Reverse 1st Night Effect.

As a sleep and insomnia researcher, that sucks.

One Of The Big 5

Nope I’m talking about the Big 5 Animals you should see in Africa. I’m a Psychologist, not a Animalogist.

And nope, I’m not talking about the Big 5 Personalities. I’m a Psychologist, not a Weirdo.

When I’m teaching people to do what I do (aka, treat sleep problems), one of the first things I do is to teach them about the 5 Theories of Sleep.

You won’t find the 5 Theories of Sleep in a book.

It’s something I made up.

Anyways, one of these 5 Theories of Sleep is one that undergraduate students learn when they study 1st year Psychology.

Learning theories.

There’s two learning theories - and so this week I’ll speak about … actually, “write about” is probably the better phrase … and so this week I’ll write about just one of those learning theories.

Classical conditioning.

Whack Yourself

Do me a favour right now. Whack yourself, just below the knee. Gently.

You should get a ‘knee-jerk reaction’. This is a biological reaction. Just like when dog’s slobber when they eat dry food, because the slobber helps lubricate the dry food, making it easier to slide down their gullet to their tummy.

So there’s no biological reason why a dog should slobber when they see a dude in a white coat.

But one such dude named Ivan Pavlov had a dog that did that.

Pavlov’s dog saw time and time and time and time and time and time and time and time and time and time … you get it … time and time again, that there would be a dude in a white coat just before he got food.

The dude’s dog learned to link a ‘white coat’ with ‘slobbering’.

That ain’t biological. It’s psychological. It’s learning.

Whiz Phiz

For 4 years I was a tutor for 1st year psychology, and I use to take about 10 classes per week. I was doing this to earn some dosh whilst doing my PhD, because I wasn’t good enough to get a PhD scholarship.

One tutorial was on Classical Conditioning.

We use to pair students together for a class exercise. One student would say the word ‘Pavlov’ and then seconds later, spoon a tiny amount of Whiz Phiz into the other student’s mouth.

Naturally, the student on the receiving end would salivate, because they had some sherbet placed on their tongue (that’s what Whiz Phiz is - and I might just add when you teach 10 classes of 20 students each, it’s really hard to find 200 packets of Whiz Phiz … and the looks that the supermarket people would give you when you buy a load of sherbet. Their eyes are staring at your nostrils …)

This Pavlov-Spooning thing would happen several times.

Later on, the student would only say ‘Pavlov’ - but no spooning.

Sure enough, the receiving student would salivate - even though there was nothing on their tongue to lube up.

This was a classic demonstration of the learning theory - Classical Conditioning.

And I gotta say, that as I’m writing this, I’m salivating like crazy!

So let’s relate this back to insomnia

Stimulus-Response

Your bedroom has a bunch of things called stimuli.

The bed, the pillow, the sheets, the quilt, the bedlamp. Even some of those physical objects you play with just before bed are stimuli - your book, your phone, your joystick, your TV, your phone.

These stimuli are your ‘white coat’. The thing that can trigger a reaction. Not slobbering - but sleep.

But if you’re someone with insomnia - some of these stimuli can trigger alertness.

Let’s take the most classic of all stimuli - the pillow.

There’s no biological reason why a pillow should cause sleep.

It’s only because the pillow has been associated with falling asleep so many times, that it has become a psychological trigger for sleep.

Likewise, the pillow is not life-threatening. It should not evoke fear, hypervigilance, or worry. But for people with insomnia, the pillow has been linked - time and time again - with yucky negative feelings and thoughts.

This therefore earns Classical Conditioning a place as one of the …

5 Theories of Sleep

Classical Conditioning can explain how people Learn to Sleep - Unlearn Sleep - and how to Relearn Sleep.

Or as I like to say to some clients - how to F#ck Your Sleep - and how to Unf#ck Your Sleep.

The new big question is - what are the other 4 Theories of Sleep?

Well, I teach these in the Brief Behaviour Therapy for Insomnia course.

And it’s Easter, which is associated with a bunch of stimuli called ‘eggs’.

And I’ve placed 5 eggs throughout our WINK website. Click on an egg, and it will reveal a number followed by a few letters of the alphabet. The numbers provide the order for which to join all the letters together.

So find the 5 eggs, string the letters in order, and you have found a 50% discount code to use on any WINK product this week (offer ends in 5 days - or after 50 codes are used) …

Go !

• Prof MG

Member’s Spotlight

Despite these lovely ladies living on opposite sides of the world, they’re regular attendees at our monthly WINK Member Live Q&As. And they both have a background in Nursing. And nursing is synonymous with shiftwork. And shiftwork is synonymous with real bad sleep. Indeed, I sometimes wonder how many people get into the Sleep World due to their own experiences of sleep (or lack of it)?

But as I’ve said before, enough from me, more from 2 of our WINK Members …

Deb Herdman

What are the services you offer - and how can people get in touch?

At nigh nigh we offer sleep support programs for all ages from pre-birth, through to babies, children, teens and adults. Working with our younger clients we use use music and play therapy via our exclusive resources and use sleep science across all ages according to the presenting sleep problems. We consult via clinic in Central Victoria and video consult globally.

What’s the biggest thing you get from the WINK Membership?

Being a member of Wink gives me certainty and confidence that I am getting the best sleep information to learn from and pass on to my clients. I love the global community network, monthly Q and A, newsletters, and so much more….what’s not to love about Michael and Wink!

Jo Kippax

What are the services you offer - and how can people get in touch?

I am a sleep practitioner, nurse prescriber and the founder of WyeSleep ,an independent sleep service in the UK. I offer clients of all ages, a sleep assessment and treatment for insomnia. I use CBTI and evidence based techniques to support the client to make the long term, sustainable changes required to improve their sleep. I can refer clients for further investigations or polysomnography if required. I am the host of The Sleep Retreat, one of the first residential events in the UK offering the full CBTI course condensed into a weekend held in a boutique hotel. I also work with corporate clients to host sleep workshops and sleep education sessions. I can be contacted by emailing Wyesleep@gmail.com www.wyesleep.co.uk

What’s the biggest thing you get from the WINK Membership?

The biggest benefit of my WINK membership is access to up to date, accessible, evidence-based information and advice through the blogs, supervision and courses that Professor Gradisar offers. There is no other comparable sleep education site for professionals that offers this standard of excellence.