Hello there! It’s been a while, hey?

A lot has been going on.

Indeed, it’s been a week where I’ve had to step back and ask myself that Zoolander question - “Am I taking crazy pills?”

This all revolves around the distinction between what I like to call science (aka, research, evidence, data) - vs something I like to call opinions (aka, fluff, bullshit, misinformation, con-artistry - and a new term I’ve learned called ‘grifting’).

So here’s just a few recent things that happening in the nexus where (sleep) science battles opinions …

SPEAKING AGAINST A HUBERMAN PRODUCT

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m in negotiations with one of those companies that sell a lot of health and wellness products. And I wasn’t very smart when I started my negotiations.

I showed them a LinkedIn post where I broke down a new trial evaluating magnesium threonate for sleep - and how the evidence was poor - yet Huberman has been spruiking Mag Threonate for years.

So I told them I already saw on their website that they’re also recommending Mag Threonate for sleep - which is wrong.

The next day I received an email - they had removed any mention of sleep in relation to Mag Threonate. I haven’t even signed on the dotted line yet, but that was a good beginning.

But Hubes is at it again. And this time I got to present my opinion based on the science my team has produced ..

The video does this issue more justice than I can here, so check it out. 133K viewers already have …

The Winner? Opinion.

Why? - with the vast numbers of followers, a single opinion (disguised as science) wins this round.

SLEEP EUROPE 2024

Not only is this Europe’s biggest sleep conference - but this was the biggest one of theirs yet.

Lotsa people. Lotsa talks and posters. So some really cool new science.

We finally got to showcase our research - showing how insomnia symptoms decline when people participate in a 30-day online program to reduce their drinking.

Here’s a copy of the poster for you:

We also got to present our work examining whether sleep quantity or quality influences aggression by using a cool measure called ‘the wasabi test’:

Finally, I was the last man standing in a Scandinavian group which saw me present new data on how over-rated the effect of social media is on sleep and insomnia, which was tested on 10,000s of Norwegians:

But my favourite study was by another Scandinavian.

Dr Louise Strøm from Denmark followed people receiving immunotherapy for a non-small lung cancer.

She found it wasn’t sleep duration - and it wasn’t insomnia symptoms - but ‘circadian robustness’ which predicted better survival.

Goes to show that whilst sleep is important - circadian rhythms matter!

Winner? - Science.

Why? - this conference was devoid of opinions, but if opinions were given, they were based on vast scientific and clinical experience.

NEW CBT-I COURSE FOR SCHOOL KIDS

This week we’re making our new online certified course available for Pre-Sale.

The CBT for School Kid’s Sleep Problems is a 4-Module course that teaches you how to diagnose and treat insomnia in school kids.

I know. It sounds weird. Actually it sounds like bullshit. Insomnia in school kids?

Well, it’s true.

I’ve sat across the room interviewing 9-year olds who voice a cascade of worries when they’re trying to sleep.

And I’ve been hearing their stories for 18 years now.

18 years has been enough time to perform multiple studies and fine tune what we know about insomnia in school kid’s and how to treat them.

Said another way - we didn’t make this shit up and think it looked good.

During the Pre-Sale period the course is 50% off the retail price. You get immediate access to Module 1 - with the whole course dropping on Dec 27th 2024.

Our WINK Members have already been doing the course and can see the finish line as we go through the final instalment - Module 4 - ‘How-To do Cognitive Therapies’.

If you’re curious, have a gander by pressing your finger, thumb, or cursor here.

Pre-Sale ends on Boxing Day .. this year ..

Winner? - Science.

As mentioned above, this took 18 years of research and clinical experience before packaging all that knowledge into an education tool.

CONCLUSIONS

“Follow the science, not scientists” came to me before hitting the post button on a social media post this week. Many people responded warmly to it.

It’s important to learn the ways of the scientist. Make Google Scholar your friend and get comfy with reading review articles.

Because unfortunately, it’s becoming harder to trust experts and scientists.

Huberman stands to broadly damage the reputation of many of us scientists who attempt to translate research to the community. Companies stand to trick us into believing they’re product is ‘backed by science’ (if it was science-backed, you’d find a study backing it up in Google Scholar).

And even some of us (sleep) scientists have started indicating that we’re changing lanes.

So please please please - become your own (sleep) scientist.

• Prof MG