Give it up for the down state -- sleep | Sara Mednick | TEDxUCRSalon
## Speaker Context
- Role: Speaker addressing an audience about the importance of breaks.
- Audience: An audience receptive to information but perhaps initially resistant ("the other part is going to say uh-uh not me").
- Framing: The speaker aims to convince the audience that taking breaks on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis will result in them being a "better person."
## People
- Paul McCartney: Example of someone who gained insight during sleep, writing "Yesterday."
- Mary Shelly: Example of someone who gained insight during sleep, writing "Frankenstein."
- Frederick kulle: Example of someone who designed the Benzene ring in his dream.
- Husband (Speaker's): Example individual who hates napping, feeling groggy when he naps.
- Daughter Violet: Mentioned in relation to activities that can inspire the speaker's husband.
## Organizations
- US economists: Group predicting that decreasing the work week will save a sagging economy.
- Companies: Entities that might offer unlimited vacation, reporting a 200% increase in productivity.
## Places
- Upstate: Where the speaker suggests people go to "go out in the world and explore and find our riches."
## Tools, Tech & Products
- Caffeine: Substance used to compare the benefit of a nap; half-life is six to eight hours.
- Aderall or Ridin: Drugs mentioned that college students allegedly use.
- Benzene ring: Structure designed by Frederick kulle in his dream.
## Concepts & Definitions
- Break: Something that should be taken daily, weekly, and yearly; necessary for being active, productive, enduring, creative, and happy.
- Sleep: Process shown by science to be very important for restoring basic functions; associated with internal work (repair, growth, memory consolidation).
- Perceptual learning: Improvement in performance shown in testing sessions.
- Cognitive domains: Various areas across which the study on naps and performance was conducted.
- Obsidian mind: Metaphor for an obsessive mind and body that needs to be diverted from a single theme.
- Unlimited vacation: A company benefit reported to cause a 200% increase in productivity.
## Numbers & Data
- 4.54 billion years: Time span that the Earth has used the day/night cycle.
- 1.6 5 trillion nights: Number representing the Earth's use of the day/night cycle.
- Seven to eight hours: Recommended sleep duration.
- Five hours: Example of insufficient sleep duration leading to pre-diabetic appearance.
- Four times in one day: Number of times people were tested in the lab over one day.
- 9:00, 12:00, 4:00, and 7:00: Times of day testing was performed in the lab.
- $25: Amount offered to subjects in the lab for each test session to motivate them.
- Noon and 4:00: Time window for the initial resting break in the lab.
- 60-minute nap: Duration of the nap that successfully brought performance back to baseline.
- 9:00 and 7:00: Times when the lab was replicated using only two testing sessions.
- 40%: Percentage increase in creativity observed when napping vs. no nap.
- Two weeks: Amount of vacation Americans typically get in a year.
- 5 to six: Vacation days people in Europe are reportedly getting per year.
- 30: Average work week in France (reduced).
- 25: Average work week in the Netherlands (reduced).
- 40 hours: Former average work week mentioned.
- 2:1 ratio: Ratio mentioned for rest to work days (night to daytime).
- 200%: Increase in productivity reported by companies with unlimited vacation.
## Claims & Theses
- Taking breaks on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, on a yearly basis will make you a better person.
- Every person, every plant, and animal on this earth needs to take breaks.
- The Earth spinning on its axis tells us when to be up (day) and when to go home (night).
- If something happens every day since the beginning of time, it's probably important.
- Sleep is very important for restoring basic functions.
- People who aren't sleeping have messed up metabolism and their insulin regulations.
- Not sleeping enough creates larger risk for cardiovascular disease, depression, and impaired cognition.
- A little nap in the middle of the day could actually make you maintain your performance across the day.
- People are actually getting the same benefit from a nap as a night of sleep.
- Taking a nap can increase creativity by 40%.
- During sleep, the brain can do things that it just can't do during waking.
- These unconscious processes that go on during sleep are invisible influences that make us who we are.
- If we decrease the work week, it will save a sagging economy.
- Decreasing work weeks overall actually raises the amount of people who get to work more part-time jobs for everybody.
- Decreasing the work week has potential to slow global warming because it decreases in carbon emissions.
- Taking breaks comes in all different shapes and sizes.
- The more vacation you take, the more productive you are at work and the happier you are in your job and the longer you stay there.
- The US economy or the new structure of business is actually bringing a lot of these positive things to the workforce.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- Earth spinning on its axis: Mechanism that dictates day (awake/explore) and night (rest/dream).
- Metabolism/Insulin regulation disruption: Process resulting from lack of sleep, leading to cravings for high fat/high sugary foods and weight gain.
- Sleep's role: Restoring basic functions; promoting growth; protecting and consolidating new memories into long-term memory.
- Day/Night Cycle: The natural process observed for 4.54 billion years on Earth.
- Sleep/Nap Restoration: Performance return to baseline after intervening with rest (nap).
- Memory Consolidation: Process where waking experiences are associated with existing knowledge when sleep occurs.
- Hypothesis Testing: Process that occurs during sleep ("what if she said this," "what if I did that").
- Weak/Strong Performance Test: Comparison between performance before rest/drug and after rest/drug in tasks like verbal memory or motor tasks.
## Timeline & Events
- 4.54 billion years: Duration the day/night cycle has been used by life on Earth.
- Yesterday: When Paul McCartney supposedly wrote "Yesterday."
- In the morning and afternoon (testing): When creativity tests were administered in the lab.
- Monday and Tuesday (work): Days of hard work leading up to a suggested day off.
- Wednesday afternoon: Suggested time for taking time off.
- Thursday and Friday: Days suggested for returning to work after a break.
- The last 10 years: Period over which the use of Aderall by college kids has tripled.
## Examples & Cases
- Earth spinning on its axis: Describes the daily cycle of night and day.
- Paul McCartney writing "Yesterday": Example of sleep aiding creativity.
- Mary Shelly writing "Frankenstein": Example of sleep aiding creativity.
- Frederick kulle designing the Benzene ring: Example of sleep aiding creativity.
- The lab test (initial): Testing people four times in one day (9:00, 12:00, 4:00, 7:00) showing declining performance.
- The lab test (nap vs no nap, 2x test): Showing performance returning to baseline after a nap compared to no nap.
- The lab test (nap vs night's sleep): Showing the same benefit to performance from a nap as a night of sleep.
- The lab test (creativity): Showing a 40% increase in creativity with a nap compared to no nap.
- The average work week in France: Down to 30 hours.
- The average work week in the Netherlands: Down to 25 hours.
- The US economy decreasing work weeks: Predicted to save the economy.
- Companies with unlimited vacation: Reporting 200% increase in productivity.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- Working vs. Resting: Daily need for breaks (being active/productive vs. needing rest).
- Sleep vs. Waking Life: The contrast between the external world barrage while awake and the internal repair/processing during sleep.
- Napping vs. Caffeine: Comparison in the lab showing caffeine helping more with motor tasks than verbal memory tasks.
- Wednesday Afternoon Off: Proposed alternative to continuous work, allowing time for restoration activities.
- Sleep/Nap vs. Medication: Comparing the natural rest/nap to taking pills to manage sleep/wake cycles.
- Working 40 hours/Week: The standard work week vs. the proposal of a reduced work week (e.g., 30 or 25 hours).
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The talk might be hard to listen to ("I'm going to tell you something you're not going to like").
- The audience might disagree with the need for breaks ("the other part is going to say uh-uh not me").
- The initial performance decline across the day persists even with motivation ($25 payment).
- The initial performance decline persists even with quiet rest (sitting with eyes closed).
- The improvement from a nap is surprising ("we thought that's pretty surprising right").
- Caffeine may not be helping with memory processing, despite making one *feel* more alert.
- The speaker notes that none of the tests were done with Aderall or Ridin.
- Not everybody should just run home and take a nap on Wednesdays.
- The speaker's husband feels terrible after napping.
## Methodology
- Scientific observation of Earth's day/night cycle: Used to establish universal cycles.
- Lab testing (initial): Testing subjects four times in one day on visual memory tasks.
- Lab testing (replicated): Testing people twice (9 am and 7 pm) comparing performance with and without a nap.
- Lab testing (creativity): Testing creativity in the morning, varying afternoon nap/no nap, and retesting in the evening.
- Lab testing (comparative): Testing verbal memory and motor tasks across three groups: nap, caffeine dose, placebo, in the afternoon/evening.
## References Cited
- Scientific literature: Cited generally for the importance of sleep for restoring basic functions.
- Studies: Cited generally showing that more vacation days lead to higher productivity, happiness, and better supervisor ratings.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Take breaks on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, and on a yearly basis.
- If one wants to be insightful and creative and thoughtful, one should take every Wednesday afternoon off.
- The recommendation is to give yourself a break, whether it's a nap, Wednesday afternoon off, or vacation.
## Implications & Consequences
- Ignoring rest leads to deterioration across the day, and potentially across a work week.
- Failing to adopt better break practices means continuing to work unsustainably, evidenced by exhaustion by Friday.
- A new structure of business promoting shorter work weeks and unlimited vacation has the positive potential to slow global warming by decreasing carbon emissions.
- If breaks are taken, the unconscious processes can improve the person's overall sense of self and outlook.
## Open Questions
- Is there a better way to get through the work week than the suggested Wednesday afternoon break?
- What are the actual effects of Aderall or Ridin on memory processing?
## Verbatim Moments
- "taking breaks is actually part of life it's part of being active it's part of being productive and having endurance it's part of being creative it's part of being happy"
- "it's probably important"
- "their performance continued to decline across each day with every test session they got worse and worse"
- "Oops their performance went back to Baseline and it stayed there for the next two sessions"
- "a night of sleep is the same as a a daytime nap in terms of this performance"
- "the slate is blank and you're ready to go out there again and gain new information"
- "the average work week in France is down to 30 and the average work week in the Netherlands is down to 25"
- "it actually balances the sex differences in the labor force"
- "I get that naps are not for everybody"
- "get our mind obsessive mind and body off of one obsessive theme and let those unconscious processes those invisible influences take over"
- "what unlimited vacation that's right"
- "I hope today I've told you I've explained a little bit about why it's a good idea to take a break"