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Change Your Brain Every Day
Top Sleep Doctor: What’s Destroying Your Brain Every Night + Easy Remedies
00:39:16
Can’t sleep? Anyone who does shift work, travels across time zones, or simply can’t get the deep rest you want needs to listen to this! If you want a sharper mind, stronger memory, better mood—and even a younger-looking brain—it starts with...
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- [00:00]
Dr. Shane Criado
Kids who are getting inadequate sleep Risk of obesity down the line for a kid who's been sleep deprived is 89%. People think eight hours is great for a kid, but they need closer to 9 to 12 hours. Adults obesity rates 55% with sleep issues sleep apnea increased dementia rates Alzheimer's 45% irregular sleep timings increase risk for mild.
- [00:19]
Tana Amen
Cognitive impairment by 83% irregular sleep times so meaning you don't go to bed at the same time every night even if you get eight hours every night?
- [00:27]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes, yes. In fact, sleep regularity is one of the key metrics when it comes to overall cardiovascular health and brain health.
- [00:34]
Daniel Amen
Dr. Shane Criato is a sleep performance.
- [00:36]
Dr. Shane Criado
Psychiatrist and mental optimization expert who helps.
- [00:39]
Daniel Amen
High achievers from elite athletes to top.
- [00:41]
Tana Amen
Executives unlock peak brain power through better sleep.
- [00:44]
Dr. Shane Criado
So nightmares occur in your dream sleep. Night terrors occur in deep sleep. One of the most common factors that's leading to night terrors is inadequate sleep time.
- [00:57]
Daniel Amen
Every day you are making your brain better or you are making it worse. Stay with us to learn how you can change your brain for the better every day. There are days when I need to be at my best. Whether it's back to back clinic sessions, long writing days, or just keeping up with life. That's when I take peak energy from brain md. It gives me clean, steady energy without jitters or crashes. And I'm not the only one who loves it. It just won a 2025 Nextie Award, beating over 500 other supplements. If you want real energy that lasts, check it out@brainmd.com and use the code podcast20 for 20% off.
- [02:00]
Tana Amen
So I am so excited about our guest today. Dr. Shane Criado, MD, is a globally recognized sleep performance psychiatrist and mental optimization expert who helps high achievers from elite athletes to top executives unlock peak brain power through better sleep. He's a double board certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician. Dr. Criado blends cutting edge neuroscience with elite performance strategies to transform sleep from a nightly necessity into a competitive advantage. I love that he's the author of the bestselling book Peak Sleep Performance for athletes and Dr. Criado has worked with world class organizations including the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, NBA Players Association, PGA Tour Europe and the Australian Football League. He's also a prominent clinician at the Amen Clinics in Chicago. Absolutely love that he's one of our top docs where he integrates neuroimaging and functional psychiatry to treat sleep disorders, burnout, depression and performance anxiety. His work has been featured in leading medical journals national podcasts and global health conferences. He also serves on the board of International Society for Sports Psychiatry, where he chairs the sleep and performance committee. So, welcome to the podcast, Dr. Criado.
- [03:20]
Dr. Shane Criado
Thank you for the warm introduction. And it's an amazing pleasure to be.
- [03:23]
Tana Amen
Here with you both always.
- [03:25]
Daniel Amen
And so Dr. Criato and I share many special patients, and when they're having trouble with their sleep, I text Shane and I'm like, I need help with this one.
- [03:38]
Tana Amen
Or whenever we're traveling.
- [03:41]
Daniel Amen
So if you want to keep your brain healthy or rescue it, you have to prevent or treat the 11 major risk factors. And here at Amen Clinics and people listen to the podcast, you know, we talk about bright minds. B is for blood flow, R is retirement, and aging, S is for sleep. Because if you don't sleep well, you're not going to think well and your brain won't be healthy. So let's start by how did you get interested in sleep?
- [04:16]
Dr. Shane Criado
As you rightly said, it affects every one of the bright mind's risk factors. And doing psychiatry, I realized that our patients were inadequately treated when it came to sleep. Every major psychiatric illness or diagnosis has a sleep component. And people were being given Ambien and Trazodone. Benzodiazepines that are addictive can really lead to brain damage in the long term. And I thought we were not doing a good enough job for our patients. We've taken a Hippocratic oath. It sounded like a hypocritical oath. And so I decided to do a further specialization in sleep medicine. And even then, I found there were deficiencies in the existing paradigm. And that's when we started working together and building integrative models for sleep problems. And not just inadequate amounts of sleep, but disrupted sleep quality, sleep fragmentation, irregular sleep timings, and those have a huge, huge impact on overall brain health, longevity, and functioning. So that's been a call to action for all of us. And it's exciting and joy to work with you on these, on these new paradigms.
- [05:26]
Daniel Amen
So I want to push on this idea because I really hadn't put it together that if you don't sleep, all of the 11 risk factors are troubled. So I often say that if you're overweight, well, automatically you have 10 of the 11 just because you're overweight. But if you don't sleep, you have lower blood flow in your brain. Your brain looks older than you are. It's increase in inflammation if you don't sleep. If you don't sleep, it turns off 700 health promoting genes. If you don't sleep, obviously, you're more likely to have a head injury. If you don't sleep, you're more likely to store toxins, because when you sleep, the brain cleans and washes itself. If you don't sleep, you're more likely to have a mental health issue, especially depression or add. One of my grandchildren was taking his device to bed and he'd like stay up playing games until three in the morning, and the teacher thought he had add. It ruins your immunity. It messes with your hormones. You're more likely to be overweight if you're not sleeping. Wow. So, right. That's like a huge thing.
- [06:50]
Tana Amen
But it's really easy to say we need to sleep more. And I think it's obvious that, you know, that's probably true and it helps everything. But there are so many things that affect sleep. And I know as women, we're always complaining about sleep because as soon as you have a baby, you never sleep the same again. When you go into menopause, you never sleep again. When you have a thyroid problem, you never sleep. I mean, there are so many things, and then there are those of us, you know, that had to do shift work and work at night or we travel a lot. There are just so many things that make it difficult and it feels like, well, that's not fair. Right, so what do you do?
- [07:22]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yeah, well, you know, you're right. Absolutely right. Women have twice the rate of anxiety and twice the rate of insomnia as men do, because anxiety is danger mode, survival mode, and sleeping is the most vulnerable thing we can do. And as you rightly said. Yeah. Overweight, obesity, kids who are getting inadequate sleep. People think eight hours is great for a kid, but they need closer to 9 to 12 hours. Risk of obesity down the line for a kid who's been sleep deprived is 89%. Adults, obesity rates, 55% with sleep issues, cognitive decline, insomnia, increased risk for dementia by 49%. Increased vascular dementia rates, 89%. Sleep apnea, increased dementia rates, Alzheimer's, 45%. Irregular sleep timings increase risk for mild cognitive impairment by 83%.
- [08:14]
Tana Amen
Wait, say that again.
- [08:15]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yeah.
- [08:16]
Tana Amen
So irregular sleeping times. So, meaning you don't go to bed at the same time every night, even if you get eight hours every night?
- [08:23]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes, yes. In fact, sleep regularity is one of the key metrics when it comes to overall cardiovascular health and brain health. And that's why when you lose an hour of sleep, even with daylight savings time the next day, the prevalence of heart Disease heart attacks goes up over 20%. But the same applies when you get an additional hour of sleep. In the fall, there's a reduction in over 20% of heart heart attacks. So these are profound.
- [08:47]
Daniel Amen
How much sleep should we actually be getting? So you said for children, they need more. And you have to tell your kids when you sleep, growth hormone actually works much more effectively. So you're likely to be taller if.
- [09:04]
Dr. Shane Criado
You go to bed and go to sleep 100%. Right. So each one needs different amounts of sleep, kids. And the older you get, the less amount of sleep you need. Typically, an adult may need seven and a half hours of sleep. I think about sleep in terms of sleep cycles of 90 minutes each. My athletes perform at very high levels and train very hard. Each day may need closer to 10 and a half or 12 hours of sleep and a training.
- [09:28]
Tana Amen
He needs less than I do. I know like an hour. You need like an hour, hour and a half less than me.
- [09:32]
Dr. Shane Criado
And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes patients come to us and say, well, and they're high functioning, very successful. Everyone says, I need eight hours of sleep, Doc, I'm only getting six hours of sleep. Well, maybe they're in the 1% of the population which are called short sleepers, where there's no detrimental impact in their overall health. But if anyone's listening to this and says, I'm fine with six hours of sleep, are you in the 1%? How do you know? Have we seen your brain? Have we seen how much it's aging with respect imaging? So it's always a risk. So it's timing, quality and quantity.
- [10:04]
Daniel Amen
And what does your brain do when it, when you sleep?
- [10:10]
Dr. Shane Criado
Different things in different stages of sleep. So there's light sleep, that's around 50 to 60% of your overall sleep. And in light sleep, you're processing memories and stuff like that. And you have dream sleep, which is super important for emotional processing, for emotional regulation, for creativity. And your memories get taken from your hippocampus, the temporal lobes to your, to your cortex. So that helps you with that memory consolidation there and rehearsal for the next day as well. The temporal lobes are active in your dream sleep. Same areas are active for working memory. So what you're doing during the day and anticipating the next day, those areas are going to be active in your dream sleep. And deep sleep is critical for removing stress hormones, replenishing your supplies of neurotransmitters, healing bones and, and muscles, reducing inflammation, and flushing out toxins to the glymphatic system that Was only discovered in 2012. Really? Which is the main cleansing.
- [11:12]
Daniel Amen
Right. Isn't that crazy? It's been so short ago. Deep sleep is the same as REM sleep.
- [11:21]
Dr. Shane Criado
No, dream sleep is. Dream sleep is REM sleep. Deep sleep is non REM sleep. So basically your brain has slower brain waves and deep sleep. So it's deeper, it's more restorative, kind of like recharging your brain, if you will. And when that happens, your. Your brain cells actually reduce in size and that allows more, you know, replenishing and flushing and the CSF fluid moves more and you can get all those toxins out as well. So replenishing, recharging, getting the toxins out, essentially cleansing your brain into.
- [11:55]
Tana Amen
So that's where the sleep brainwashing happens.
- [11:58]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes.
- [12:00]
Daniel Amen
Why do we dream?
- [12:03]
Dr. Shane Criado
Your brain is preparing yourself. Your dreams basically reflect upon things you've done in the past, past day, what you're anticipating the next day. And literally those areas help with associative memory. Your prefrontal cortex reduces inactivity and the associative centers, like the sides of your brain, the temporal lobes, get more active. So what are you doing? The prefrontal cortex is reducing, the amygdala is more active, but your stress hormone levels coming down. So you're not getting into panic mode, but you're training for adversity the next day.
- [12:36]
Tana Amen
Oh, interesting.
- [12:37]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yeah. And more studies have shown that when people have a nightmare maybe once or twice a week, actually more prepared, quicker responding to threats C and emergency situations. Whereas if you have frequent nightmares more than three nights a week that are sabotaging your sleep quality, it's obviously understandably detrimental.
- [12:58]
Tana Amen
So for the longest time I only had like negative dreams. I couldn't. Well, I don't remember if I was having good dreams.
- [13:03]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yeah.
- [13:03]
Tana Amen
But I had so many bad dreams. So it just was me preparing.
- [13:07]
Daniel Amen
And I would do something bad in her dream and then I would be in trouble. And I'm like, but I didn't do anything. But you're going to. But you might.
- [13:21]
Tana Amen
What about it?
- [13:23]
Daniel Amen
Night terrors?
- [13:25]
Dr. Shane Criado
Night terrors typically occur in.
- [13:27]
Daniel Amen
So maybe explain what they are.
- [13:29]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes.
- [13:29]
Daniel Amen
And then talk about.
- [13:30]
Dr. Shane Criado
Night terrors are different from nightmares. So nightmares occur in your dream sleep. Night terrors occur in deep sleep on non REM sleep. So typically you might have a kid that's waking up usually in the first half of the night. That's when you have more deep sleep, typically. So screaming in terror. And parents are, oh my God, what happened? The kid doesn't remember what happened because in night terrors, in deep sleep, you're not going to recall what was happening when you get out of that state. One of the most common factors that's leading to night terrors, or what we call under a category of parasomnias and deep sleep, is inadequate sleep time. So one of the main things to help with night terrors is allowing a kid adequate sleep. If they're getting eight hours, maybe their brain needs nine or 10 hours. That's the first thing to remember.
- [14:22]
Daniel Amen
Is there a psychological component to that or is that a biological problem?
- [14:30]
Dr. Shane Criado
It's a combination. The reason why people get night terrors is deep sleep. You're waking up out of the deep sleep directly into a wakeful state that's leading to that transition. So your deep sleep is not locked in or consolidated. It's fragmented or disrupted. If you're woken up suddenly in a subtle response in deep sleep, your subconscious mind is feeling safe, it's relaxed, and then something happens to, to trigger this danger mode response, a cortisol spike. And that can lead to a bad reaction. So it is a combination of things. And if we lock in your deep sleep by winding down before bed, allowing sufficient sleep and reducing things like stimulants, a quite nice environment, like I like to call a bedroom, your cave. Right? Calm, peaceful, cool, dark, 100% lower heart rate. Key aspect of getting more deep sleep. When you're doing that, you're locking it in much better and your brain is recharged much better. So then it's not, it's less likely to have that. Those intrusions or wakeful episodes between deep sleep.
- [15:43]
Tana Amen
So really interesting why for women, after you have a baby, do you never sleep again? It's like every little noise you hear, it's like magnified.
- [15:53]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes.
- [15:54]
Tana Amen
Everything changes. And I don't. Like before I had a baby, I didn't. I don't remember ever being like that. And suddenly it was like, never again, of course. And you wake up all night and you're checking and you're checking your phone even when they're older. And it's just, it never changes, it never goes back.
- [16:08]
Dr. Shane Criado
So is that a disclaimer? Beware having kids.
- [16:10]
Tana Amen
Well, I don't know about, for dads, but for moms, it's like never.
- [16:13]
Daniel Amen
Yeah, no dads, it doesn't bother us at all.
- [16:15]
Tana Amen
No, you sleep like crazy.
- [16:16]
Daniel Amen
Except when you hit me and go.
- [16:18]
Tana Amen
Get up, get up.
- [16:21]
Daniel Amen
It's your turn.
- [16:23]
Dr. Shane Criado
It's true, actually, within the first six months of giving birth, they found that the telomeres, the End caps of your DNA that shorten as we age. They age within the first six months, by three to seven years. What for young moms, new moms. So we need protocols. We. I always say, you know, they go for baby visits, they go for wellness checks. What wellness checks is. Is the mother dealing with or going through.
- [16:52]
Daniel Amen
Oh, and they need it.
- [16:53]
Dr. Shane Criado
And they need it. They need ways to optimize your sleep. And of course you're going to have sleep disruptions. Of course you're going to be more anxious. It's a maternal instinct that's kicking in.
- [17:01]
Tana Amen
Right. You worry about everything. You are worried about everything.
- [17:05]
Dr. Shane Criado
As a good mother, you will worry about all those things. It's not like human beings are baby giraffes that pop out and start to hobble along and start walking. Right. Human babies are vulnerable for a long time.
- [17:18]
Tana Amen
Yeah. Once that mama bear thing kicks in, it like, never shuts off. You know, one thing that helped me. We should do another podcast on this. Having big dogs actually decreases my anxiety. We were talking about this before we started. No, I sleep better, so I somehow I feel safer in the house. And I don't know what that is, but we should talk about that another time. But I don't wake up as much.
- [17:36]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes.
- [17:37]
Tana Amen
Knowing. So.
- [17:40]
Daniel Amen
When one of our kids was young, if she took a nap.
- [17:45]
Tana Amen
Yeah.
- [17:47]
Daniel Amen
And you woke her up, she would yell at you.
- [17:50]
Tana Amen
Monster.
- [17:51]
Daniel Amen
She's, like, sweet.
- [17:52]
Tana Amen
When she went to sleep. Monster. When she woke up.
- [17:54]
Daniel Amen
And then if you gave her something to eat, she was fine and she was like herself. What's that? Is that like low blood sugar? And what's really interesting is people who are depressed, they often have this circadian rhythm abnormality where they're awful in the morning or after they take a nap, but as the day goes on, they begin to feel more like themselves. What's that about?
- [18:31]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes. So when you are waking up out of sleep, in a hurry, in a surprise, what's happening is in the later half of the night, as your melatonin is going down to zero, your stress hormone levels, cortisol, are rising. Typically between 4 and 6am the cortisol is peaking. So while it awakening hormone is rising, your melatonin is dropping down to zero. But cortisol can peak higher and earlier. And those who are dealing with anxiety and with REM or dream sleep fragmentation. Now, maybe you've eaten eight hours before the time that you woke up, ideally maybe 10 hours or so. But for some folks, what's happening is your blood sugar levels are decreasing during the course of the night. It's like a mini starvation phase while you're asleep. And while that's happening, your body says, wait a minute, there's low blood sugar. What do I do? Oh, I know, I'll, you know, chisel away some glycogen from the muscles and the. And the liver. What do I need to do that? I need the cortisol to do that.
- [19:34]
Tana Amen
Oh, right. So I wonder if that's why I have high cortisol.
- [19:38]
Dr. Shane Criado
Stress hormone levels increased to get the glycogen out to provide some more glucose to you. So now if you're pairing a busy, worried brain with higher body temperatures and in REM sleep, you're burning as many calories as when you're awake. Higher body temperature, more irregular heartbeat, and then your cortisol is peaking and your blood sugar levels are dipping. All those things factor in, along with the high body temperature to wake you up or cause disrupted REM sleep. And that's going to sabotage your sleep quality and your daily functioning. So you'll wake up in a state of. You remember when I said the amygdala activity increases, but the cortisol and the adrenaline drop? That's not gonna be dropping. So now you're waking up in a state of anxiety. And that is why we oftentimes train our brains to be more anxious when we wake up. Rushing to the phone, rushing to our emails. What do I need to do today? What's my calendar look like? And that's actually fueling the cortisol spike early in the morning.
- [20:37]
Tana Amen
So I still have high cortisol, But I did. I do notice that everything got a little better once I started training my sleep and doing all the things that. That we've talked about. And I stopped waking up to an alarm all the time. Like, all of a sudden, I didn't. It wasn't as extreme. So there's something about that alarm, that jolting and getting up out of bed when you're not quite ready to get up. And I don't need an alarm as much now because I know how much sleep I need and I'll sort of wake up naturally if I go to bed at a certain time.
- [21:06]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yeah.
- [21:06]
Tana Amen
So it's very interesting.
- [21:07]
Dr. Shane Criado
You're doing a great job with that.
- [21:08]
Tana Amen
Like, I'll set the alarm, but I almost always wake up right before the alarm.
- [21:12]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yeah, that's good. And people can wake up, even drowsy or irritable, frustrated. They're waking up out of a deeper stage in sleep. So people take a nap and they say, Sometimes I feel super refreshed. Other times I'm feeling miserable and lethargic and. And it sucks. What do I do? Well, a 20 to 30 minute nap is ideal because you're waking up at a lighter stage of sleep. But if you're sleeping 45 minutes an hour, you might be waking up at a stage two, deeper sleep. That's going to make you more irritable.
- [21:39]
Tana Amen
So that's why the 20 minute power nap helps.
- [21:41]
Dr. Shane Criado
That's right.
- [21:42]
Daniel Amen
Did you know that physical and emotional pain run on the same circuits in the brain and they fuel each other to keep you in pain? In my new book, change your brain, change your pain, I'll show you how to break free from what I call the doom lo and step into a healing loop that can transform your life. Less pain, more joy. It's absolutely possible. Pre order my new book now and receive special bonus gifts at change your brain changeyourpainbook.com for people who are watching or listening. Dr. Cado has a course called overcoming insomnia at Amen University. And he has also developed a sleep quiz. Because what we discovered here at Amen clinics is add is not one thing. Depression is not one thing. Insomnia and people who have sleep problems, it's not one thing. So you need to know your type of sleep problems and you can go to brainmd.com sleep hyphen quiz to learn about your issues. But let's talk about sleep robbers. What are the things that people do consistently that rob them of their sleep? And many of them, they think they're helping their sleep, like alcohol and marijuana, which really do not help them sleep. It's like, feel better now.
- [23:31]
Tana Amen
Well, it affects the quality of your sleep too, right?
- [23:34]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes.
- [23:34]
Tana Amen
Well, and talk about low blood sugar. Alcohol will drop your blood sugar.
- [23:38]
Dr. Shane Criado
It will. It will do that. And alcohol is a CNS depressant, so it calms the nervous system down initially, but it gets off your brain receptors very quickly. Then it'll cause a mild withdrawal in your brain in the middle of the night that wakes you up in the middle of the night. Alcohol and marijuana age the brain dramatically.
- [23:55]
Daniel Amen
And alcohol is a diuretic. So you're gonna have to pee.
- [23:57]
Dr. Shane Criado
You're gonna pee. Then you'll be more dehydrated, which drives your stress hormone levels up. And then overall, it's a really bad way of trying to get good. You're not gonna get good sleep. You'll get a little more sleep, but you'll wake up feeling miserable.
- [24:12]
Daniel Amen
So you get fragmented sleep.
- [24:14]
Dr. Shane Criado
Right.
- [24:15]
Daniel Amen
And how about with marijuana, because it's just rampant now. And it's like, this is what I use to. To go to sleep. And now they're having edibles and gummies where the anxiety go up pretty high.
- [24:32]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes.
- [24:33]
Daniel Amen
You know, I was. I just did a podcast with Tucker Carlson, and we talked all about marijuana and Girl Scout cookies. One of the edibles is like 50 THC.
- [24:47]
Dr. Shane Criado
It's called girl Scout cookies.
- [24:49]
Daniel Amen
It's called Girl Scout cookies.
- [24:52]
Dr. Shane Criado
Wow.
- [24:52]
Daniel Amen
It's an evil ruler strategy.
- [24:55]
Dr. Shane Criado
Absolutely.
- [24:56]
Tana Amen
Yeah.
- [24:58]
Daniel Amen
But we see that all the time at Amen clinics. People are using marijuana or edibles or smoking it before bed because they think it helps them.
- [25:07]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yeah, but it's damaging their brain. We see it on the brain scans all the time. But the good news is there are better strategies for this way. Better strategies like the. The sleep quiz we developed and the sleep supplements that involve groups of supplements and therapeutic doses melatonin free that cater to the main three saboteurs for sleep. One is the busy brain. One is the anxious kinds of folks who worry, worry, worry. And those who are the restless sleepers. You don't get that, you know, tossing, turning is always a par for the course for them.
- [25:43]
Tana Amen
Okay, so hold on. You said melatonin free. I haven't. I do my cocktail, but I'm not melatonin free. Do I need to be melatonin? I only take a small amount of melatonin, but do I have to be melatonin free? Don't freak me out.
- [25:56]
Dr. Shane Criado
Well, you know, melatonin has its place when it comes to basically being as effective as switching the lights off. It's the darkness hormone. You switch the lights off, melatonin rises.
- [26:08]
Tana Amen
Right.
- [26:08]
Dr. Shane Criado
Now, if you need a small amount of melatonin to help nudge your brain into sleepiness, and that's fine. When I'm talking about a small amount, I mean like 1.25 milligrams or 2 milligrams. And where you're getting it from as well matters because there's a lot of supplements out there. They've done testing that claims the supplement is 3 milligrams of melatonin. It could be between 0 and 30 milligrams.
- [26:31]
Tana Amen
So they're not regulated.
- [26:32]
Dr. Shane Criado
Exactly.
- [26:33]
Tana Amen
Okay.
- [26:33]
Dr. Shane Criado
So be very careful where you're getting it. Remember, it's only supposed to nudge your brain into sleepiness. It's not supposed to knock you out. It's not supposed to help you stay asleep either. There's only one condition in sleep medicine where we use much higher doses of melatonin. 5, 10, 15 milligrams. And that's in folks who act out their dreams. Oh, REM behavior disorder. That's one condition. Will go much higher with the melatonin. But there's way better strategies, depending on what kind of sleeper you are going to sleep type you have. And the main thing that's sabotaging your sleep. So if it's a busy brain, there's ways to calm it down. The supplements to calm it down as the cognitive shuffling we discussed a little earlier. Meditation, yoga, nidra, physiological sighing. All those things are profoundly beneficial for calming the busy brain down. So people often use marijuana or alcohol because they don't know any better. And they don't know that while they're getting enough sleep, damaging their brain. Or people start using Ambien or it's prescribed to them by doctors. We don't know that Ambien may affect your sleep quality. And another study.
- [27:38]
Tana Amen
Plus, I just took it once, and it made me cry. I like, the next day I would cry. I'm like, why? I don't want to take something that's gonna make me cry for no reason.
- [27:45]
Dr. Shane Criado
That's a good point. It might refer to what's called disinhibition science. Yeah. And Ambien can actually reduce the drainage of those toxins in the glymphatic system by around 30%. We don't want to do that to our brains. You want quality sleep.
- [28:01]
Tana Amen
So one thing, we travel a lot. And so getting, like, jet lag is. Is a big deal. And when you travel a lot, you have to figure out how to not be constantly affected by that. So you really helped me with the jet lag. So, in fact, it irritates everybody because when we go on a trip, even to Europe, I typically don't feel a lot of jet lag when I get there. Coming home, I still have to figure it out, as I have only figured out how to do it, like, sort of one way. So I'll be a little bit sleepy, like, off for a day or so when I get back. But it's amazing because you can actually help with people who travel a lot with some hygiene to help train their brains not to feel that jet lag when they get to where they're going.
- [28:40]
Dr. Shane Criado
That's right. And I love that you guys have always been on top of it, and you always text me, say, shane, okay, these are our schedules and our timings and these personalized protocols that you develop. Calming the brain down, regulating your rhythm, looking at the time difference and the duration of Your travel, the type of travel, strategic napping, light delivery, light blocking, grounding mats, a whole bunch of tools used in a very specific way. Right. Can reduce your jet lag significantly. So my athletes, high performers, frequent flyers, they don't have jet lag anymore.
- [29:11]
Tana Amen
No.
- [29:11]
Dr. Shane Criado
And it's a superpower.
- [29:12]
Tana Amen
Yeah.
- [29:13]
Daniel Amen
So if they're a shift worker. So Tana was a shift worker.
- [29:18]
Tana Amen
I never could adjust.
- [29:19]
Daniel Amen
I did. I consulted with the NBA for a year with NBA referees, and they're, they're very much like shift workers because they work late at night and then it's hard to go to sleep and then they have to take the first flight out, which is often six or seven o' clock in the morning, so they're not sleeping well. What can shift workers do to help counteract the negative impact of shift work on the brain?
- [29:53]
Dr. Shane Criado
This is an important point because it goes not just when it comes to shift workers. Think about warehouse employees, think about truck drivers, think about the airline industries. Absolutely. And our first responders are amazing. First responders are on the first line to protect our communities. And that's where their brain is impacted the most. Shift work has been designated a probable carcinogen by the WHO years ago.
- [30:16]
Tana Amen
Well, and not just the staying up all night when. So I was an ICU nurse, I was trauma ICU and neurosurgical icu. And I'm like, I'm going to kill someone if I'm not awake. So I have to stay awake. So therefore I'm going to drink two pots of coffee and eat a bunch of M&Ms. All night. So that was my routine to stay. I had to stay awake. There was no, I couldn't afford to not be sharp. So I didn't have skills back then. And that's what I did. But then all of a sudden one day I woke up while I was heading towards the center divider. And for me, I never could adjust. You know, I also had the thought, oh, maybe I should have a glass of wine at 7 o' clock in the morning when I get home so I can sleep. And when I started having thoughts like that, I'm like, okay, I have to figure something else out.
- [30:55]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yeah. Not only is it bad for people's brains, but for the patients that are interested and trusting us with their lives. There are studies that have shown that if you have an overnighter versus someone who's had a 16 hour shift, which is too long anyway, 300% more medical errors.
- [31:11]
Tana Amen
Right.
- [31:11]
Dr. Shane Criado
Five times as many diagnostic errors, you're diagnosing the wrong thing. Five times more likely to do that. Needle stick injuries go up by over 60%. And these numbers direct implications for health. Not just your health, not just first responders, not just medical doctors or nurses, but everyone else that entrusts them with their care.
- [31:30]
Daniel Amen
Yeah.
- [31:30]
Tana Amen
And there are some people who. That I worked with that absolutely were nocturnal preferred nights, slept fine during the day, but they were few and far between.
- [31:39]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yeah. And. And look, we're all tempted to start using copious amounts of caffeine and coffee in our overnight shift. I never went into that trend even during my psychiatric.
- [31:50]
Daniel Amen
Well, we were right as psychiatric interns and residents. Well, when I was an intern, I sleep deprived all the time.
- [31:59]
Tana Amen
Oh, no.
- [32:00]
Daniel Amen
I was on psychiatry.
- [32:01]
Tana Amen
Yeah. I watched two residents pass out on the floor.
- [32:04]
Daniel Amen
Yeah. I worried I was going to kill someone.
- [32:05]
Tana Amen
Being up all night for like 24 hours at a time.
- [32:08]
Dr. Shane Criado
Right. But.
- [32:09]
Daniel Amen
But being a psychiatric resident is like way better than being a surgery resident or. But yeah, sleep deprivation, it is such a pervasive problem. Okay, so we talked about sleep robbers. What are sleep enhancers? And you talked about it. So the cave person. It's dark, it's cool and it's quiet.
- [32:37]
Tana Amen
And I've got my earplugs and I've got my eye mask and I've got my sleep cocktail.
- [32:41]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes.
- [32:41]
Daniel Amen
And then you said routine.
- [32:43]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yes.
- [32:43]
Daniel Amen
That we should go to bed about the same time every night. And what about scary movies before bed?
- [32:54]
Dr. Shane Criado
Do you like scary movies?
- [32:56]
Daniel Amen
I don't like scary movies, but we've gotten into Dexter. Yeah.
- [33:00]
Tana Amen
Someone got us like hooked up. Like I thought was going to be terrible, but it's actually very funny. So it's actually not that scary. It's funny.
- [33:07]
Dr. Shane Criado
Yeah. Yeah, that's a very good point. What can help consolidate your sleep is a fixed wake up time every single morning. And getting some sunlight on your face because then it locks in your circadian rhythm really nicely. Additionally winding down before bed because you know, you can't predict exactly when your brain is going to feel sleepy. But when you have a routine, like an hour before bedtime, consider it your mini vacation.
- [33:32]
Daniel Amen
Yep.
- [33:33]
Dr. Shane Criado
Dim the lights, do your to do list, process the stuff that we've been flooded with all day, and then allows your brain to get relaxed more temperature is important. You need it around. The data shows between 65 and 66 Fahrenheit. Some people like it lower, lower temperatures.
- [33:50]
Tana Amen
See, it's supposed to be like 64, so be happy. I keep it at 69. It's hard for me to keep it at 69.
- [33:55]
Daniel Amen
I need, like a robe. Not a robe, but like a parka at night at my house. This is so.
- [34:04]
Tana Amen
But it's so irritating.
- [34:05]
Daniel Amen
So one of the things I do is every night I do what went well. And I do it. I like, extended. It's like, what went well? You woke up next to Tanner and, you know, we had our decaf coffee together, we went on a walk. I go hour by hour just looking for what I. I liked about the day.
- [34:30]
Tana Amen
So he doesn't understand, like, I need. My brain is very busy and it needs time to unwind before bed. So he. I'm. I'm always talking about, like, I need my time to unwind. I can't just get ready for bed after we've been busy. And he literally can sit down, sit on the bed, and he's out. Like, it's just the most irritating. No, it's just like, so. And he's gone. I mean, I can't wake him up. There's no. There can be a fire in the house. And I'm like, I would. Don't even know what I would do.
- [34:57]
Dr. Shane Criado
But you have a dog.
- [34:58]
Tana Amen
Well, the dog's not gonna drag you out of the house.
- [35:01]
Daniel Amen
I have my dog.
- [35:04]
Tana Amen
So. But for me, it takes time.
- [35:07]
Daniel Amen
Yeah, let Shane answer this right.
- [35:09]
Dr. Shane Criado
It does take time for you because each one's brain is different. Some people have busier brains than others. But I like what you're doing with looking at a gratitude exercise or as you've once once told me, the nightly treasure hunt that you do because that allows your brain to get into a frame of positive thinking, of gratitude, peace. So a high frequency versus lower frequency state of chaos and worry and anxiety. And when that happens, you're going to sleep with a lower sympathetic drive or the fight and flight response is lowered, your parasympathetic is improved and you're more likely to get that super important deep sleep. And then your dreams will be likely to be better because you're prepping your.
- [35:51]
Daniel Amen
Dreams to be happier. Well, we're running out of time and.
- [35:55]
Tana Amen
I feel like we can just.
- [35:56]
Daniel Amen
We love you so much and we are grateful. Shane Criado, Dr. Criato works in our Chicago clinic, so Amen Clinic, Chicago. He's also the author of Peak Sleep Performance for Athletes. You can take his course, which is just spectacular.
- [36:17]
Tana Amen
It's fantastic.
- [36:18]
Daniel Amen
At Amen University. So go to amen university.com overcoming insomnia. And he's created a brand new sleep quiz to know your sleep type. And you can go to brainmd.com sleep hyphen quiz and learn all about it. We are so grateful that you continue to listen to the podcast and we want you to leave us a comment, Question Review subscribe we have way more.
- [36:56]
Tana Amen
Coming up for you so and and I came up with an idea for you. You need to do a specific sleep program for new moms and menopausal women.
- [37:05]
Dr. Shane Criado
Done. I'm also going to work on something for shift workers and first responders with Daniel.
- [37:10]
Tana Amen
Yes.
- [37:10]
Dr. Shane Criado
So I'd love to do that.
- [37:14]
Daniel Amen
Your brain is your most valuable asset. It controls everything from your focus and memory to your mood and energy. That's why I created Brain MD to give you science backed supplements that support your brain so you can feel and perform your best every day day. If you haven't tried them yet, go to brainmd.com and use the code PODCAST20 for 20% off because when your brain works better, you work better.
- [37:52]
Tana Amen
Okay, so you already know I take this whole like cocktail of things and it really works well for me. But if I had to pick one sleep supplement because I know that you're working on sleep supplements right now for Brain md, you've come up with this new line. What's your favorite and how? What are your or favorites?
- [38:07]
Dr. Shane Criado
So if you have a busy brain, I like quiet my mind sleep, but it's it has therapeutic doses of factors that dial it down.
- [38:15]
Tana Amen
Okay.
- [38:16]
Dr. Shane Criado
Stress relief sleep helps with those who have busy brains. Worry, worry, worry all the time and get stuck in certain thought cycles. So your brain is kind of blocked from processing the stuff that you've experienced during the day. And deep comfort sleep is my favorite combination for those folks who have restless sleep just unrefreshed in the daytime. These are powerful combinations and these all tend to have magnesium in them. So magnesium has become one of my favorite sleep supplements of all time. It's been shown to improve your deep sleep. That restorative sleep that you need also dials the intensity of your emotional thermostat down. Helps with muscle relaxation too. So glycinate is great for the nervous system and muscle relaxation. Threonate can cross the blood brain barrier and calm the nervous system down.
- [39:05]
Tana Amen
Awesome.
- [39:06]
Daniel Amen
Thank you so much.