Circadian health expert and medical scientist Logan Pendergrast, Ph.D., explains the two core processes that regulate the sleep–wake cycle: the homeostatic sleep drive and circadian rhythm. The homeostatic sleep drive functions like a pressure gauge, with adenosine building throughout the day to increase sleepiness and then resetting during sleep. Alongside this, the circadian rhythm acts as the body’s internal clock, aligning hormone release, metabolism, and energy levels with the demands of daily life.
The segment also addresses how social cues—such as meal timing, work schedules, and social interactions—interact with these systems. For shift workers, these cues can easily disrupt the balance between circadian rhythm and sleep pressure, leading to desynchronization and reduced wellbeing. Dr. Pendergrast highlights how understanding these triggers can help individuals make adjustments that support healthier sleep patterns and overall function.
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So let's talk about our next factor and
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that is the sound of our environment. So
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if you use an alarm clock, you're
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familiar with this. The sounds that we
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hear in our environment can influence
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our ability to sleep. And this is shown
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actually in the scientific data where
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sounds even at about 40 dB like the hum
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of a refrigerator or a quiet
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conversation can increase the amount of
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arousals during sleep or the amount of
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essentially wake pulses during sleep
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even when those measurements aren't um
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noticed by an electrophilogram
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or the brain measurement device. So
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there are subtle um interruptions to our
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sleep by even small amounts of sound. So
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there are fortunately simple ways that
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we can um improve this. One of them is
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using white noise. So using white or
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pink noise which can be found on
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playlists on Spotify for instance or
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there are sounds um emitting devices
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that you can buy commercially at places
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like you know stores that are commercial
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department stores that are nearby. And
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what this does is provides a common
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stable soundsscape so that we aren't
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experiencing interruptions in the
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environment around us in disrupting our
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sleep. Additionally, of course, there
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are ear plugs which can reduce the
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amount of arousals during sleep by up to
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60%. We can also put inserts into our
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windows that can reduce the amount of
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noise coming through that by about 50 to
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70%.
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And as a as a takeaway tip here,
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something that we can consider,
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instruments like fans or air purifiers
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provide a dual effect where they are
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either cooling our environment down or
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improving the air quality in our
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environment, but also providing a
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background sound to drown out any sort
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of disruptions in the soundsscape.
