Video gaming is something of a national pastime among teenagers in the United States. One survey found that nearly 75% of teenage boys participate in some form of gaming^1. 

With so many of our  kids playing video games as a principle form of recreation, and so many of the video games being highly action-oriented and even violent, it's natural to wonder how this stimulation can impact sleep. 

I wanted to start this week with a real warm and fuzzy post about how grateful we are for our sleep technologists. We call them night techs. Each October, the American Association of Sleep Technologists celebrates Sleep Tech Week to recognize the technologists who play a vital role in sleep centers across the country.

Who performs overnight sleep studies?

That's right... our Registered Polysomnographic Technologists... our sleep techs (or RPSGTs for short). These are the ladies and gents that perform sleep studies, for the young and old, sick and tired, seven nights a week almost 365 days a year. The tech who attaches all of the electrodes and tucks you in for a good night's sleep at the sleep center.  

Our sleep techs work tirelessly making sure that our patients are comfortable, informed, and properly cared for during their overnight sleep studies. It's a tough job. Many patients undergoing sleep studies are nervous, anxious, tired and not interested in spending the night in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar technician. But it's an important job! After completing a sleep study and receiving treatment for a sleep disorder, many patients report that their lives are greatly improved. 

So that got me thinking: who's taking care of the sleep techs? I have several questions:

• What are the effects of working the Graveyard Shift (ie: working overnight)? Does it cause sleep disorders?
• Can anyone work overnight, or are some people more suited to night work than others?
• Do gravediggers really dig graves at night? (this question seems appropriate as we approach Halloween)

Here's what I found:

Busy professionals experience many pressures that impede their ability to obtain optimal amounts of sleep. Working according to shift patterns, working across different time zones simultaneously and international travel¹ are all common causes of sleep loss. In addition, the use of artificial lighting and hand-held technologies at night², ever increasing pressure to perform (and to be ‘seen’ to perform) and the lengthening of the working day all make the challenge of getting optimal sleep more difficult for employees.

In this guest post, Professor Vicki Culpin, a professor at Hult International Business School shares her recent research findings on the influence of sleep quality on work life.

According to research, exposure to artificial light at night can disrupt our sleep. Blue wavelength light, the kind that comes from TVs, iPads, and smartphones, is especially harmful to circadian rhythm function. 

So, what are we do to about this? In this blog post, we explain the top reasons why you should consider wearing a pair of these dashing glasses tonight.

How Much Sleep Does My Child Need?

The National Sleep Foundation updated their recommended sleep duration guidelines for all age groups in 2015 based on an expert panel's comprehensive review of published scientific studies on sleep and health. Ranges are given instead of a hard number for each age group. The experts acknowledge that there is individual variability and the range is intended to be a starting point for individuals to discuss sleep with their healthcare providers.

We've covered the benefits of exercise for improving the quality of your sleep and how to balance sleep and exercise (click here).

In this post we'll cover the importance of sleep for athletes at all levels, including recent scientific studies that look at the benefits of sleep for recovery after exercise.

For me, camping is all about sleeping outside- both the challenges and the rewards.

It has taken our family years of trial and error to find exactly the right sleeping arrangements (10 person tent for the 5 of us, queen-sized self-inflating air mattress, flannel sheets, heavy down comforter and kids on their own cots).

Camping is almost always a social activity with one or more other families. Our kids run around all day, getting filthy and engaging in screen-free activities like catching lizards and throwing rocks. As the sun sets and we clean up sticky fingers from our nightly s'mores, I'm ready for bed. I love the creeping sleepiness that approaches with the sunset after spending an entire day outdoors. It's also the one time my kids don't argue about going to bed. They're ready. We fall asleep just after the sun sets and wake up just after it rises.

It's no surprise that studies have shown sleeping outside is great for re-calibrating your sleep cycle. Camping [usually] means that you're not using your iPhone or watching TV before bed. Electronic devices are not only stimulants- as all parents know- but also emit blue light which can effect melatonin levels and make it hard to fall asleep (learn more about that here). 

Sleeping outside typically means that you're following the sun's schedule. So even if you're not getting more sleep when you're camping (which I always do), the timing of your sleep gets in sync with natural melatonin levels so it's easier to fall asleep and wake up feeling more rested.

I could reminisce about my recent camping trip (see that beautiful sunset? That was our first night camping in Big Sur this past weekend) for this entire post; however, I'll tie this back to our main topic, sleeping outside. No matter where or who we go camping with, there are two questions that often come up while camping related to sleep apnea. 

We all know that drinking and driving is dangerous and illegal... but did you know that driving sleepy is just as dangerous as driving drunk? 

Not only do car accidents pose a serious threat for people with chronic sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, but anyone who gets behind a wheel with less than optimal rest could be putting themselves in danger. With a majority of the population admitting to driving while exhausted, that threat of drowsy driving is real.

1. The older you get, the fewer hours of sleep you need.

Sleep experts recommend a range of seven to nine hours of sleep for the average adult. While sleep patterns change as we age, the amount of sleep we need generally does not. Older people may wake more frequently through the night and may actually get less nighttime sleep, but their sleep need is no less than younger adults. Because they may sleep less during the night, older people tend to sleep more during the day. Naps planned as part of a regular daily routine can be useful in promoting wakefulness after the person awakens. Learn more about recommended sleep duration guidelines by age group here.

The National Sleep Foundation is celebrating its annual Sleep Awareness Week ^© March 6th through March 13th, to raise awareness of the health benefits of sleep and its importance to safety and productivity. We've compiled a list of ten of the most important things you should know about sleep. Learn more and spread awareness about sleep health with your family, friends and colleagues.