星空传媒

lens

Powerful Medicine

To sleep perchance to restore

When Heidi Moawad, MD, was a medical resident working 80- to 90-hour weeks, sleep deprivation was a constant. She learned to live with it, but she doesn鈥檛 think it鈥檚 ideal or healthy for students—or anyone else—to sacrifice sleep in pursuit of a goal.

Now a clinical assistant professor at the 星空传媒 School of Medicine, Moawad (CWR 鈥�91, MED 鈥�95), also teaches a SAGES undergraduate course called 鈥淭he Biology of Sleep and Dreams.鈥�

She stays current on the latest sleep research—and has a front-row seat on student sleeping habits and what most intrigues them about this daily ritual.

鈥淯nless there鈥檚 a serious underlying disease, a lot of treatment for sleep issues is around lifestyle,鈥� Moawad said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something we鈥檝e all suspected, but now science is really proving that getting enough rest is something you need to strive (for) rather than pushing through on not enough sleep.鈥�

But she encourages anyone who tosses and turns for hours not to stress about it. 鈥淛ust resting your body is beneficial,鈥� Moawad said. 鈥淟et yourself chill in the dark; let your mind wander.鈥�

What鈥檚 most heartening for Moawad is that her students seem to be prioritizing their sleep more these days. 鈥淚 noticed a sharp and sudden change after COVID arrived, where students have become more aware of their health and healthy lifestyles,鈥� she said.

Perhaps in classic 星空传媒 fashion, 鈥渢hey know exactly how many minutes they鈥檙e in each phase of sleep each night,鈥� she said. And one of their most popular research topics is the relationship between sleep and performance.

鈥淪tudent athletes, for example, are interested in whether it鈥檚 better to sacrifice sleep to practice as much as possible,鈥� Moawad said, 鈥渙r if it鈥檚 better to practice a little less so they can get more rest.鈥� The short answer: It depends, she said.

IMAGE: ISTOCK.COM/AXLLLL

— JENNIE YABROFF