Sleep StudyChristopher M. Giancursio

Do sleep aids really help?

• Definition: An agent or drug having a soothing, calming, or tranquilizing affect

Background Research

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNhDkKAvxFk

• I started off with why we sleep and how it works

Background Research (Continued)

Drug Sleep Aids• All sleep medications

work on the brain to promote drowsiness. Some drugs are specially designed as sleep aids; others are medicines with sedation as a side effect.

Natural Sleep Aids• Natural sleep aids like

vitamins or tea can work in various ways. (example. Sleep tea produces chemicals that give you a relaxing affect; which in essence helps you fall asleep easier)

Hypothesis

• My hypothesis is that sleep aids in helping you fall asleep quicker at night, do not give you a more restful sleep and do not help you feel more awake/refreshed throughout the day.

The Experiment

The Experiment

• 18 People – Male & Female– Age Range 15 to 67

• Tested 5 different types of sleep aids + a control week = 6 week long experiment

• Each one for 5 days– Each day they tested,

they would also fill out a morning and night survey

Survey Example

Control Week - Diane (age 66)

DateHow Many Times Got up During Night

How well rested did you feel in morning (1 being bad, 10 being amazing)

Pulse in Morning How long did it take you to fall Asleep

How well rested do you feel between 4pm and 7 pm (1 being bad, 10 being amazing)

Did you crash during the day at all (Yes or No)

3/3/14 2 7 72 15 minutes 7 No3/4/14 1 8 72 10 minutes 8 No3/5/14 1 7 72 20 minutes 7 No3/6/14 1 8 64 15 minutes 7 No3/7/14 2 6 68 20 minutes 7 No

Estimation

The Weeks

①Control②Sleep Tea③Exercise④Melatonin Vitamin ⑤No caffeine 2 hours before bed/No TV or

Computer after 4 pm⑥ZzzQuil™

So what happened?

_x000c_Control Week

_x0008_Tea Week

_x000d_Exercise Week

_x000e_Melatonin Week

;No caffeine 2 hours before bed/No TV or Computer after 4 pmZquil Week

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Roy - Pulse in morning

Day 5 of Week Day 4 of Week Day 3 of Week Day 2 of Week Day 1 of Week

_x000c_Control Week

_x000d_Exercise Week

;No caffeine 2 hours before bed/No TV or Computer after 4 pm

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Roy - How well rested do you feel in evening

Day 5 of Week Day 4 of Week Day 3 of Week Day 2 of Week Day 1 of Week

Examples

Results that I focused onHow Many Times You Got Up During Night

“Which Sleep Aid helped people get up the LEAST amount during the night?”

*It is possible that peoples results were tied* (for example Sarah got up 0 times each night with ZzzQuil™ & Sleep Tea

Tea21%

Melatonin14%

ZzzQuil29%

Control14%

C/TV&C14%

Exercise7%

Awoke the Least Amount During the Night

More Results

Well Rested

• “Which Sleep Aid made you feel the MOST well rested?”

*The huge find here is not one person felt the most well rested on their regular/natural sleep night (Control Week)

Tea45%

Melatonin18%

ZzzQuil18%

C/TV&C9%

Exercise9%

Most Well Rested

Pulse & Time to Fall AsleepLargest Percentages

• 10 out of 18 sleep study candidates experienced one of their highest pulse times during the zquil week (55%)

• 8 out of 18 sleep study candidates experienced one of their lowest pulse times during the tea week(44%)

• 8 out of 18 sleep study candidates experienced longer periods of time to fall asleep during the zquil week (44%)

• 6 out of 18 experienced shorter periods of time to fall asleep the zquil week (33%).

Rested in the Evening & CrashesLargest Percentages

• 8 out of 18 sleep study candidates experienced feeling more well rested during the evening the control week (44%)

• 6 out of 18 sleep study candidates experienced feeling more well rested during the evening the exercise week (33%).

• 6 crashed the most the zquil week, 4 crashed the most the control week, 4 crashed the most the tea week, 2 crashed the most the melatonin week, & 2 crashed the same amount for the control & melatonin weeks.

In Conclusion

• Sleep Aids do help you fall asleep quicker, stay asleep, and feel more rested when you wake up; but you will feel more refreshed throughout the day if you use a natural sleep aid or rather no sleep aid (Melatonin, Sleep Tea), compared to an over the counter sleep aid (ZzzQuil ™ )

Works Cited for this Powerpoint

• http://www.thefreedictionary.com• http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=j-

hBxEBpfsnxjM&tbnid=hCuB3Y7Evew33M&ved=0CAcQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.northeastcoffeeco.com%2FBigelow_Cozy_Chamomile_Tea.html&ei=CJNqU83WK8qwsQSijIGYBg&psig=AFQjCNEE_TAcxl6cvAZFuGCC4rm3uC8c_Q&ust=1399579784810676

• www.theworstthingsforsale.com• www.webmd.com• http://slumberwise.com/science/does-chamomile-tea-really-make-you-sleepy/