Crack vs. Powder Cocaine
TD team, In the episode with David Nutt, Dr. Nutt indicates that he believes crack cocaine to be a more dangerous substance than regular powder cocaine. I was always under the impression that the only difference between the 2 substances was that powder cocaine was used by those with higher socioeconomic status and therefore was punished less harshly for possession. What makes crack more dangerous than powder cocaine?
Is it 8 hours of sleep or 6.5 hours? Is the difference measured vs self-reported?
We've always heard that about 8 hours of sleep is ideal, but I've seen some recent papers claiming it is actually 6.5 hours. That's a huge difference. Is the difference actually measured sleep via brainwaves vs self-reported sleep? Here is one of the recent studies claiming only 6.5 hours is ideal: https://academic.oup.com/brain/article-abstract/144/9/2852/6401973?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Sleep duration?
I came across the question about sleep duration last week! I was asked what is the recommended length of sleep and based on your podcast with M. Walker I answered 8 hours! But it was incorrect! The article published in Brain/ I think/ claims that sleeping longer than 6.5 hours has actually a detrimental effect on our health and brain itself! I use Oura daily and when ever is my sleep shortened to that length, my results are much worse! Can you please comment? Thanks
Photo-immunology and the pros & cons of photo-therapy
I would be grateful if Peter could offer his opinion on the pros & cons of Photo-therapy and whether he advises low doses of UVR (well below the minimal erythemal dose and mimicking daily sun exposure) and/or Infrared phototherapy (in saunas, for example). The Nature review “Photoimmunology: how ultraviolet radiation affects the immune system” was decidedly unsatisfactory – raising far more questions than providing answers. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41577-019-0185-9 To my way of thinking – Metflammation/Inflammaging can be mitigated with down regulation of Th1 Cells, together with upregulation of Th2 and Treg Cells (and associated cytokines). That all said, Bernard et al’s review is still excellent and worthy of perusal, given its emphasis on UVRB’s role ability to modulate the Innate Immune response in inflammation. I’m still scratching my head, however, and would appreciate Peter’s insights. Parenthetically, I was a close friend of the late Tom Wegman when he was celebrated for his “Th1/Th2” hypothesis of pregnancy success (which has significant overlap with my question). This field has advanced considerably since his demise, by shifting focus to the crucial role of the innate immune response together with its interaction with the adaptive immune response as two inseparable contributing forces in determining pregnancy success. Ancillary questions would include best timing of vaccinations (winter or summer?) as well as photo-therapeutic strategies to facilitate successful pregnancy (given that seems to be increasingly problematic). Thanks in advance for your patience and indulgence.