Struggling to get a good night’s rest? In this interview, Rebecca Kaplan, a primary care provider with Hartford HealthCare Medical Group, explains why quality sleep is essential — it’s when your body heals, resets, and supports your brain and immune system — and shares six affordable, easy-to-find products that can genuinely improve your rest.
Transcript:
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Well, joining me now, Rebecca Kaplan is a primary care provider with Hartford HealthCare Medical Group. Rebecca, it’s great to see you.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Great to see you too. Thank you so much for the invitation.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
And I should mention you are in Stanford, Connecticut and I hope the weather is really beautiful in Stanford. Let’s, you know, sleep is a really important part of the day or our lives. Let me start there before we get into some of the best products to help us sleep.
In your estimation as a primary care provider and someone who sees patients on a regular basis, how important is it for us to get our sleep and how many hours do I actually need?
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
That’s a great question. So solid amount of sleep where you’re in your deep REM sleep, ideal is seven hours. I even tell my children that sleep is when your body heals.
So if you’re not feeling well or you’ve had a really big day, that rest is one of the most important things that you can give to yourself to then reset for the next day.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
So the rest is really important, I guess. And does it increase in its importance? Because when I was younger, Rebecca, candidly, I thought I could do without the seven or eight hours.
Now that I’m a little bit older in middle age, it feels like it’s more important.
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Yeah, so sleep is important throughout the life cycle. As a newborn and as a toddler, those rested times where you have scheduled naps where the parents are trying to walk you around in the stroller, all the way through adulthood. It’s just as important through those ages and stages because as a child, if you’re not rested, can you really learn well at school?
The brain does need that reset time to be able to then work the right way and for your immune system to also work the right way.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
So when you talk to your patients, and I imagine you have patients of many different ages and a lot of different age ranges, are they getting that amount of sleep or are they challenged in getting that sleep?
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
I think this day and age with technology, sleep has become extremely challenging. And people are easy to dismiss like, oh, I don’t sleep, but I have headaches. And so, through conversations, that’s always something that comes up when someone’s coming in with a complaint of fatigue or tiredness or headaches.
It’s one of the key things that we ask, are you getting enough sleep? What is your sleep routine? Are you sleeping next to your phone?
Those are very key questions that allow us to make a proper diagnosis.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
So I know you did a lot of research on products, sleep products that actually work. And I was hoping we could touch on each of these because I think, let me start with the overarching theme is are these items super expensive? Am I gonna have to go out and get a new mattress?
Or are these things easily obtainable for any American?
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Yes, so the key and the research that I did in the article that was published is really affordable options that are easy things to acquire. So you don’t have to wait a month to get something like a sleep mask and you can get one for one or $2. So yeah.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, so these are easily achievable and obtainable. Let’s start out with number one, which is you mentioned it, the sleep mask. How does this work and where can I get the best sleep mask for Jeff Snyder or for my wife or for my mom?
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
So the best one is the one that fits your face comfortably. So I’m not gonna say, oh, this brand is the most perfect one. People have different shapes of faces.
So finding one that you can wear overnight that does disrupt your sleep, especially if you’re a side sleeper or a back sleeper or one that’s fixed, so it’s not shifting around is gonna be important. Anywhere where there’s like a dollar store, a Marshall’s, a TJ Maxx to name like a few drop-in places. Of course, ordering it online at Amazon is also easy.
And you wanna look for something that can be washed. You don’t want to use one on an ongoing basis that can’t be washed because there are skin particles that you wanna make sure you’re washing regularly.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, and by the way, our cats like to grab the sleep mask from my wife. And so you probably, so good point. You probably wanna wash them.
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Yes.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Especially if you have animals that like to take them. Let’s talk about earplugs because I’m a person that I need complete quiet when I sleep. There’s a lot of different options out there, but how do I close off all that sound in a way that allows me to get that important REM rest that you’re talking about?
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Sure, so soft earplugs that are malleable, not putting the headphones over your head or ear pods. So we have a lot of conversations at Primary Care about ear pods because the ears are not meant to constantly have a feed of noise into them. That can actually affect hearing over the longterm.
So you want real ear plugs, the ones that you’re able to mold to your specific ear and let it expand, especially if you’re a side sleeper because it can get uncomfortable if you’re laying on something that’s not soft and malleable.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, I’ve been there actually. I’ve fallen asleep with one of my, we can talk about the hearing issues later, but and that is not a comfortable position even on the softest of pillows. Next up, white noise.
So this, what is a white noise machine? How do I find one? And how does it work to defray the noise in the environment that I’m in?
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Sure, so white noise is a constant, it can either be one constant sound or repetitive noise, sort of like the ocean waves. And it actually mimics the sounds of when you were in the utero with the amniotic fluid and the environment where everything is sort of dull. So the key for a white noise machine is to have it at a high enough volume where you can drown out background noise.
And you can easily find one at, again, a dollar store, a Best Buy, any of the local markets for no more than I would say $20 should probably be the max. You don’t have to go and buy the $100 white noise machine that claims that it’s gonna like work magic. But that low hum allows the mind to sort of reset and sleep better.
Similar to light, it disrupts the melatonin cycle. So dark automatically increases your melatonin levels to allow you to fall into sleep.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, so you mentioned don’t wear your AirPods or your ear pods to sleep. I would imagine listening to a podcast or TV or something through your phone, that is not the equivalent of what we’re talking about here in terms of white noise, right? That is- Correct.
Probably stimulates your brain more than you want.
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Yes, I mean, in the wind down, listening to an audio book or a sleep meditation is fine, but you don’t want to use that throughout your sleep cycle. You wanna have an end point, a defined bedtime where everything shuts down. You turn on your white noise machine, you use your earplugs and your blackout shades and your eye mask and you rest.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, it’s really good, especially if you live in like a city where there’s traffic noise or you have very loud neighbors. We have a neighbor above us with a child who runs. It’s very annoying, but that white noise works really well.
Let’s talk about light. You hit on this earlier when you talked about some of the noise, but let’s talk about blackout curtains because I’m bothered by light. I don’t like light coming in underneath the door.
Light disrupts our sleep as well and curtains may help.
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Yeah, so sleep-wake cycles are dictated by different hormones in the body. And so one of the key ones is melatonin. So sun rises and sun sets and the body sort of knows wake and sleep cycles based on that.
We’re challenged with sometimes it being lighter later or lighter too early before you wanna wake up. So blocking that light out will allow you to rest for longer. And sometimes the blackout shades don’t necessarily get everything out because of the cars passing or streetlights, you can’t really get that right angle.
So that’s where the sleep mask comes in where you can really get that full darkness.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Do I need to go with the blinds to go or another big provider to get these blackout curtains or can it just be, I find it online or I go to a thrift shop? I mean, does it have to be a special material to reflect or protect us from the light?
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
There are different levels of blackout curtains but a simple pair that will even dim the light that you just currently come through even if you don’t have current curtains. There are even like sort of accordion ones that work as post-its. It can sort of put at the top and let them fall down.
So you don’t have to spend a lot of money in order to get blackout. And when I was traveling with my kids you can actually use one of those big outdoor trash bags the black ones, and you can put tape up and that works beautifully as well to black out the light if you’re really in a bind and you just wanna make sure the light’s not coming through.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, that’s actually good advice. That’s a very inexpensive way. You could do the lawn and pick up the leaves and also use them as blackout curtains.
Dual function. Yeah, dual function. Hey, look, you gotta be resourceful.
Let’s talk about the weighted blanket. I’ve actually tried this, Rebecca. It’s like I’m almost in the, I can’t remember when I was, before I was born but it’s almost like I’m in the womb.
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Yeah, yeah. So you think about newborns and those photos and the swaddle, right? So like the tight sort of hug is known to provide a calming sensation.
So similar to that swaddle that you stayed in for those first three months of life when you were napping and sleeping, the weighted blanket provides that sort of sensory input to allow the body to calm down. And again, these do not need to be expensive. A lot of them have like beads on the inside that make it weighted.
You wanna ensure that you’re not going above 10% of your body weight because you don’t wanna be restricted in your movement, restricted in your movement when you use one. So you have to be mindful of that, especially as sometimes children use it. And so you also just need to be really careful about the weight.
Just wanna highlight the safety of it, but it helps a lot. And you can also look for one that has cooling features because temperature is also very important for sleep and it’s a great addition to your comforter.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, I enjoyed it. Did make the trip from Uptown to South Charlotte, but it was a great, it helped me relax and it actually felt very comfortable. You mentioned cooling, and I wanna end on a cooling pillowcase or cooling sheets.
I always take the temperature down. My wife doesn’t like that, but I take the temperature down because I like to sleep in a cool environment. How about finding cooling sheets?
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Yeah, so there’s a lot on the market now with a cooling pillowcase, a cooling sheet, a cooling mattress topper. It allows for more air circulation. So naturally your body’s temperature will decrease as you’re going into sleep.
And it’s known for many reasons that you can fall into a deeper sleep if you’re in your colder environment where you’re sort of layered up. And so finding those sometimes can be a little bit of a challenge, but you don’t have to spend a ton of money in order to have something that’s breathable. You also wanna look for something that’s cotton, not synthetic, because those will breathe better, especially if you sleep hot when you sweat.
Those will absorb a little bit better than like the silk or the synthetic materials.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah, really, really good advice. I do have a question for you, Rebecca. What about sleeping, we have two cats.
They both like to sleep next to us or on us. Is that a no-no or is that, I actually cuddle with one of them like a teddy bear. Is it, would that be considered a no-no or is that?
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
It’s what works for you. Some people feel obligated to have either their dog or their cat sleep in their bed because they feel like they’re part of the family, but the dog or the cat’s moving around the bed the whole night and jumping off and jumping back on, that is a sleep disruptor. So I would not advise that, or they bark or they meow.
But if it works for you, provides comfort or safety and a sense of relaxation, then whatever, you know, flips your boat.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
Yeah.
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
When it comes to animals.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
It is very relaxing. Let me end on kind of where we started because you mentioned you talk to your patients and one of the things you talk about is their sleep pattern and whether they’re getting good sleep. If I’m watching this and I going to visit my primary care physician, if I’m not sleeping well, just for intermittently, should I be bringing that up if they don’t bring that up in conversation?
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Yeah, yeah. So it’s one of the questions we definitely touch upon in a routine physical where we’re looking at preventative care. You know, if you’re coming in for a problem-focused visit, it will be one of the questions if it’s related, but it’s something that’s very important that you want to discuss.
And the first thing that we do is not prescribe medication. We talk about your bedtime, your habits, and your routine going into your sleep cycle. And those are the things we want to make sure we iron out before we even think about starting a medication to help with sleep.
Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network
I like that you bring that up. Rebecca, we’re going to have to leave it there. Great research, great article.
We’ll link to it on the show. Thanks so much for joining us, and we look forward to having you back on the program again very soon.
Rebecca Kaplan, FNP-BC, Hartford Healthcare Medical Group
Thanks so much, Jeff.
