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welcome to night eating!
Please read the following as it contains important information for optimal site
navigation!
  If you haven't visited the homepage, you're missing out on some important info, so I'll just give you a "heads up" here!
You've reached "night eating," part of the emotional feelings network of sites. If you scroll
down to the footer on this page, you'll see the complete listing of all the sites in the network!
All of the sites
in the emotional feelings network of sites are linked together thru a very complete network of underlined link words. Anytime you see an underlined link word, if you should be
interested in more information concerning that word, simply click on it & a new browser window will appear. The page that
opens up will give you an entire page filled with information concerning the word of
your interest.
the emotional feelings network
of sites was designed like this because as an ex-night eater, I was also faced with many other life dysfunctions,
mental illness I was unaware of, domestic violence, a lack of any positive self esteem & so much more....
As I began my recovery,
I began to slowly discover how all of the subjects contained within the emotional feelings network
of sites are connected to each other. Soon I also discovered that there's power in educating yourself about it
all.
As you gain power thru your newly acquired knowledge, you begin to regain a
sense of control. As you begin to feel better, you become stronger & you're more able to begin your own journey
thru recovery & personal growth. Once you begin, you will see how the subjects contained within this network of sites
really is... all pertinent information for you - as a night eater!
visit the homepage for a better understanding of what's contained within the emotional feelings network of
sites!
thanks for stopping by.... i hope that something
within the network will be of use to you today....
kathleen
 
How Sleep Works
by Marshall Brain
Sleep is one of those funny things about being
a human being, you just have to do it. Have you ever wondered why?
What about the crazy dreams, like the one where
a bad person is chasing you & you can't run or yell. Does that make any sense?
If you've ever wondered about why people have to sleep
or what causes dreams, then read on to find out all about sleep & what it does for you.
Characteristics of Sleep
We all know how sleep
looks, when we see someone sleeping, we recognize the following characteristics:
- If possible, the person will lie down to go to sleep.
- The person's eyes are closed.
- The person doesn't hear anything unless it's a loud noise.
- The person breathes in a slow, rhythmic pattern.
If sitting up, the person may
fall out of his or her chair as sleep deepens.
During sleep,
the person occasionally rolls over or rearranges his or her body. This happens approximately once or twice an hour. This may
be the body's way of making sure that no part of the body or skin has its circulation cut off for too long a period of time.
In addition
to these outward signs, the heart slows
down & the brain does some pretty funky things (we'll get to this later).
In other words, a sleeping person is unconscious to
most things happening in the environment. The biggest difference between someone who is asleep
& someone who has fainted or gone into a coma is the fact that a sleeping person can
be aroused if the stimulus is strong enough. If you shake the person, yell loudly or flash a bright light, a sleeping person will wake up.
As with any animal living in the wild, it just doesn't seem very smart to design in a
mandatory 8 hour period of near-total unconsciousness every day. Yet that's exactly what evolution has done. So there must
be a pretty good reason for it!
Sleep & the Brain
If you attach an electroencephalograph
to a person's head, you can record the person's brainwave activity. An awake & relaxed person generates alpha waves, which are consistent oscillations at about 10 cycles per second.
A person generates
beta waves, which are about twice as fast. During sleep, two slower patterns called theta waves & delta waves take over. Theta waves have oscillations in the range of 3.5 to
7 cycles per second & delta waves have oscillations of less than 3.5 cycles per second.
As a person falls
asleep & sleep deepens, the brainwave patterns slow down. The slower the brainwave patterns,
the deeper the sleep, a person deep in delta wave sleep
is hardest to wake up.
REM Sleep
At
several points during the night, something unexpected happens - rapid eye movement (REM) sleep occurs. Most people experience 3
to 5 intervals of REM sleep per night & brainwaves during this period speed up to awake
levels.
If
you ever watch a person or a dog experiencing REM sleep, you'll see their eyes flickering
back & forth rapidly. In many dogs & some people, arms, legs & facial muscles will twitch during REM sleep.
Periods
of sleep other than REM sleep are know as NREM (non-REM) sleep.
REM
sleep is when you dream. If you wake up a person during REM sleep, the person
can vividly recall dreams. If you wake up a person during NREM sleep, generally the person
will not be dreaming.
You must have both REM & NREM sleep to get a good night's sleep. A normal person will spend
about 25% of the night in REM sleep & the rest in NREM.
A REM session
- a dream - lasts 5 to 30 minutes.
Medicine can hamper
your ability to get a good night's sleep. Many medicines, including most sleeping medicines,
change the quality of sleep & the REM component of it.
When You Miss Some
Zzzzs...
One way to understand why we sleep is to look at what happens when we don't get enough:
- As you know if you've ever pulled an all-nighter, missing one night of sleep
isn't fatal. A person will generally be irritable during the next day & will either slow down (become tired easily)
or will be totally wired because of adrenalin.
- If a person misses 2 nights of sleep, it gets worse. Concentration is difficult &
attention span falls by the wayside. Mistakes increase.
- After 3 days, a person will start to hallucinate & clear thinking is impossible. With continued wakefulness a person can lose grasp of reality. Rats forced to stay awake continuously will
eventually die, proving that sleep is essential.
A person
who gets just a few hours of sleep per night can experience many of the same problems over
time.
Two other things are known to happen during sleep.
Growth hormone in children is secreted during sleep & chemicals important to
the immune system are secreted during sleep.
You can become more prone to disease if you don't get enough sleep & a child's sleep can be stunted by sleep deprivation.
But the question remains - why do we need to sleep? Let's take a look at some of the possible reasons.
Why Sleep?
No one really knows why we sleep. But, there are all kinds of theories, including these:
- Sleep gives the body
a chance to repair muscles & other tissues, replace
aging or dead cells, etc.
- Sleep gives the brain
a chance to organize & archive memories. Dreams are thought by some to be part of this process.
- Sleep lowers our energy consumption, so we need 3 meals a day rather than 4 or 5. Since we can't do anything in the dark anyway, we might as well "turn off" & save the energy.
- According
to ScienceNewsOnline: Napless cats awaken interest in adenosine, sleep may be a way of recharging the brain, using adenosine
as a signal that the brain needs to rest:
"Since adenosine secretion reflects brain cell activity, rising concentrations of this chemical may be how the organ
gauges that it has been burning up its energy reserves & needs to shut down for a while." Adenosine levels in the brain rise during wakefulness & decline during sleep.
What
we all know is that with a good night's sleep, everything looks & feels better
in the morning. Both the brain & the body are refreshed & ready for a new day.
Dreams
Why
do we have such crazy, kooky dreams? Why do we dream at all for that matter? According to Joel Achenbach in his book Why Things Are:
The brain creates dreams thru random
electrical activity. Random is the key word here. About every 90 minutes the brain stem sends electrical impulses
throughout the brain, in no particular order or fashion.
The analytic portion of the brain
- the forebrain - then desperately tries to make sense of these signals. It's like looking at a Rorschach test, a random splash of ink on paper. The only way
of comprehending it is by viewing the dream (or the inkblot) metaphorically,
symbolically, since there's no literal message.
This doesn't mean that dreams are
meaningless or should be ignored. How our forebrains choose to "analyze" the random & discontinuous images may tell us something about ourselves, just
as what we see in an inkblot can be revelatory.
And perhaps there's a purpose
to the craziness: Our minds may be working on deep-seated problems thru these circuitous & less threatening metaphorical dreams.
Here are some other things
you may have noticed about your dreams:
- Dreams tell a story. They are like a TV show, with scenes, characters & props.
- Dreams are egocentric. They almost always
involve you.
- Dreams incorporate things that have happened to you recently.
They can also incorporate deep wishes & fears.
- A noise in the environment is often worked
in to a dream in some way, giving some credibility to the idea that dreams are simply the brain's response to random impulses.
- You usually can't control a dream - in fact, many dreams emphasize your lack of control by making it impossible to run or yell. (However, proponents of lucid dreaming try to help you gain control.)
Dreaming is important. In sleep experiments where a person is woken up every time he/she enters REM sleep, the person becomes increasingly impatient & uncomfortable over time.
A Final Word on Sleep
How Much Sleep Do I Need?
Most adult people seem to
need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. This is an average & it's also subjective. You, i.e.,
probably know how much sleep you need in an average night to feel your best.
The amount of sleep you need decreases with age. A newborn baby might sleep 20 hours a day. By age 4, the average is
12 hours a day. By age 10, the average falls to 10 hours a day. Senior citizens can often get by with 6 or 7 hours a day.
Tips to Improve Your Sleep
- Exercise regularly. Exercise helps tire & relax your body.
- Don't consume caffeine after 4:00 p.m. or so. Avoid other stimulants like cigarettes as well.
- Avoid alcohol before bedtime. Alcohol disrupts the brain's normal patterns during sleep.
- Try to stay in a pattern with a regular bedtime & wakeup
time, even on weekends.
Trouble Sleeping? Insomnia Cures Are Here! - By Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW
I yawn, stretch
my arms behind my head & stare at the ceiling. I've been in bed for a few minutes. Ahhh, the peaceful quiet all around. The room is dark. The kids are asleep. It's an expansive moment for my mind. My mind seems to fill the entire
room.
Okay, it's been 20 minutes now. The novel meditative moment has passed. Now my mind seems to be filling up like a bowl that's been left outside in a torrential downpour. I can't seem
to slow down or empty out my mind. So many things to think about, not the least of which is why in tarnation can't I fall asleep?
I'm tired, but
can't sleep. I begin to feel agitated & become physically restless. I turn this way... I turn that way. I cross
& uncross my legs. I lay on my stomach, side & back. Each passing moment lends itself to increased anger & frustration.
Now my mind has jumped
ahead to tomorrow, lining up all those things I have to accomplish knowing that I'll only do so by dragging this haggard,
exhausted & fatigued body around for the entire day.
This process goes deeply
into the night.
Any of that sound familiar?
Recent
estimates indicate that approximately 25 million Americans suffer from chronic insomnia.
Some reasons for insomnia include:
1. Restless Leg Syndrome
2. Circadian Rhythm Disorders
3. Depression
4. Alcohol & other
drug abuse
5. Life changes &/or accumulation of life stressors
6. Anxiety
7. Sleep Apnea
You should consult with your physician in order to determine the exact cause of your sleep problems.
He/she may:
-
order a sleep study
-
give you a depression screen
-
check social stressors
-
order a blood panel to check for vitamin &
mineral deficiencies
-
suggest you stop drinking
-
give an anxiety scale or any number of interventions
to identify a cause
-
get you focused on appropriate
solutions
In the meantime
here are a few "Do's & Don'ts" on how to reclaim your beauty sleep.
1. When you lay down to sleep, deepen & lengthen your breathing patterns
- shoot for 5 second inhales & 5 second exhales.
You'll be taking
6 breathes per minute. This takes some practice but works nicely.
2. Take a deep
breath & hold it. While holding your breathe, tense up the muscles throughout your entire body & hold both for 30
seconds.
Exhale completely
& relax. Take several relaxed breathes & repeat 3 times.
3. Choose any relaxing color
(blue, green, yellow, etc). Place your hands on your stomach & imagine
that you're expanding a colored balloon in your stomach.
Exhale an insomnia/anxiety
color (red, black, etc) thru your mouth. Continue this for 5-10-50 times,
whatever it takes.
It's impossible
to focus on your body/breath while entertaining thoughts.
4. Take a hot shower or bath before bed, or get up & do so if you're unable to fall asleep within 15 minutes.
5. Take some sleep
food for the brain. Before going to bed eat 1 oz. of protein, 1 oz. of cheese & 5 grapes or the equivalent.
6. Get out of bed if you haven't fallen asleep within 15 minutes.
The brain is quite easily programmed. I don't want your brain to associate "bed" with "awake."
7. Once you're out of bed don't watch TV, get on the computer, listen to stimulating music, turn on a bunch
of lights or do anything else that stimulates your brain into high gear.
8. Once
out of bed do sit quietly, meditate on emptying the mind, listen to quiet, soothing music or do some "light" reading.
The research shows
that deep meditation is as restorative as sleep & takes less time than sleeping for 8 hours.
9. Purchase a Brain Entrainment CD & some ear buds (they're the
most comfortable to sleep on).
Make sure the CD
is designed for sleep. I won't go into all the scientific details here. Just know that the
brain needs to be in delta wave state 60 minutes for you to wake up feeling fresh.
My favorite is
"Sleeping Through The Rain" by a company you can find at http://www.hemi-sync.com/.
Don't try this
on just a boom box. The ear buds are very important to make this work.
10. Make
sure your bedroom is dark. Lights out!
11. Exercise regularly. Exercise does a fantastic job of regulating sleep cycles. The only catch here is don't exercise within
2 hours of bedtime, as this can activate mind & body systems that'll keep you awake.
12.
Drink Chamomile Tea an hour before bedtime & take Valerian root with it. If you open up your first bottle of Valerian
root & it smells like rotten socks, don't throw it away, it's supposed to smell like that! Can you believe it!? ;-)
13. If worse comes to worst, consult a doctor. There are many effective medications used for sleep which can be prescribed by your doctor.
Some of these include
Ambien, Temazepam, Sonata, Remeron, Benadryl (non- prescription), Melatonin (Don't take this if you have Seasonal Affective Disorder) Trazadone & others.
14. Stay away from alcohol as a sleep aid. Many will argue that
alcohol gets them to sleep, but brain wave studies show that once asleep, an individual
doesn't reach the restorative level of sleep that results in feeling well rested in the
morning.
Too many sleepless nights can lead to
what feels like a psychotic break, so don't push yourself over the edge.
Good self care is so important. After just 2 nights without sleep, intervention is necessary!
Please take care
of yourself. A great night's sleep after not sleeping well
for a long time can be an absolutely wonderful gift to give yourself.
I welcome you to more restful nights!
Author: Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW
Email: mailto:editor@overcoming-depression.com
copyright:
by Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW
web Address: http://www.Overcoming-Depression.com
Power Naps - What Most People
Don't Know About Naps - By Kacper Postawski
One of the biggest questions I get asked
all the time is - "Are naps good for you? Or bad? I've heard both sides of the story." I'd like to settle this argument once
and for all right here, and reveal to you how you can properly manage your sleep to create an abundance of energy in your
life, with LESS sleep.
Yes, naps are VERY good for you, IF you understand how the sleep system works, and you know
how to nap PROPERLY.
In my "Powerful Sleep¨ course I teach people how to properly understand their sleep system, circadian
rhythm, light exposure & how it affects their inner sleep system. While we can't get in this article, here's what
is true:
Most people don't realize that sleep is actually quite a complex & fascinating inner system.
When we're sleeping, we're not just dead
zombies off in an unknown universe. Your inner sleep system is a mechanism which follows specific time periods & stages
to energize your body.
So how do you nap properly?
You take what are commonly referred to as "Power Naps," or
what I usually refer to as "Stage 2 limited naps."
You see, when you sleep you go thru what are called "sleep stages,¨
there are 5 stages in total.
The first two stages, Stage 1 & 2
are your "Light Sleep." It's during this stage that we sleep "lightly," we're easily wakable & our circadian rhythm isn't
altered enough to create a disturbance in the sleep system.
The Energizing effects of Stage 1 and 2 sleeps are very
beneficial, just 10 minutes of sleeping in these stages can restore your energy to the point where you feel as if you slept
for 8 hours.
However, why do most people do more HARM than GOOD to themselves by napping?
It's simple, they
don't know about "deep sleep." Deep sleep comprises of all the other sleep stages. It's during deep sleep that your body undergoes
a MASSIVE physiological change, your body temperature, heart rate, respiration drops.
Your blood vessels dilate & all the
blood that is usually stored in your main organs during the day is channeled to your muscles to repair them.
If you
enter deep sleep during the day, your circadian rhythm, and your "inner sleep clock" (see link below for details) will be
altered & out of wack, often resulting in an in-balanced, weak sleep system & lower energy levels all together.
For
an average person it takes about 45-90 minutes to enter "deep sleep," this is why for an effective nap you MUST keep your
nap down to a MAXIMUM of 45 minutes.
Even 45 minutes is sometimes too much.
The most energizing naps are usually 10 to 20 minutes long.
If your naps last too long, you'll enter deep sleep. Waking
up from a deep sleep phase is more harmful to your sleep system & your energy levels than good!
You'll often feel lethargic, low on energy
& in that "zombie" state of mind.
If you use naps properly, you can boost your energy levels drastically &
lower your sleep time down drastically.
However, there are still 2 vital things you must know about napping in order
to make them super effective during your day, so that you're capable of lowering your sleep & boosting your energy.
1. You must know exactly what the best time during the day is to take your nap.
2. You must know what to do AFTER your
nap to speed up your body temperature rise.
Both these sleep secrets are exposed in the Powerful Sleep package, download
it today at:
www.PowerfulSleep.com
Are You a Sleep Walking Zombie?
- By Royane Real
Do you get enough sleep? Chances are
you don’t. Many people living in modern industrial
societies suffer from a chronic & worsening sleep deficit.
Until a few decades ago, most people lived lives so very different from ours that we would scarcely recognize
them. Until fairly recently in human history the majority of people lived in small villages or on farms, not in big cities.
There
were no electric lights. There weren’t any faxes or e-mails. There was no Internet & no television. Once
the sun went down, most of the day’s activities came to an end.
People worked very
hard physically & only a very small minority had what we would call “white collar” jobs. And most people,
on average, slept 9 to 91/2 hours each night.
For most of us today, an average of
9 hours sleep each night is an impossible dream.
In our
very busy schedules, something has to give & quite often the choice many of us are making is to cut back on our
hours of sleep.
If you listen to, or read some
of the popular current guides to success, you'll usually be instructed to work hard, play hard, study hard, be more outgoing
& gain every advantage you can. The struggle to the top can be ruthless.
Why,
even the struggle to stay where you are & not to lose your place can be ruthless.
Where
do many of these success guides & gurus tell you to cut back?
Why,
on your hours of sleep? They’ll tell you that sleeping more than 5 or 6 hours a night
is a waste of time.
They’ll
tell you that the world is moving ahead while you're dozing & that you’ll never catch up if you indulge your
desire to sleep. If you snooze, you lose!
They’ll
tell you that you don’t really need those extra 2 or 3 hours of sleep each
night.
That
it’s just a bad habit you’ve developed. That it’s self-indulgent. That a
full night’s sleep is the booby prize for losers in the game of life.
Unfortunately,
this advice goes against thousand of years of human biology.
It’s true that
some of us really do need only 5 or six hours of sleep each night, but those people are
in a minority.
Most
of us require 7, 8, or even more hours of good quality sleep every night in order to function at our best intellectually,
physically & emotionally.
In sleep deprivation
experiments conducted on volunteers, it's been found that even a few days of sleep loss
produce a marked negative effect on a person’s mental abilities.
It becomes
much harder to focus mentally & to process information. Decisions take longer to make & are of poorer quality.
Learning
& remembering new information becomes more difficult & it becomes harder to recall information that was previously
learned. Creativity declines, while mistakes increase.
A person who hasn’t
had enough restorative sleep will have difficulty handling technical machinery. In addition, lack of sleep causes emotional
impairment & difficulty with mental processing.
As people
become more sleep deprived, they may experience more depression & mood swings. Tempers flare more often & sleep deprived
people become less cooperative with others.
Lack of sufficient sleep
is believed to have contributed to many well-known accidents, such as:
-
the explosion of the Challenger
space shuttle
-
the near meltdown at Three Mile
Island
-
the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl
It's
believed that lack of sleep contributed to poor decision making in each of these incidents, with disastrous results.
If you add to these examples the many hundreds of thousands of other accidents every
year caused by sleep deprivation, it becomes clear that cutting back on our sleep may not really be the solution for greater
productivity we're looking for.
If you're studying for important exams, you'll be
better off getting sufficient sleep the night before, rather than spending the whole night desperately trying to cram more
information into your head.
Remember
that your brain uses its sleeping hours to process the information of the day & to consolidate new memories. Cutting back
on sleep in order to study instead will interfere with this process.
How can
you tell if you're getting enough sleep? The ideal amount varies from person to person & it isn't always the same.
Ask yourself: When you wake up, do you feel refreshed, or is your body longing for more sleep?
Do you rely on a lot of coffee to get you thru the day?
Sleeplessness Clouds Moral Choices
People kept up all night had more trouble
weighing tough decisions, study found
HealthDay
By Robert Preidt
Friday,
March 2, 2007
FRIDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) -- Too
little sleep makes tough moral decisions that much tougher, a new study suggests.
"Our results simply suggest
that when sleep deprived, individuals appear to be selectively slower in their deliberations about moral personal dilemmas
relative to other types of dilemmas," study author William D.S. Kilgore, of Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, said in
a prepared statement.
Previous research found that sleep deprivation can harm a person's physical health & emotional well-being. This study,
published in the March 1 issue of Sleep, concluded that lack of sleep also hinders
the ability to integrate emotion & cognition to guide moral judgments.
The study included 26 healthy
adults who were asked to judge the appropriateness of different responses to 3 types of moral dilemmas. They did this while fully rested & then did it again after they'd
been awake for 53 hours.
When sleep-deprived,
the study participants took much longer to respond to the moral dilemmas, suggesting that it was much more difficult for them
to decide on a course of action compared to when they were fully rested.
The findings don't indicate
that sleep deprivation actually lowers a person's moral standards, the researchers said.
The Effects of Sleep Deprivation
on Brain and Behavior
Sarah Ledoux
Sleep
deprivation is a commonplace occurrence in modern culture. Every day there seems to be twice as much work and half
as much time to complete it in. This results in either extended periods of wakefulness or a decrease in sleep over an extended
period of time.
While some people
may like to believe that they can train their bodies to not require as much sleep as they once did this belief is false (1). Sleep is needed to regenerate
certain parts of the body, especially the brain, so that it may continue to function optimally.
After periods of extended
wakefulness or reduced sleep neurons may begin to malfunction, visibly effecting
a person's behavior. Some organs, such as muscles, are able to regenerate even when a person is not
sleeping so long as they are resting.
This could involve lying
awake but relaxed within a quite environment. Even though cognitive functions might not seem necessary in this scenario
the brain, especially the cerebral cortex, is not able to rest but rather remains semi-alert in a state of "quiet readiness"
(2).
Certain stages of sleep are needed for the regeneration of neurons within the cerebral cortex while other stages
of sleep seem to be used for forming new memories and generating new synaptic connections. The effects of sleep deprivation
on behavior have been tested with relation to the presence of activity in different sections of the cerebral cortex.
The temporal lobe
of the cerebral cortex is associated with the processing of language. During verbal learning tests on subjects who are fully
rested functional magnetic resonance imaging scans show that this area of the brain is very active. However, in sleep deprived
subjects there is no activity within this region (3), (4), (5). The effects of this inactivity can be observed by the slurred
speech in subjects who have gone for prolonged periods with no sleep (6).
Even severely sleep
deprived people are still able to perform to some degree on a verbal learning test. This implies that some other area
of the brain must become active to compensate for the loss of temporal lobe functioning. In fact, activity can be seen in
the parietal lobe that is not present during verbal learning tests using rested subjects (5). Greater activity within this region corresponded to better performance
by subjects in research studies (7). Still, sleep deprived people do not perform as well on these
tests as do fully rested subjects (3), (4). One possible reason for the poorer performance after missing
sleep, aside from unregenerated neurons, could be the fact that since the parietal lobe is not usually used to performing
tasks such as these it is not as adept at carrying them out. Therefore, when control switches from the temporal lobe to the
parietal lobe some speed and accuracy is naturally lost. Interestingly, sleep deprived subjects have been shown to have better
short-term memory abilities than their well-rested counterparts (6). Since memory is associated with this region of the cerebral cortex
the fact that it is already active in sleep deprived people could make it easier for new synapses to be created, thus forming
new short-term memories more easily.
While activity is seen
within the parietal lobes of rested people as they think through math problems no corresponding activity is visible
within the brains of sleep-deprived subjects. Also, no new area of the brain becomes active while the sleep deprived people
work on math problems. Since sleep deprived people can still complete math problems, albeit with less speed and accuracy than
a well-rested individual, this data implies that a region of the brain already in use is used for this task (1).
The frontal lobe
is the most fascinating section of the brain with relation to sleep deprivation. Its functions are associated with speech
as well as novel and creative thinking (5). Sleep deprived test subjects have difficulties thinking of imaginative
words or ideas. Instead, they tend to choose repetitious words or clichéd phrases. Also, a sleep-deprived individual is less
able to deliver a statement well. The subject may show signs of slurred speech, stuttering, speaking in a monotone voice,
or speaking at a slower pace than usual (6). Subjects in research studies also have a more difficult time
reacting well to unpredicted rapid changes. Sleep deprived people do not have the speed or creative abilities to cope with
making quick but logical decisions, nor do they have the ability to implement them well. Studies have demonstrated that a
lack of sleep impairs one's ability to simultaneously focus on several different related tasks, reducing the speed as well
as the efficiency of one's actions (8). A person may be able to react to a complex scenario when suddenly
presented with it but, similar to the verbal tests, the subject will most likely pick an unoriginal solution. If presented
with a similar situation multiple times with slight variations in the information presented the subject chooses the same solution,
even though it might not be as applicable to the new senario (9).
Part of the frontal lobe,
the prefrontal cortex, has several functions specifically coupled with it. Judgment, impulse control, attention, and visual
association have all been related to this region of the cerebral cortex (8). A recent study has shown that the prefrontal cortex, usually
the most active area of the brain in rested individuals, becomes more active as a person remains awake for long periods of
time (3), (4). This region regenerates during the first stage of sleep, giving
a person the ability to feel somewhat refreshed after only a short nap (5). The length of the first stage of sleep cycle is somewhat dependant
upon how long the person had previously been awake. The longer the period of wakefulness, the longer the brain remains in
the first stage of sleep. When the brain enters into the REM stage of sleep the prefrontal cortex is active once more.
The implications of this
data seem to be fairly important in supporting the location of the I-function within the brain. The prefrontal cortex
is active whenever a person is awake, no matter how little sleep they have had. Also, this area is active while dreaming.
Since the individual is aware of him or herself during both of these instances, but is not aware during the stages of sleep
when the prefrontal cortex is shut down, it seems logical that the I-function is located within this region. This indicates
that the I-function is what is resting and regenerating during the first stage of sleep. It would be interesting to study
prefrontal cortex activity while a person is conscious, but unaware of his or her actions, due to an influence such as drugs
or alcohol. According to the results of the sleep deprivation studies little or no activity should be seen in the prefrontal
cortex at anytime when the individual is unaware of his or herself.
One of the symptoms
of prolonged sleep deprivation is hallucinations (10). This could also be related to the I-function since it is the
system that integrates the input from all other areas of the brain. If the neurons composing the I-function become too taxed
then the picture in the head that the I-function produces may be more dissimilar from reality than usual.
The neurons, under
pressure to continue functioning but unable to perform optimally, create an image useful enough for a person to see most of
his or her surroundings. Metabolic activity in the prefrontal cortex can drop as much as 11% after a person has missed sleep for only twenty four hours (8).
As a person loses more
sleep or continues to receive less-than-adequate amounts of sleep
the neurons become even more taxed and the I-function may begin to generate even less coherent images possibly resulting in
temporary insanity.
Another piece of evidence
supporting the location of the I-function is that mammals have REM sleep whereas cold-blooded
animals do not and mammals have a neocortex, located within the prefrontal cortex, while cold-blooded animals do not. REM
sleep stimulates areas of the brain used for learning and memory (10).
When a person is taught
a new skill his or her performance does not improve until he or she receives at least eight hours of sleep (11). An extended period of sleep
ensures that the brain will be able to complete the full sleep cycle, including REM sleep.
The necessity of sleep for learning could be due to the fact that sleep
increases the production of proteins while reducing the rate at which they are broken down (10). Proteins are used to regenerate the neurons within the brain.
Without them new synapses may not be able to be formed, thus limiting the amount of information a
sleep-deprived individual can maintain.
One of the possible side
effects of a continued lack of sleep is death. Usually this is the result of the
fact that the immune system is weakened without sleep. The number of white blood cells within
the body decreases, as does the activity of the remaining white blood cells. The body also decreases the amount of growth
hormone produced (8).
The ability of the body
to metabolize sugar declines, turning sugar into fat. One study stated that people who sleep
less than four hours per night are three times more likely to die within the next six years (11). Although the longest a human has remained awake was eleven days
rats that are continually deprived of sleep die within two to five weeks, generally due
to their severely weakened immune system (10), (11), (12).
In a way sleep deprivation studies help us to study the relationship
between the brain and behavior in a very unique way by observing how a person's behavior changes as the brain shuts down.
By taking images of the brain showing where activity is located it is possible to correlate the behavior exhibited by a subject
with his or her brain patterns.
Just like a person cannot
jog for three continuous days a person's brain cannot operate without rest breaks. Since different regions of the brain
rest during different stages of the sleep cycle, sleep
cannot be cut short. In fact, if the brain does not receive a break it will soon begin to shut down for periods of microsleep.
This is essentially
several seconds of actual sleep; delta waves that interrupt the regular EEG of an
awake person thereby impairing his or her continuity of cognitive function. Microsleep generally happens directly before performance
failure occurs (8). Without sleep our brains deteriorate,
and if the argument that brain=behavior is true, then our behavior will also suffer accordingly.
source site: click here
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It's in the news....
Stuff about sleeping...
Sleep & Circadian
Rhythms
Provided by: The National
Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke
Circadian rhythms are regular changes in mental & physical characteristics
that occur in the course of a day (circadian is Latin for "around a day").
Most circadian rhythms are controlled by the body's biological "clock."
This clock, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN, is actually a pair of pinhead-sized brain structures
that together contain about 20,000 neurons.
The SCN rests in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, just above the point where the optic nerves cross. Light that reaches photoreceptors in the retina (a tissue at the back of the eye) creates signals that travel along the optic nerve to the SCN.
Signals from the SCN travel to several brain regions, including the
pineal gland, which responds to light-induced signals by switching off production of the hormone melatonin. The body's level of melatonin normally increases after darkness falls, making people feel drowsy.
The SCN also governs functions that are synchronized with the sleep/wake
cycle, including body temperature, hormone secretion, urine production & changes in blood pressure.
By depriving people of light & other external time cues, scientists have learned that most people's biological clocks work on a 25-hour
cycle rather than a 24-hour one.
But because sunlight or other bright lights can reset
the SCN, our biological cycles normally follow the 24-hour cycle of the sun, rather than our innate cycle.
Circadian rhythms can be affected to some degree by almost
any kind of external time cue, such as the beeping of your alarm clock, the clatter of a garbage truck, or the timing of your
meals. Scientists call external time cues zeitgebers (German for "time givers").
When travelers pass from one time zone to another, they suffer from
disrupted circadian rhythms, an uncomfortable feeling known as jet lag.
i.e., if you travel from California to New York, you "lose" 3 hours
according to your body's clock. You'll feel tired when the alarm rings at 8 a.m. the next
morning because, according to your body's clock, it is still 5 a.m. It usually takes several days for your body's cycles to
adjust to the new time.
To reduce the effects of jet lag, some doctors try to manipulate
the biological clock with a technique called light therapy. They expose people to special lights, many times brighter than ordinary household light, for several hours near the time
the subjects want to wake up. This helps them reset their biological clocks & adjust to a new time zone.
Symptoms much like jet lag are common in people who work nights or
who perform shift work. Because these people's work schedules are at odds with powerful sleep-regulating cues like sunlight,
they often become uncontrollably drowsy during work & they may suffer insomnia or other problems when they try to sleep.
Shift workers have an increased risk of heart problems,
digestive disturbances & emotional & mental problems, all of which may be related
to their sleeping problems.
The number & severity of workplace accidents also tend to increase
during the night shift.
Major industrial accidents attributed partly to errors made by fatigued
night-shift workers include the Exxon Valdez oil spill & the Three Mile Island & Chernobyl nuclear power plant accidents.
One study also found that medical interns working on the night shift
are twice as likely as others to misinterpret hospital test records, which could endanger their patients. It may be possible
to reduce shift-related fatigue by using bright lights in the workplace, minimizing shift changes & taking scheduled naps.
Many people with total blindness experience
life-long sleeping problems because their retinas are unable to detect light. These people have a kind of permanent
jet lag & periodic insomnia because their circadian rhythms follow their innate cycle rather than a 24-hour one.
Daily supplements of melatonin may improve night-time
sleep for such patients. However, since the high doses of melatonin found in most supplements can build up in the body,
long-term use of this substance may create new problems. Because the potential side effects of melatonin supplements are still
largely unknown, most experts discourage melatonin use by the general public.
The Sleep Cycle
One sleep cycle comprises
of 4 stages & last for about 90 -120 minutes. Dreams can occur in any of the 4 stages of sleep but the
most vivid & memorable dreams occur in the last stage of sleep (also commonly referred
to as REM sleep).
The sleep cycle repeats itself about an average of 4
- 5 times per night, but may repeat as many as 7 times. Thus, you can see how a person can have several
different dreams in one night.
Most people, however, only remember dreams that occur closer toward the morning
when they are about to get up. But just because you can't remember those dreams doesn't mean that they never happened.
Some people swear on the fact that they simply don't dream when in reality, they just don't remember their dreams.
The Stages Of Sleep
The first stage is the first 5 to 10 minutes when you're falling asleep.
It's a transitional phase between wakefulness & sleep. While the other stages
of sleep repeat themselves throughout the night, this phase of sleep does not.
Should any of the REM or NREM stages be interrupted or disturbed, the sleep "cycles"
are broken & normal progression from NREM to REM sleep can't occur. Your body & mind must start the process of falling
into deep sleep all over again.
Stage 2:
You're entering into light sleep. This stage is characterized by Non-rapid eye movements (NREM),
muscle relaxation & slowed heart rate. The body is preparing to enter into deep sleep.
Stages 3 & 4: Also characterized by NREM, these
2 stages involves periods of deep sleep w/ Stage 4 being more intense than Stage 3. Your body temperature drops &
muscles relaxes. You are completely asleep.
These stages repeat themselves throughout a night's sleep.
"True rest" is achieved, as the
brain produces its slowest, largest waves, called delta waves, critical for physical rejuvenation. Mental
recovery; blood directed to brain. Growth hormones, protein synthesis, immune function maintenance.
Stage 5: In this stage of sleep,
your eyes move back & forth erratically. Often called REM sleep, this stage occurs at about 90 -100 minutes after the
onset of sleep.
Your blood pressure rises & heart rate &
respiration speeds up & becomes erratic. Your voluntary muscles are paralyzed. This stage may also be referred to as delta
sleep & is the most restorative part of sleep. This is also where the majority of your dreaming occurs. REM
is the most critical time for mental rejuvenation.
At several points during the
night, something unexpected happens -- rapid eye movement (REM) sleep occurs. Most people experience 3 to 5 intervals of REM
sleep per night & brainwaves during this period speed up to awake levels.
If you ever watch a person
or a dog experiencing REM sleep, you will see their eyes flickering back & forth rapidly. In many dogs & some people,
arms, legs & facial muscles will twitch during REM sleep.
REM sleep is when you dream. If you wake up a person during
REM sleep, the person can vividly recall dreams. If you wake up a person during NREM sleep, generally the person will not
be dreaming.
You must have both REM & NREM sleep to get a good night's
sleep. A normal person will spend about 25% of the night in REM sleep, & the rest in NREM. A REM session, a dream, lasts
5 to 30 minutes.
Medicine can hamper your ability to get a good night's sleep. Many
medicines, including most sleeping medicines, change the quality of sleep & the REM component of it.
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What Does Sleep Do For Us?
Provided by The National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke
Although scientists are still trying to learn exactly why people
need sleep, animal studies show that sleep is necessary for survival.
For example, while rats normally live for 2 to 3 years, those
deprived of REM sleep survive only about 5 weeks on average, & rats deprived of all sleep stages live only about 3 weeks.
Sleep-deprived rats also develop abnormally low body temperatures
& sores on their tail & paws. The sores may develop because the rats' immune systems become impaired. Some
studies suggest that sleep deprivation affects the immune system in detrimental ways.
Sleep appears necessary for our nervous systems to work properly. Too little
sleep leaves us drowsy & unable to concentrate the next day. It also leads to impaired memory & physical performance
& reduced ability to carry out math calculations. If sleep deprivation continues, hallucinations & mood swings
may develop. Some experts believe sleep gives neurons used while we are awake a chance to shut down & repair themselves.
Without sleep, neurons may become so depleted in energy or so polluted with byproducts of normal cellular activities that
they begin to malfunction. Sleep also may give the brain a chance to exercise important neuronal connections that might otherwise
deteriorate from lack of activity.
Deep sleep coincides with the release of growth hormone in children & young adults. Many of the body's cells also show
increased production & reduced breakdown of proteins during deep sleep. Since proteins are the building blocks needed
for cell growth & for repair of damage from factors like stress and ultraviolet rays, deep sleep may truly be "beauty
sleep." Activity in parts of the brain that control emotions, decision-making processes, & social interactions is drastically
reduced during deep sleep, suggesting that this type of sleep may help people maintain optimal emotional & social functioning
while they are awake. A study in rats also showed that certain nerve-signaling patterns which the rats generated during the
day were repeated during deep sleep. This pattern repetition may help encode memories & improve learning.
How Much Sleep Do We
Need?
Provided by National Institute of Neurological
Disorders & Stroke
The amount of sleep
each person needs depends on many factors, including age. Infants generally require about 16 hours a day, while teenagers
need about 9 hours on average. For most
adults, 7 to 8 hours a night appears to be the best amount of sleep, although some people may need as few as 5 hours or as
many as 10 hours of sleep each day.
Women in the first 3 months
of pregnancy often need several more hours of sleep than usual. The amount of sleep a person needs also increases if he or
she has been deprived of sleep in previous days.
Getting too little sleep creates
a "sleep debt," which is much like being overdrawn at a bank. Eventually, your body will demand that the debt be repaid. We
don't seem to adapt to getting less sleep than we need; while we may get used to a sleep-depriving schedule, our judgment,
reaction time & other functions are still impaired.
People tend to sleep more
lightly & for shorter time spans as they get older, although they generally need about the same amount of sleep as they
needed in early adulthood. About half of all people over 65 have frequent sleeping problems, such as insomnia & deep sleep
stages in many elderly people often become very short or stop completely.
This change may be a normal
part of aging, or it may result from medical problems that are common in elderly people & from the medications & other
treatments for those problems.
Experts say that if you feel
drowsy during the day, even during boring activities, you haven't had enough sleep. If you routinely fall asleep within 5
minutes of lying down, you probably have severe sleep deprivation, possibly even a sleep disorder.
Microsleeps, or
very brief episodes of sleep in an otherwise awake person, are another mark of sleep deprivation. In many cases, people are
not aware that they are experiencing microsleeps. The widespread practice of "burning the candle at both ends" in western
industrialized societies has created so much sleep deprivation that what is really abnormal sleepiness is now almost the norm.
Many studies make it clear
that sleep deprivation is dangerous. Sleep-deprived people who are tested by using a driving simulator or by performing a
hand-eye coordination task perform as badly as or worse than those who are intoxicated.
Sleep deprivation also magnifies
alcohol's effects on the body, so a fatigued person who drinks will become much more impaired than someone who is well-rested.
Driver fatigue is responsible
for an estimated 100,000 motor vehicle accidents & 1500 deaths each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. Since drowsiness is the brain's last step before falling asleep, driving while drowsy can - & often does
- lead to disaster.
Caffeine & other stimulants
can't overcome the effects of severe sleep deprivation. The National Sleep Foundation says that if you have trouble keeping
your eyes focused, if you can't stop yawning, or if you can't remember driving the last few miles, you are probably too drowsy
to drive safely.
There are steps you can take to improve the quantity & quality of your sleep.
The 1st
step for most of us is to examine how much caffeine we consume in a day. Caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee, tea
& many types of cola.
It's
also present in many over-the-counter medications. Caffeine enters the bloodstream very quickly & its stimulative
effect lasts several hours.
If you're
having a hard time getting settled down at night, it could be due at least in part to an excess of caffeine throughout
the day.
If you
aren't getting enough good quality sleep, make the effort to cut your consumption
of caffeinated beverages to just 1 or 2 cups a day, or stop drinking caffeine all together.
In order
to have a more restful evening, don’t drink anything caffeinated after lunch.
There
are plenty of beverages without caffeine that you can substitute. For most people, a cup of warm milk before bedtime
will promote sleepiness.
Some of us are physically addicted
to caffeine & will actually go thru withdrawal symptoms if we try to cut back, or quit using it altogether.
You may
find that when you stop ingesting caffeine, it takes up to 2 weeks to get over your physical craving for it. In the
meantime you may experience headaches, dizziness & insomnia.
Another factor that
can disrupt your sleep patterns is the consumption of alcohol.
Although
alcohol initially can make you drowsy, it suppresses the REM stage of sleep, which
appears to be essential in restoring a sense of wellbeing.
There are many other possible causes of poor sleep.
If poor
quality sleep is a problem for you, it'll be worth the effort to become a detective &
track down the cause. Often the problems of poor sleep can easily be fixed.
A poor quality mattress will lead to poor quality sleep. So will poor ventilation in your bedroom.
Or too much light. Or too much noise. Or a television set.
Are you getting enough exercise? Most of us today don't move our bodies nearly as much as our bodies were designed to move.
If we have an office job we're often
so mentally fatigued by the time we get home that we don’t want to get off the couch. Our brains may be exhausted, but
our body still needs exercise.
Have you ever gone to an exercise
class, thinking at the beginning, “I don’t really want to be here”, but once you got moving you felt great?
A lack of sufficient physical exercise
will lead to poor quality sleep. However, vigorous exercise too close to bedtime can leave you too stimulated to sleep.
Sleep
experts advise:
· Keep a regular schedule for sleeping.
· Maintain a comfortable, restful bedroom.
· Don’t
use your bed for anything other than sex & sleep.
· Don’t have the television in your bedroom.
· Get at
least 1/2 hour of physical exercise a day, preferably outdoors.
· Slow down your physical & mental activities as bedtime
approaches.
· Cultivate a relaxed, calm state of mind at all times, but particularly before bedtime.
· Avoid shift work.
·
Avoid stimulants or alcohol before bedtime.
If you try all these recommendations
& you still feel that you aren't sleeping well, you may have a medical condition that
interferes with the quality of sleep you're getting, or you may be taking medication that
interferes with your sleep.
i.e., if you always
wake up feeling exhausted, you may be suffering from a medical condition such as fibromyalgia,
or sleep apnea. If you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night, anxious & unable to sleep again, this can be caused by depression or stress.
These are conditions that should be discussed with your doctor.
Why Poor Sleep Lowers Your Immune System - By Kacper Postawski
Have you ever wondered 'exactly' why we tend to sleep
longer when we're sick? As you might already know, we sleep in "sleep cycles". We can categorize these cycles into "light
sleep", and "deep sleep." But just HOW important deep sleep is to our immune system?...
As you read, it's during the
first 3-4 hours of our sleep that we experience the longest period of Stage 3 and Stage 4 sleep.
Stage 3 and Stage
4 Sleep is also commonly termed "deep sleep."
It's during deep sleep that we experience very low brain waves called
Theta and Delta brain waves.
Our blood vessels dilate and all the blood that is usually stored in our organs throughout
the day moves into our muscles to nourish and repair them.
Our immune system also activates during deep sleep to fight
disease. This is why people tend to sleep longer when they're sick.
When you don't take proper care of your inner sleeping
system, you're usually at risk of "poor sleep." Poor sleep happens for a variety of reasons which I outline in the Powerful
Sleep book, but the main "symptom" is the inability or the difficulty of obtaining proper amounts of "deep sleep."
It's
very common for people who travel across many time zones to get sick very quickly, we usually blame this on "Jet-Lag." However,
jet lag happens because of the body's natural body temperature rhythm being out of alignment. Jet-Lag commonly creates a disruption
of deep sleep, added with the stress of travel, this is a perfect mixture for lowering one's immune system.
Most people
live without being aware of all the actions they're taking in their lives that are completely detrimental to their sleeping
system, which are depriving them of energy, and making them SLEEP LONGER than they really need to. Fortunately, there are
simple methods to take proper care of your inner sleep system, and strengthen it for maximum performance.
Sleep Deprivation - Alarming New Studies - By GiGi Konwin
There have been several studies recently that link
sleep deprivation with an increased risk of developing diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer.
That’s rather
scary when you consider 3.5 million Americans suffer from insomnia.
With regard to the obesity cases, researchers have
found that even mild sleep deprivation can disrupt the hormones ghrelin and leptin that regulate appetite. Sleep deprivation
may also increase substances in the blood that indicate increased inflammation which is associated with diseases like colon
cancer, breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Not all experts agree with the findings, claiming that the link
between health problems and sleep problems could be caused by other factors. However, most experts agree that further studies
need to be done.
More Bad News
Sleeping difficulties may be a red flag for a serious illness. In a recent
Harvard Medical School study involving 82,000 nurses, they found an increased risk of death among those who slept less than
six hours a night.
What About Pills?
The most popular way to treat insomnia and other sleep disorders
is with sleeping pills. It’s a $2.1 billion a year business. The most common drugs are Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata.
Although they are not as addictive as the barbiturates prescribed in the past (the kind Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley took),
most experts agree that the new drugs have not been tested enough for long-term use.
Melatonin is a popular over-the-counter
sleep aid, but it is not regulated or approved by the FDA and there are no reliable studies that show it works. Something
to consider when using melatonin are the purity levels and correct usage. Most people take it 30 minutes before bed when they
should take it several hours before bed.
Any Good News?
There is a non-drug therapy that seems to be
working for sleep disorders that are caused by stress, depression, or other psychological factors. It’s called cognitive
behavioral therapy and is showing some promising results. In one study, researchers found patients got to sleep faster after
the therapy than after taking Ambien.
The treatment includes training patients how to calm their mind and body and
teaching them how their thought patterns can cause sleeplessness. Other therapy actually restricts the amount of time you
spend in bed. The goal is to get six great hours of sleep rather than six hours of poor sleep spread over an eight hour period.
Powerful Sleep
Actually, that’s the theory behind the book “Powerful Sleep”. If you
can go to sleep quicker, sleep deeper and wake up feeling refreshed every morning in just 6 or 7 hours, then why would you
want to toss and turn for 8 or 9 hours?
If you have an interest in learning more about how your internal sleep clock
works and what you can do to enjoy a better night’s sleep, click on the link below to get the first two chapters of
“Powerful Sleep”.
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