Sleep Enough

How many of you pop vitamins daily, or at least believe that nutrients play an important part in sleep and general health? I for one, take supplemental vitamins often because I believe the foods we eat every day are just too deficient and inadequate to be regarded as “sufficient” in fulfilling all our nutritional needs. Getting the right nutrients for sleep (and enough of it daily) is essential, whether we like it or not.

While perhaps not miracle workers, I fully believe supplemental vitamins are helpful in improving a lot of health conditions, and that includes sleep disorders. Theoretically, it is possible to obtain enough nutrients from foods, but unfortunately, this world is far from ideal. Read the rest of this entry »

Our daytime habits have a large impact on the sleep we get at night, whether we realize it or not. Some of these habits may have been cultivated for many years while we were young, and when sleep came easy. But gradually, you’ll find that as you get older, your sleep quality may diminish – while your habits remain unchanged. Shouldn’t it be about time to see what you can do about it? Actually, ALL of us are not exempt from this, and even I used to have many bad habits before, which unknown to me, impacted my sleep in some way. Read the rest of this entry »

I just came across this interesting video clip of a dog seen barking and standing upright (while sleeping). Perhaps it is “sleepwalking.” Now I’ve seen my cats move about during sleep, as in having muscle twitches or their whiskers may twitch, but not like this dog though.

I think animals do dream, as this old article says. I just wonder what exactly they dream about. Perhaps they reenact their normal daily activities during their dream phase?

One of my pop idols back in my childhood days was Michael Jackson. Yes he was weird, but to me, he is still the King of Pop. I admire the guy for his music, message, dancing, and superb entertaining skills. But of course, the media just could not stop hounding him for years, and years. So when I heard he had died of an apparent cardiac arrest, I wasn’t really surprised. The world has hardly ever given MJ a break, and I knew eventually something like this was going to happen.

More suspicious though, was the behavior of his doctor as reported in the media – and his ultimately fatal addiction to sleeping pills, which seems to be what tipped him over the edge. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve taken lorazepam on and off in the past over some years, and I realize some people might want to know more about it. First off, lorazepam is not some drug you can take wantonly. It belongs to the benzodiazepine group of anti anxiety drugs and it does what it says – with side effects.

Lorazepam is perhaps better known by its commercial brand name – Ativan. It is quite similar to another anti anxiety drug hydroxyzine or Atarax, but with a difference – More subtle, and longer running. That means it takes a long time to clear from the body, at least based on my experience. If you take Lorazepam at night, the chances are high that the next day you’ll be feeling the side effects for much of the day! Read the rest of this entry »