Smarter Sleeping 101

As If You Needed Another Reason NOT To Take Prescription Sleep Aids

From News Inferno:

“New generation sleeping pills, like Lunesta and Ambien, may be as likely to cause serious adverse reactions as older sleep aids.  While older pills are much more likely to cause daytime sedation, addiction and withdrawal symptoms, drug classified as nonbenzodiazepines (NBZs), including Lunesta and Ambien, seem just as likely to cause amnesia and erratic behavior.

Introduced in the 1990s, NBZs are all sedatives used for the  treatment of insomnia. They have proved to be safer than both benzodiazepines and the older barbiturates, especially when taken in overdose, and also have less of a tendency to induce dependence and addiction although these issues can still become a problem with abuse of NBZs.  As a result, NBZs like Lunesta an Ambien have become widely prescribed for the treatment of insomnia, particularly in elderly patients.

But it appears that NBZs have not eliminated all of the problems associated with sleeping pills.  According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, an analysis of adverse-event reports filed with the World Health Organization suggests that some side effects of this generation of sleep medications may be as bad as- and even worse than - the older generation, including Halcion, which was banned in some countries.”

Keep Reading… 

Insomnia Stories - Issue 8

This week’s Insomnia Story comes from Skwashy.  If you’ve ever been hesitant to take prescription sleep aids (namely Ambien,) just read what it did to Skwashy:

“Why, I ask you, do I wake up at 4:15 a.m., all chirpy and awakey, and then fall asleep right about NOW, at 9:11 a.m. as grumpy people are calling me on the phone, demanding the most detailed arcane information possible? I can barely focus my eyes by Thursday. The insomnia was supposed to go away when my levothyroxine dose was lowered, but it didn’t.

I spoke with a friend of mine about sleeping pills. She takes Ambien, she says, in spite of the reservations she had about becoming dependent on them. She has children, she said, and could not afford to go without sleep.

I have no children. Oh, there is the Stinky Terrierist, of course, but he gets along very nicely, peacefully lying on his side and gazing into space (when he is not scheming to supplant me in the affections of Mrs. Skwashy) from his little cushion-bed on the floor. He does not need help with his homework or to be picked up after dance class. So that is no motivation for regular sleep.

Also…what was I going to say? Darn. Was it something about needing to be alert for work? Don’t believe me if I tell you that.

Oh yes. I remember: Ambien is so strong that even half a pill gave me a blackout. It is scary! I swear! It happened twice. I took a half-pill, then settled on the sofa to check my email before bed, and then woke up at my usual time with no recollection of sending the letter I was writing, shutting down the computer or going to bed. A total blank. Very scary. What if there was some emergency that I need not to be blackouted for? If you understand what I mean.”

Keep reading… 

Dream Recall - Issue 4

This is a funny one from silentprotext:
“Here I am, irritated because my dream was ending and I was woken up. Because of that I am now left with bits and pieces of the dream. Here is from what I remember of the greatest dream EVER.

From the beginning: I recall being on Americas Next Top Model and these two other girls were fighting over each other over some stupid reason. When one of the girls grabs this plush necklace of Naruto in chibi fox mode, I get livid. I grab it and tell her to let go. She gets this look on her face and I start growling for her to give it back. She doesn’t and all mayhem ensues. Things start getting pushed over. Now at this point it was getting wierd because a cabinet kept falling down and this is what happened.

The first time the cabinet fell over, we thought we crushed the baby.
The second time, we thought we crushed the cat.
The third time, we thought we crushed Tyra! We ended up pulling out a doll from under the couch that we thought was Tyra and it was a manequin blow up doll version of Tyra.”

 Keep reading…

How To Avoid Sleep Deprivation and Increase Productivity

This is a great article from The Street:

“Be honest. Are you feeling a little sluggish right now? Slightly less focused than you’d like? Are visions of caffeine-laden lattes dancing in your head?

Do you:

• Fall asleep the moment your head hits the pillow?
• Need an alarm clock to wake in the morning?
• Often feel drowsy while driving?
• Feel slow or frustrated when faced with critical thinking, problem solving and creative tasks?

If so, you’re most likely not getting enough sleep. While your afternoon sluggishness may seem like a minor inconvenience — an honorable testament to the incredible entrepreneurial drive you possess — it is likely that your willpower is undermining your potential.

According to Dr. James Maas, author of Power Sleep, “Often we are totally unaware of our own reduced capabilities because we become habituated to low levels of alertness. Many of us have been sleep deprived for such a long time that we don’t know what it’s like to feel wide awake.”"

Read the rest… 

Dream Recall - Issue 3

From Boredom Breaker:

“I woke up this morning wondering why I had dreamt about what I dreamed the night before…it was weird…totally out of nowhere, but it’s sooo random that it’s soooo funny!

Ok, the dream I had was about a relationship between a daughter and her stepfather. Regardless to say, I played the daughter part lar since it is my dream…..who plays the role of the stepfather then? Haha….you will laugh the moment I reveal who….”

Read the rest…