My Dream Lab

Ways To Overcome Insomnia

2008-03-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

Over the counter medication

Several remedies are available at the pharmacies. These products will often contain anti-histamine, like those we find in medicines for fever, coughs and colds. These do work but they can make cause sleepiness well into the next morning. If we do use them, take the warnings seriously and don't drive or operate heavy machinery the next day.

However as our body gets used to the substance, we need to take more and more to get the same effect. It is best not to take anti-histamines for a prolonged period of time. If you are taking any medication for your blood pressure or any other sleeping tablets or tranquillisers, consult the doctor before using an over the counter remedy.

Psychological Treatments

A technique called cognitive behavioural therapy has been proven to be helpful. It involves looking at unhelpful ways of thinking that can make us more anxious, and so interfere with our sleep.

Sleeping at the wrong time - Shift Work and Parenthood

We may have to work at night and to stay awake when we would normally be asleep. If we only have to do this from time to time, it's quite easy to adjust. It is much more difficult if we have to do this more often. Shift workers, doctors and nurses working all night, or nursing parents may all have this problem. This is similar to jet lag, where rapid travel between time zones means that we find ourself awake when everybody else is asleep.

A good way to get back to normal is to waking up early at the same time every morning. It doesn't matter how late we fell asleep the night before. Use an alarm clock, and don't go to bed again before about 10 pm that night. If we do this for a few nights, we should soon be able to fall asleep naturally at the right time.

Sleeping Problems In Adult Life - Insomnia

2008-02-15T07:59:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we may feel that we are not getting enough sleep or rest in the night when we should. There are many everyday reasons for not sleeping well.

Sometimes, sleeping problems could be due to the bedroom being too noisy, too hot or too cold. Or the bed may be uncomfortable or too small. Our partner may have a different pattern of sleep from us do affect our sleep too. Without a regular routine, or not be getting enough exercise will also cause sleepless nights. Changes in temperature in the bedroom may also affect our sleep.

Having too much food or going to bed hungry can make it difficult to get off to sleep or causing us to wake too early

Cigarettes, alcohol and drinks containing caffeine, such as tea and coffee are not advisable.
Some more serious causes include emotional problems, difficulties at work, anxiety and worry, depression, thinking over and over about day to day problems etc. Having such problems may result in waking up very early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep.

Can medication help?

People have been using sleeping tablets for many years, but we now know that they don't work for very long. Such medication may cause us to feel tired and irritable the next day. They lose their effect quite quickly, so we have to take more and more to get the same effect. Some people become addicted to them. The longer we take sleeping tablets, the more likely we are to become physically or psychologically dependent on them.

Sleeping tablets should only be used for short periods (less than 2 weeks), and only advisable if we are so distressed that we cannot sleep at all. If we have been on sleeping tablets for a long time, it is best to cut down the dose slowly after discussing it with the doctor. In some cases, antidepressant tablets may be helpful.

How much sleep do we need?

2008-02-07T03:22:00.000-08:00

The hours of sleep we need depends mainly on how old we are. Babies sleep for about 17 hours each day while older children only need 9 to 10 hours a night. Most adults need around 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. Older people need the same amount of sleep, but will often only have one period of deep sleep during the night, usually in the first 3 or 4 hours, after which they wake more easily. We also tend to dream less as we get older.

There are also differences between people of the same age. Most of us need 7 to 8 hours a night, but some people can get by with only 3 hours a night. It is not helpful to regularly sleep more than 7 to 8 hours each night. The short periods of being awake feel much longer than they really are. So it is easy to feel that we are not sleeping as much as we actually are.

What if I don't sleep?

It is easy to worry when we can't sleep. The occasional night without sleep will make us feel tired the next day, but it will not harm our physical or mental health.

However, after several sleepless nights, we may start to find that we are tired all the time, difficult to concentrate, hard to make decisions and sometimes start to feel depressed.

This can be very dangerous if we are driving or operating heavy machinery. Many deaths each year are due to people falling asleep while driving. Lack of sleep for a prolonged period of time may also make us more vulnerable to high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.

How to sleep healthily?

2008-01-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

Having sleepless nights? Feeling frustrated over not being able to sleep? Tossing and turning, racing thoughts in your minds, irritable noises keeping you awake? There are, however, things we can observe to help us sleep healthily.

1) Sleep only when sleepy, reduces the time you are awake in bed.

2) Short naps. If you just can't make it through the day without one, take a short nap in the afternoon.

3) Develop pre sleep routine. Tell your body, time to slow down and sleep. Do something like listening to soothing music or some light reading.

4) Can't fall asleep, get up and do something boring until you feel sleepy.

5) Regular exercise. Exercising is recommended to help you sleep well, but the timing of the workout is important. Avoid excessive exercise before bedtime.

6) Do not use your bed for things like watching TV, doing work, working out monthly bills, or reading. Tell your body it is time to sleep when you are in bed. Only use your bed for sleeping, sex is the only exception!

7) No caffeine, nicotine and alcohol please. Avoid stimulants that interfere with good sleep. Cigarettes, coffee, tea, cola, cocoa, chocolate and some prescription and non-prescription drugs contain caffeine and nicotine. Alcohol slows brain activity, but you will end up having fragmented sleep.

8) Night snack. Having a heavy meal or empty stomach before bedtime can interfere with sleep. Dairy products like a warm glass of milk can acts as a natural sleep inducer.

9) Hot bath. A hot bath before bedtime will raise your body temperature, but the subsequent drop in body temperature that may leave you feeling sleepy.

10) Cozy and comfortable bedroom. Quiet, comfortable and cool room with enough blankets to stay warm will help, while a hot room can be uncomfortable. Slumber mask or earplugs if noise or the morning light bothers you,

11) Getting up and going to bed same time every day, maintaining a regular sleeping cycle. 12) Morning sun. Enjoy the morning sun when getting up in the morning. Use the morning sunlight to set your biological clock.

I think you should get a car!

2008-01-04T07:24:00.000-08:00

I was enjoying a day’s off today with the company of a good friend. As both of us don’t drive, we decided to travel around via public transport. To our surprise, the public buses were packed with passengers, even at off peak hours. My friend started to grumble about the bus being uncomfortably overcrowded with passengers, such heavy traffic, pathetic and simply a waste of time…frustration soon took over. I thought to myself, is it time to get a car?

Honestly, I've never thought of getting a car, and never did I know that purchasing a car in Singapore is not as easy as it seems for a first time car owner. The list of things to consider started to pop up in my mind - which is the most suitable type of car for me, will it be able to satisfy the needs of myself and my family, is this the best time to purchase a car, road tax and parking expenses on top of ever rising petrol prices will public transport be a better choice, will I be able to secure a car loan at favorable interest rates and repayment terms? The list goes on…

My good old friend, seeing me deep in thoughts, flashed a curious look, imploring a penny of my thoughts. I looked at him and said in an airy tone, “I think you should get a car!”

Are you sleeping well?

2008-01-01T08:45:00.000-08:00

We don't usually need to think very much about our sleep - it's just a part of life that we take for granted. When we can't sleep, though, it can be a real problem - insomnia. We need sleep to keep our minds and bodies healthy. If we carry on sleeping badly, we start to notice the effects.

What is sleep?

Sleep is the time of the day when our body is at rest and repairing the muscles in our body. During this period of time, our consciousness is suspended,. There are 5 stages of sleep:
1) Pre sleep - The muscles relax, the heart beats slower and body temperature falls
2) Light sleep - Woken easily without feeling confused, by loud nose or intense light.
3) Slow wave sleep – Brain generates low delta waves, blood pressure falls, sleep talk or sleep walk may take place.
4) Deep slow wave sleep – Rhythmic breathing, low muscle activity, very hard to wake.
5) Rapid Eye Movement (REM) – Brain waves speed up, muscle relax, heart beat rate increase, rapid and shallow breathing. Dreaming Occurs.

In the first 4 stages of our sleep, the brain is quiet with slight muscle activities. The body moves to different postures unconsciously to ensure blood circulation reaches every part of it. Hormones are released into the bloodstream and our body repairs itself after the wear and tear of the day.

The fifth stage of sleep, Rapid Eye Movement (REM), comes and goes, constituting 20-25% of our sleep time. During these spells of REM sleep, our brain is very active, muscles activities re very low, our eyes move quickly from side to side and we dream.

We move between REM and non-REM sleep about five times throughout the night, dreaming more as we get toward the morning.

Sleep is important, its constitutes about a third of our life, and it certainly affects the other 2 thirds if we don't get good sleep. It is important to understand how to achieve good sleep.

Sweet Dreams!!

Happy New Year!

2007-12-31T11:18:00.000-08:00

Its been a rough year, glad its all over and we can move on!

Amidst the joyous mood in the air, all the festive celebrations, “Auld Lang Syne”s, whishes & hopes, almost seems like a routine and nagging affair to me. 12 moons ago, despite the ignorance on what lies ahead of us, everyone seems to be in high hopes. There and then, like everyone else, I hoped for the best, deja vu…

Ironically, after a recollection of the past 12 woeful months at this very last moment of the year, I could not tell if those “happening” 365 days were the best. If they were, I cannot picture too many things that could be worse! I guess regular persons live regular lives and hope for regular things.

Thus, while the wise who foresaw the future remains dead and buried, I hope not for the best but the extraordinary!

Cheers!!

Native American Dreamcatcher

2007-12-30T06:42:00.000-08:00

Dreamcatchers - an authentic American Indian tradition. The original Native Indian dream catcher stemmed from the Ojibwa (Chippewa) tribe. They would weave deer sinew or nettle stalk around a tiny round or tear-shaped wooden frame and decorate it with beads--and hang this "dream-catcher" as a charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares. The legend is that the bad dreams will get caught in the web.

Traditionally Native American dreamcatchers are small (only a few inches across) and made of bent wood and sinew string with a feather hanging from the netting, but wrapping the frame in leather is also pretty common.

Its origins notwithstanding, the Native American dream catcher is an expression of man’s obsession, fascination, fear and wonder with the world of dreams. And the belief in the power of dreams, bad dreams especially, to spell doom in a person’s life is ubiquitous in all cultures. The tradition of dream catchers in Native America rests on this sense of foreboding.

According to the Ojibwe legend, the Spider Woman or Asibikaasi who brought back the sun to her people, asked the women of the tribe to make a dream catcher out of willow hoops to protect their children from nightmares. The netting was fixed to the hoop in eight places in order to signify the eight legs of Asibikaasi or seven to denote the Seven Prophecies.

The dream catcher is hung mostly over sleeping children as a charm to protect the young ones from nightmares. In fact, it is believed that the ancient dream catcher, called the “Sacred Hoop” was fashioned by a concerned parent. However, the Lakota myth is that the netting in the dream catcher will entrap your good ideas while letting the bad ones pass through the net. Though its origins cannot be vouched for, the dream catcher has some captivating pieces of myths surrounding it.

The dream catcher meant for a child can also have a feather strung to its center, just as an added means to guide the good dreams on their way. It is also believed that the feather symbolizes air, which is so essential for life. And with the notion of gender roles quite common amongst the Native American tribesmen, it is a regular practice to have an owl’s feather, signifying wisdom, in a baby girl’s dream catcher and an eagle’s feather, denoting courage, in a baby boy’s one. The feather is not attached to the dream catcher of an adult.

Dream Catchers today are not only hung on the child's cradleboard or nursery, but also in places like the living room or your rearview mirror. Many think dream-catchers are a sweet and loving little tradition, others consider them a symbol of native unity, During the pan-Indian movement in the 60's and 70's, Ojibway dreamcatchers started to get popular in other Native American tribes, even those in disparate places like the Cherokee, Lakota, and Navajo.

The Native American dream catcher is an abiding belief amongst the Native Indian tribes and has now spread to other cultures of the world.

Fascinating Native American art!