Can Foods Help Cure Insomnia?

 
Insomnia is a big problem but most people do not want to take medications to get sleepy.  So they try to get sleepy with food.  Insomnia is a much more complicated problem than a single food can cure.

The recent home remedy for insomnia is to eat two pieces of bread.  This is for the type of insomnia where you sleep for a couple of hours, wake up and cannot fall back to sleep.

I've tried this home remedy and can report that it's a bunch of hooey.  According to the National Sleep Foundation, combining proteins and carbs make you sleepy.  Other foods that supposedly make you sleepy (and yet, somehow, do not work for me include):

• Cereal and milk (cereal needs to contain protein and not just sugars)
• Peanut butter on bread or crackers
• Cheese and crackers

Although alcohol can make you drowsy, it interferes with deep sleep, so wind up not getting the quality sleep that you need.

Sleep Patterns of Horses

I know that this blog is generally focused on human sleep and dreams, but sleep behavior of other species can just be so damn interesting.  Also, there might be one or two of you that own horses or soon will own horses and need to know their basic behaviors, like what horses do when they sleep.

For example, it is normal for horses to not sleep as much as dogs, cats or people.  Foals tend to sleep laying down more often than adults.  Horses, like people, can also suffer from sleep deprivation.

Here's an article I wrote for Helium about horse sleep patterns.  Enjoy.

Image of sleeping thoroughbred foal by Daita for Wikimedia Commons.

Do Dreams Predict the Future?

I was watching an episode of Doomsday Preppers (I can't remember why) and saw one family that spending all of it's time and money preparing for doomsday solely because Dianne Rogers (the wife) keeps getting a recurring dream about doomsday.  Their entire lives (hubby, wife and 6-year-old daughter) revolve around this dream.

Which begs the question -- do dreams predict the future? 

No, they don't.  They can influence your own future, but dreams are in no way reliable predictors of future events. 

Case in point: the 1957 Kentucky Derby.  John Nehrud, trainer of the hot favorite, Gallant Man, had a dream that jockey Bill Shoemaker would lose the race by misjudging the finish line.  Nehrud warned Shoemaker about this dream before the race. 

During a stretch drive when Gallant Man was nose to nose with Iron Liege, Shoemaker did indeed misjudge the finish line and stood up in the stirrups as jockeys are supposed to do when a race ends, letting the horse know that he (or she) can finally slow down.  Iron Liege won, with Gallant Man second by a nose (see offical photo finish above.)  Some point to this as proof that dreams can predict the future.

Keep in mind that this is the biggest race of all in American thoroughbred racing. Because it's restricted to three-year-olds, a horse has only one shot at running. Sometimes trainers, owners and jockeys only get one shot at it, too. Jockeys -- even legendary athletes like Bill Shoemaker -- are prone to cracking under extreme pressure.

Being warned about makng a major mistake may cause you make a mistake.

Think about all the times you thought your dreams would predict the future -- a dream about marrying a certain someone, picking the correct lottery numbers -- that sort of thing.  Dreams usually do not come true.  Dreams may give us a peek into our own decision-making abilities and creative imaginations, but do not live your life by them.  Or tell the jockey of your horse about them.

Despite this, Psychology Today reports that 50% of "the general population" believe that they have precognitive dreams.  So why do so many people insist that they have prophetic dreams?  It's because they believe they do -- not because they actually do.  We tend to pay attention to events that reinforce our beliefs and ignore those that don't. This is called confirmation bias.

"The Harvard Medical School Guide to A Good Night's Sleep"; By Lawrence Epstien, MD: My Review

I'm going to let the cat out of the bag now and let you know that I cheated for this book review.  I didn't read the entire book.  I skipped the parts that weren't pertinent to my life, such as the detailed description of what it's like to visit a sleep clinic, since the odds of me ever going to one are practically nonexistent. 

Otherwise, I did read The Harvard Medical School's Guide to A Good Night's Sleep (McGraw Hill; 2006) and can recommend it for anyone concerned about getting a good night's sleep.  This is a short look at sleep problems written for the layperson.  It does not go into much detail for particular problems like insomnia, narcolepsy, restless  legs and other disorders, but does give you enough information to know that you really do not want to have these problems.

There is a big section devoted to children's sleep problems, which parents will (hopefully) find useful.  Since I do not have kids I can't evaluate how good the information is.

This is part of a series of short, easy-to-read medical guides put out by the Harvard Medical School and Harvard Health Publications.  Harvard Heath Publications' website is a reputable and understandable medical reference for people not involved with the medical industry.

The only big criticism I have of the book is it's 7 Step Plan for getting good quality sleep. Step one is "Recognize the need for good sleep."  Really?  That's a step?  Wouldn't the fact that you picked up the book negate this step?  It's advice like that that keeps me up at night.  Am I recognizing the need for good sleep enough?

Dreamt that My Abuser Committed Suicide

I last saw my abuser (whom I'll call Mitch) in real life in September of 2005.  However, I see him at least once a week in my dreams and nightmares.  He beat me up for about five years so I left him in December of 2004.  I even left the damn continent he lived on to get away from him.  And yet I can't get rid of him in my dreams. 

But last night was the first time I dreamt that Mitch committed suicide. He suddenly jumped out of a window while we were having an argument.  The building looked a lot like the dorm I lived in at Millersville University, Hull Hall (pictured).  That building was only three stories.  In my dream, it was a lot taller.  Mitch went splat.  I'm hoping this is a positive development for my subconscious. 

At the end of my dream, I did get picked up by the police as a "person of interest" in  Mitch's suicide, considering that I was present when he jumped.  Damn that reality getting in the way of my dreams again.  Although I wasn't too happy about being implicated in Mitch's suicide (and having to explain all this to my Mom), I felt tremendously relieved.

Let me emphasize here that I have NO plans to return to the UK, locate Mitch and nag him to death.  If I never see Mitch again, it's can't be too soon -- whether in real life or in my dreams.

Trying to Stay Up Late to Watch Hannibal

If you want regular sleep, you need to avoid watching television late at night or right before your bedtime.  I've written this piece of advice in dozens of articles since I became a web content writer in 2006. 

But whoever follows their own advice?

I usually avoid new television series because they take up so much time and energy.  You have to practically schedule your life around them.  And then the series winds up getting cancelled or sucking.  I don't have TiVo or a DVR so if I want to see a new episode as soon as it's available, I have to do it the old-fashioned way and watch it on TV when it is originally scheduled.  (This is now called "watching it live" -- which does not seem right, since the show is recorded.

Anyway, as you've probably figured out from the title, I got into watching NBC's new show Hannibal.  I wasn't expecting  to like it (no Anthony Hopkins?  AHHH!)  but I do.  It's on at 10 pm, when I'm usually going to bed.  Now, I know I could just wait and watch the episodes online the next day, but now I've been infected by what Stephen King calls the "gotta."  I'm dying to find out what happens next, so I "gotta" stay up late to watch the latest episode.

So, how do I stay up?

• Drink caffeinated beverages
• Wake up an hour later than usual every day of the week
• Eat something that gives me heartburn, which makes it too uncomfortable for me to lie down
• Keep on working right up to showtime
• Watch old episodes to keep me jazzed
• Perform light household chores like washing dishes or doing the laundry because exercise before bed can wake up the body.

And the fourth episode of Hannibal sucked in comparison to the first three.  Now that my circadian rhythm has been shifted just so I can watch this show, I hope it picks back up in quality to justify all my effort for trying to stay awake.

Image of televisions for sale by Wags05 for Wikimedia Commons.

3 Most Common Myths About Bed Bugs

Bed bugs have been in the Internet a lot lately, but not all of this information is accurate.  Here are the 3 most common myths about bed bugs according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Myth #1: Bed Bugs Only Live in Dirty Homes

This is not true.  Bed bugs are not attracted to dirt or dirty people.  Bed bugs are so thin that they can wedge themselves into tiny crevices and breed in even the cleanest of homes and businesses.  Keeping a cluttered home can make it easier for bed begs to find hiding spaces and spaces to lay eggs, but they can still find plenty of spots in clean homes.  They can get into electronics, in picture frames and in floor cracks.

Myth #2: Bed Bugs Only Come Out In the Dark

You may have heard that sleeping in a brightly lit room will deter bed bugs.  It won’t.  Bed bugs come out to feed whenever a person is sleeping or staying very still.  They are attracted to carbon dioxide, which living beings exhale.  They are also attracted to body warmth.  Since most people sleep with the lights out, it can be understandable for some people to conclude that bed bugs are only active at night.

Myth #3: Over the Counter Bug Bombs Will Get Rid of Bed Bugs

Even though a pesticide product that you can buy at the store may claim it can kill bed bugs, bug bombs or foggers will not get rid of an infestation.  Pesticides need to come into contact with the bed bug in order to work.  Bed bugs simply hide until the effects of the foggers wear off.  They may also flee to another room in the home that isn’t being treated.  Bed bugs in apartment buildings simply move from the treated apartment to an untreated apartment.  Eventually, the bugs will return.

Creepy adult bed bug picture from the CDC.