This is from an article in Aug/Sep 2008 issue of Scientific American Mind by R. Douglas Fields: It appears that cell phone use prior to bedtime can contribute to insomnia. Cell phone use increases alpha brain waves. Alpha waves typically are high when the mind is trying to shut out the external world and create …Read More
Lost "Control" of My Thoughts
Jul 18, 2008
I was recently watching a docudrama called “Control” that chronicled the rise of the punk/new wave group Joy Division and troubled front man Ian Curtis. I heard that the movie was great, especially the nuanced, brooding performance of Sam Riley as Ian Curtis. I read one reviewer who wrote that Sam Riley didn’t play the …Read More
Reading & Fatigue
Jun 21, 2008
Have you ever had the experience of not being able to maintain concentration while reading and/or not remembering what you just read? Of course, this can be from a number of causes (e.g., boring or extremely dense reading material, ADHD, a mild reading disability) but an obvious but often overlooked one is not getting enough …Read More
Sleep Loss Linked to Obesity in Kids & Adults
Nov 4, 2007
Ok, I promise that I’ll stop with this at some point, but some research just came out on a link between sleep loss and obesity in kids. In the November 2007 issue of Journal of Pediatrics, a study showed that every additional hour per night a third-grader spends sleeping reduces the child’s chances of being …Read More
Sleep Loss Linked to Psychiatric Disorders
Oct 22, 2007
I recently ran across a new study that illuminates the negative effects of sleep deprivation on emotional regulation (a link to it as at the bottom of this article). One of my first posts was on the importance of sleep to our emotional well-being. Basically, the sleep deprived brain is not able to regulate emotion. …Read More
Take the "Sleep Challenge"
May 19, 2007
I have one son who is almost 4 years old and another son who is almost 6 months. Sleep can be a hard-sought luxury, and my wife can speak to this even better than I can. One thing I have noticed, as any parent can tell you, is that infants and young children show dramatic …Read More
Interesting Fact About Sleep Deprivation
Dec 16, 2006
I had a previous post about the importance of sleep, so I wanted to add this interesting bit of information that I ran across in the latest issue of Men’s Health magazine. It contained a feature article about the perils of sleep deprivation, how it has such a negative effect on our mental and physical …Read More
Help with Insomnia
Aug 7, 2006
I discussed the the importance of getting a good night’s sleep in a previous blog. Have you tried it getting 8 hours of sleep per night as a week long experiment yet? Again, consider it “sleep therapy” because there are few things that you could do that have as great an impact as sleep on …Read More
The Importance of Sleep
Jul 30, 2006
There are several simple things that you can try to improve your emotional and physical well-being. One of these is getting enough sleep. I, admittedly, am guilty of not getting enough sleep myself, but I am working on it. As a nation, the U.S. is sleep-deprived. About 100 years ago, we averaged 9.0 hours of …Read More