Today in history… (this site left my birth event out… and it appears they do not have anything for August 28, 1969. Maybe I should approach them about adding the event.
(many people share my birthday – that is true… but I think it should be listed under NOTABLE HISTORICAL EVENTS!)
Not that I actually give a ball-drat-sass. I didn’t do much to celebrate… but I did get some much needed rest.
You are dark, love gadgets
and have vowed to help the innocent
not suffer the pain you have endured.
Sleep experts say that counting sleep may actually contribute to sleeplessness rather than entice sleep.
The average adult requires between 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
Contrary to what may seem logical, vigorous exercising late in the evening raises certain hormone levels, along with your body temperature, both of which make falling asleep more difficult.
Prior to the invention of the light bulb, people slept on average for 10 hours a night. Today, people average 6-7 hours of sleep per night.
More than 18 million people suffer from sleep apnea, a breathing disorder in which there are actual lapses in breathing as a person sleeps.
Approximately 100,000 car crashes are caused each year by drowsy drivers. These accidents result in more than 1,500 fatalities.
The quality of your sleep is just as important as getting the right amount of sleep.
About 40% of adults snore.
A cat sleeps about 12 hours a day.
A dog sleeps between 10 and 11 hours daily.
A giraffe sleeps only about 2 hours each day.
A person will actually die from a lack of sleep before they would from starvation. Starvation would take about two weeks whereas a lack of sleep would prove fatal after only 10 days.
Charles Dickens suffered from insomnia.
You actually burn more calories sleeping than you do watching tv. (We’re still trying to figure out the “whys” of this one!)
We spend one third of our life sleeping.
Leonardo da Vinci slept only 15 minutes every four hours, around the clock.
There’s something to be said for burning the midnight oil. Research proves that what we learn right before going to sleep is actually remembered longer than what we learn at any other time.
On a typical night, it takes the typical person 7 minutes to fall asleep.
The temperature of your room has an effect on your dreams. The colder the room, the worse the dreams.
The average person has five dreams a night.
Washington Irving wrote “Rip Van Winkle”, the story of a man who slept for twenty years.
Maybe I shouldn’t have tried that Indian food for lunch today. Maybe I am just preoccupied with thoughts regarding some test scores. Maybe the refrigerator at work really isn’t keeping my food cold enough, and even though the yogurt was dated 17 August, how can you tell when yogurt is BAD? I don’t FEEL ill. I show no signs of food-related illness. I’m just trying to set the scene with possible reasons that I would find myself awake after such a short amount of time.
Whatever the reason… I’m up. I was tired three hours ago. I turned off the TV, climbed in bed, and fell asleep quickly. I woke up twice, but I did not allow myself to look at the clock, because although I am not superstitious, I thought that I’d be better off not really knowing how long I had slept so far. I fell back asleep without any problems both times, but the second time, the sleep was fitful. The room felt too warm despite it being 69 degrees (farenheit). I struggled to cling to the edge of the deep sleep I so desperately need–and deserve.
I woke again, this time needing to empty my bladder. I washed my hands, and as I stood in the doorway leading from the bathroom to my bedroom, I could see the blurry glow of the digits on the alarm clock across the room. I squinted my eyes trying to focus on the numbers it displayed. 12:32. I thought, Surely that can’t be right. I’ve been asleep longer than that. Unfortunately, the clock does not lie. Unfortunately, I am no longer sleepy. Unfortunately, even if I do not fall back asleep, I have to be up in roughly four hours to go to work.
The last caffeine I had today was around three p.m. I am beginning to wonder if, unlike normal people, I sleep better when I do consume caffeine late in the day. In the past few months, sleep has not been a major problem for me. I had been falling asleep quickly, as usual, but instead of waking up after two or three hours (like I have tonight), I have been sleeping five hours, straight through without any significant interruptions. Any trips to the toilet have been infrequent and have not caused much disturbance in my ability to return to sleep. In the recent months, I have not been in bed, awake, fretting over mundane bulls-h!t, and then objurgating myself for doing so.
Ironically enough, this first night of sleep disruption–or perhaps the return of the torture so familiar to me–has simply returned to continue my imprisonment within its grip– but Ironically enough, it comes immediately after I post about caffeine addction. (Cruel humor on someone’s part, I tell you.)
Update: 2:37 a.m. (same date) Well, “Thank You”, neighbor, for allowing your idiot dog access to his doggie-door tonight, even though you and I both know how I feel about his unruly barking habit. Even though roughly three months ago at six fifteen in the morning I was at your door, having just disturbed YOUR sleep because YOUR dog was outside barking for five minutes. Even though I made it unmistakably clear exactly how I felt about his constant yapping. Even though I brought it to your attention that just because you sleep at night and work during the day, not everybody shares that schedule. Even though you apologized and promised to do something about it (and while it has improved ALOT…) you failed to get your ass up and do something about it now. Thanks, man, way to keep your word.
Caffeine is a drug. It is certainly possible to become dependent on it’s wonderful ability to uplift us and give us that little push to get us going every morning (and if you are like me in the afternoon too.)
I am dependent on caffeine… not to wake up or stay up, but to feel normal. I can drink several cups of coffee and still manage to get tired and fall asleep. [Some of you might want to point out the fact that this may be why I have sleeping problems.] I have to admit — it is possible — even likely… BUT! I gave up caffeine for three months a few years ago and my sleeping habits remained UNCHANGED.
I get (mild) headaches when it is time for a coffee fix. I hardly consider it debilitating — or something that requires medical intervention.
Funny thing, just this week, a guy I work with stated that he gave up caffeine and it was easy. He added that he just took Excedrin for the headaches. I laughed at him, and informed him that one Excedrin tablet contains: 250mg of asprin, 250mg Acetaminephen (Tylenol), and … 60mg of caffeine.
People are funny when they don’t know what they are talking about.
[the WebMD information is actually at least one month old, but I wanted to post it today anyway.]
