The Low Down on Sleep Paralysis

It is no doubt that sleep paralysis is a pretty scary experience.  If you don't know what I'm talking about be sure to check out the article below...

Have you ever woken up from sleep only to discover that you cannot move a muscle? With the exception of maybe your eyes and your breathing, you find yourself virtually frozen in bed. For some this situation is then made exponentially worse by hallucinations that manifest in their surroundings, threatening

Sleep Disorder or ADHD

Knowing the difference between a sleep disorder and something else can be a bit tricky at times.  Here is some information that might help point you in the right direction.

When it comes to children, sleep disorders can be misdiagnosed as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). That’s because some of the symptoms are similar (i.e. hyperactivity, easily distracted, and difficulty sleeping).

According to Dr. Carl Hunt: “Sleep disorders are often not recognized in children, and symptoms related to sleep deprivation may be erroneously attributed to hyperactivity or behavior disorders, to boredom with school or today’s hectic lifestyles.”

If you have children, one way of preventing him/her from getting sleep disorders is by ensuring that

Night Time Habits That Affect Sleep

Too many times we get caught up in the moment, the day, the business of life and we begin habits that may eventually affect our sleep.  Here is a great article on just that!

Wondering why you just can't get a good night's sleep? What you're doing before bed may be the culprit.

TV time: You've saved up a DVR's-worth of your favorite TV show, and it's finally time to settle in with an episode or two. Fast-forward three hours later, and you realize it's well past your bedtime. Watching too much TV or staring at your computer all night can mess with your body clock, so make sure you set a limit to the amount of screen time you're getting at night, and turn off those electronics at least 20 minutes before bedtime.

Late-night exercising: Hitting the gym after work doesn't disrupt your sleep schedule — in fact, daily exercise actually helps you sleep better. But exercising only a couple hours before you go to sleep can energize your body so much that it's

The Sleep Apnea Risk

Sleep Apnea is a very serious problem for many people around the world.  Educating yourself on the signs, and symptoms is the first step in dealing with sleep apnea.

A study in the latest issue of the journal SLEEP provides further evidence that sleep apnea should never be left untreated. Older adults have twice the death risk when excessive daytime sleepiness is paired with obstructive sleep apnea.

The study involved 289 participants at least 65 years old and with no clear signs of dementia or depression. The average age at the start of the study was about 78 years old. About three-quarters of the patients were female. 

An overnight sleep study at the beginning of the study was used to diagnose participants with

Promoting Sleep Through Exercise

Getting enough sleep and enough exercise are both vital to a healthy mind and body.  However, there is a strong link between one and the other.  Better exercise often can equal better sleep.  Let's find out more!

You're more likely to get a good night's sleep if you perform moderate exercise for at least 150 minutes a week - that's only 30 minutes a day for five days. This finding from Oregon State University comes after reviewing data on more than 3,000 adults between ages 18 and 85 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 

For a week after they were examined, the study participants wore an accelerometer on their right hip for a week. Results showed that those who did moderate exercise for

What is Sleep Paralysis

Sleep paralysis can be a pretty scary experience, especially when it occurs for the first time.  Here is some great information that may help alleviate some anxiety if it does occur.

What is Sleep Paralysis?

According to Wikipedia , Sleep Paralysis is paralysis associated with sleep that may occur in normal subjects or be associated with narcolepsy, cataplexy, and hypnagogic hallucinations. The pathsophysiology of this condition is closely related to the normal hypotonia that occur during REM sleep. When considered to be a disease, isolated sleep paralysis is classified as MeSH D020188.[2] Some evidence suggests that it can also, in some cases, be a symptom of migraine.

What are the possible causes?

Many people who commonly enter sleep paralysis also suffer from narcolepsy. In African Americans, panic disorder occurs with sleep paralysis more frequently

Sleep Violence

When you think of risky activities sleep is probably is pretty low on the list.  That might not always be the case.  Here is an interesting article on sleep violence. 

Lady Macbeth sleepwalking, a painting by Henry Fuseli. Credit: commons.wikimedia.org

Last month, psychiatrists at Stanford University announced that sleepwalking is on the rise. More than 8.4 million adult Americans—3.6 percent of the population over 18—are prone to sleepwalking. That’s up from a 2 percent prevalence the same authors found a decade ago.

And as the latest issue of Scientific American Mind notes, a subset of these nighttime wanderers may be at risk for a disturbing and dangerous phenomenon: sleep violence. Aggressive somnambulance in the general population hovers at or below 2 percent in surveys conducted in North America and Europe. But not all sleepwalkers exhibit violent behavior and what causes the violence remains a puzzle to researchers.

In fact, three separate disorders are associated with sleep violence. In arousal disorders—discussed in-depth in this month’s feature—an individual operates in a mental state between wakefulness and sleep, carrying out complex behaviors with no evident conscious awareness. In comparison, people with