Devils of the Dreamland

Dream anxiety attacks, nightmares, devils of the dreamland, whatever you want to call them, they are intense, distressful and anxiety provoking.

Interestingly it is not always the content of the nightmare that is frightening; it is the experience of the dream as negative that is distressing.  The same dark shadow in the corner of your room that you saw as your deceased loved in last night’s dream could become the grim reaper tonight.  Instead of imparting a comforting feeling, the reaper scares your pants, or rather PJs, right off! (read more)

Napping on the Job

Many companies are now establishing nap rooms and slumber chambers for their employees so that they can take a snooze during their breaks. The concept began in Japan where companies would set up tents and provide sleep masks and ear plugs so that their workers could take naps. This concept is now just reaching Canada and some companies have spent as much as $50,000 USD to set up elaborate nap rooms. Some nap rooms include comfy recliners, blackout curtains and white-noise generators and one even displays an actual running waterfall! (read more)

Feel like it’s Summer All Year Long

It’s cold, it’s dark, you feel like hibernating....welcome to winter.  If you are like most people, you probably find yourself less energetic in the winter months.  One of the main reasons we all tend to slow down at this time of year is because the warming glow of the sun does not grace us as much.  For many people, this means they wake up when it is still dark out, are stuck in an office without any windows all day and after drudging through the 7.5 hours, they return home in the dark.  It’s almost like we become nocturnal rats, living only at night.  In fact, that is...(read more)

Sleep Less Live Longer

People who sleep less may live longer. These are the results from a large study conducted by Dr. Daniel Kripke and the American Cancer Society on data of more than a million people.  Researchers compared people that were equal in age, diet, health and lifestyle. They found that...(read more)

Sleep in Space

A Canadian researcher has led a team of scientists in a study of sleep in space . Dr. Harvey Moldofsky conducted the research for the Canadian Space Agency.  The longer people stay in space, the more deep sleep they lose.  Dr. Moldofsky and his team also found that after the astronauts returned to earth, they continued to have less of the deep sleep stages (stages 3 and 4) for up to three months.  Although he is not sure...(read more)

Senior’s Sleep

As we enter adulthood there is a shift in our biological clock that makes us sleep less. Often times noise disruptions become more bothersome and our sleep becomes fragmented. Seniors rarely get the recommend dose of sleep. Many of us believe the myths that seniors require less sleep than younger people and that napping is the past time of retirees. However, sleep researchers suggest that seniors require seven to nine hours of sleep each night and that napping can actually increase the struggle with one’s biological clock. A fragmented sleep pattern like...(read more)

Night Flights

The Red-Eye flights (the ones that depart at night and arrive the following morning) are often thought of as some kind of modern day torture. Something that you are forced to endure just because your evil boss and the ever-looming accountant want to pinch a few pennies from the travel budget. Would you believe...(read more)

Somnoplasty

The often irregular patterns of snoring and not snoring can make it difficult to isolate snoring’s cause.  It is often related to obesity, alcohol consumption and smoking. In these cases, changes to your lifestyle will make the biggest difference. But where do you start?  The Sleep Coach can help you through this process and within a few sessions you will be on your way to a new snoreless life. Send him an e-mail to get started today.
But when snoring's cause is related to sleep apnea, the best treatment is...(read more)

A Hard Day’s Night

The first long night I can remember was when I was fourteen, sitting at the kitchen table at four in the morning, glass of milk in hand, listening to the buzz of the refrigerator.  How could I be so awake when everyone else is asleep?
If you’re anything like me, and an estimated one in ten Canadians, this is a familiar tale.  Insomnia is one of the most common disorders, and it can have serious side-effects.  Researchers in Australia and New Zealand have found that sleep deprivation can impair the mind just as much as...(read more)

Coffee, It’s How it All Starts

I give numerous talks about sleep and fatigue.  What happens when you talk about sleep and fatigue?  Very predictably, people become sleepy, especially during my afternoon talks.  Right when audiences‘ circadian rhythms are forcing a body temperature plunge, the heads always start to nod off.  At least I hope it’s the biology and not my presentation.
I like to try and get a few laughs going to wake people up at these times and one of the stories I use goes something like this...(read more)

Back Pain?

Back pain is a common complaint especially when trying to get comfortable in bed.  Recent studies have shown that choosing the right type of mattress may go a long way in decreasing the stress on those aching back muscles.  The correct spinal position while standing and relaxed is...(read more)

Sleep and Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a wonderful life event, but like most great accomplishments, it comes with some sacrifice.  Sleep and your usual sleep patterns become compromised. In the first stages of pregnancy you’ll probably be able to sleep in the same position with little physical discomfort. But what changes is...(read more)

An Inside Look at the Polysomnogram

Has your doctor told you that you will have to get all wired up and then sleep in a lab while the technicians and sleep specialists watch you sleep?  This is one way to find out what is going on with your sleep.  It can be a little frightening and stressful so a little demystification of the process will be helpful.  When you sleep in the lab, the multitude of...(read more)

Awakening our Knowledge of Sleeping Pills

Australian born actor, Heath Ledger, died on January 22, 2008.  Many of the news reports concentrated on Heath’s struggle and growing frustration with insomnia.  It’s a sentiment that many of us can relate to as we lie flat on our backs, neck muscles tensed and eyes wide awake at 3 o’clock in the morning.  The National Sleep Foundation estimates that over 1/3...(read more)

Exercise and Sleep

Exercise is a very important factor to consider when it comes to establishing good sleep habits. It has been shown that exercise can improve your sleep, if it is done properly. The deepest stages of sleep, stages 3 and 4, are known for their role in...(read more)

Bridget Green’s Notes

EFirst, let me state that it is never a good idea to self treat insomnia with any over the counter medication regardless of how harmless it may seem. Contact your doctor before beginning any treatment. Some studies have shown that Valerian Root may be a good alternative for people who are suffering from insomnia and that it may also help you relax. The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) gives valerian a...(read more)

Technicolour Dreams

“Do you dream in colour?”  For most people, this is a hard question to answer.  It’s surprising though because colour is everywhere in our waking lives and you would expect it to be everywhere in our dreams. But this omnipresence is probably the exact reason why people don’t mention colour all that often when recalling a dream. It’s there, but we just don’t notice it.  In our dreams and in our awake experiences, colour is ...(read more)

Children and Bedwetting

As every parent quickly learns, bedwetting is common.  It occurs in as many as 30% of all 4 year-olds. At the first appearance of bedwetting, some parents become disappointed because it seems like their child is taking a backwards step in development.  Many even suspect that the child is wetting the bed voluntarily for attention or that their child is...(read more)

Dream Recall

Typically people enter dreaming (REM - rapid eye movement) sleep four or five times per night. Research has shown that dreams can also occur during non-REM periods. This means we may be dreaming all night long. This may seem strange to most people because...(read more)

Lurking Sleep Problems

Many people feel tired all day long.  When asked "Why?" they normally say that they sleep very lightly or that they don't sleep well.  But that is as much as they know.  In reality, there could be one of almost 90 underlying sleep problems influencing their daytime fatigue.  The Sleep Advisor will uncover ...(read more)

Sleep Terrors

Have you ever seen a child sit bolt upright in bed and start screaming or an adult roll over in a state of confused panic?  Chances are they could be experiencing sleep terrors. The intensely distressing fear reactions usually begin with ...(read more)

Yoga and Dreams

Here are two simple techniques from Dr. Jenkins’ Yoga and Dreams course that you can use on your own to begin to combine dream work and body work.
Upon Awakening:
As you wake up, your body is, in effect , telling you what it was like for you to have been ...(read more)

Acting Out Your Dreams

Lots of people know that dreaming tends to occur during REM sleep. What many people do not realize however, is that when we are in REM sleep our bodies are paralyzed.  It’s Mother Nature’s protection mechanism to keep us from acting out our dreams.  It is a good thing that this happens because it allows us to remain peacefully in our beds as our dreams play out.  There are a few people in whom this  ...(read more)

Do you have insomnia?

Poor sleep plagues many North Americans.  Unfortunately, troublesome nights are a chronic condition for a large portion of sleepers.  Fifteen percent of poor sleepers have psychophysiological insomnia. According to  the International Classification of Sleep Disorders ...(read more)

Sleep Hygiene

These tips are commonly referred to as sleep hygiene. They are good sleep rules for everyone to follow.  If however, you are struggling with a sleep challenge or if you have tried these tips already, you may need to take a different approach, like using the Sleep Advisor System.
SLEEP HYGIENE:
1.  Never try to ...(read more)

Fright Night

Nightmares are frightening dreams that often awaken the sleeper from Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (REM) sleep. REM sleep is the stage of sleep when we are most likely to have a dream. If you wake up from REM sleep , 8 times out of 10 you will recall a dream. We first hit REM sleep about 90 minutes after we fall asleep. After a REM period our brains ...(read more)

Stimulus Control

Dr. R. Bootzin pioneered the use of stimulus control instructions as a behavioural treatment for insomnia in 1972.  Treatment involves the use of six instructions with logical ties to good sleep.  The first thing people are required to do is to attempt to sleep only when they are sleepy.  Frustration is often the byproduct of unsuccessful attempts of the completion of any task.  Sleep is not exempt from this rule.  This instruction not only avoids undue ...(read more)

Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea is a disorder where a person stops breathing several times while asleep.  Each cessation of breath, or apneic episode, lasts at least ten seconds and is often associated with a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the person's blood.  Some people will actually stop breathing for more than a minute at a time.  Sleep apnea can have detrimental effects on ...(read more)

Periodic Limb Movements

Periodic Limb Movements (PLMs), also known as nocturnal myoclonus, are characterized by repetitive movements of the limbs during sleep.  The movements can result in several arousals or awakenings during the night . If the movements wake you up, then you may feel like you have insomnia because you can’t seem to stay asleep.  If the movements only cause arousals, small changes in brainwave patterns, you my feel like you have excessive daytime sleepiness because even though you are not waking up, your sleep is still disturbed. People are usually unaware of ...(read more)

Sleep Restriction

The longer you stay awake the more likely you will start to feel sleepy and have a hard time staying awake.  Seems like basic common knowledge doesn’t it? This increasing sleepiness is known as the homeostatic sleep drive in scientific circles. In 1987, Dr. Spielman and his colleagues created a therapy for insomnia based on this biological drive.
This therapy is known as Sleep Restriction Therapy and it is very effective at eliminating insomnia in a very short time...providing you are tough enough to endure it.  I say tough enough because ...(read more)