Sleep Doctor Articles
Rock Yourself to Sleep
Any new parent who has tried to get an infant to sleep knows about the secret spell of a swing. There’s something magical about the rocking motion that a swing or even human arms can provide to put a baby…
Jet Through Jet Lag
Jetting off for vacation sometime before summer ends? The anticipation of taking a time-out and getting away from the rigors of daily life can be exhilarating…until you get to your destination feeling tired, tense, and touchy thanks to jet lag….
Dreams, Nightmares, Stress and Sleep
Most of us have experienced them: weird, vivid dreams that leave us thinking about them the next day. But “weird” can mean several things in this regard. It can imply dreams that call up people from the past, the dead,…
Are You Afraid of Sleeping?
Nightmares are a research and clinical area that has always fascinated me. While I have experienced nightmares myself, they have been quite rare in my life. However both a recent article and patient has piqued my curiosity. Nightmares can be…
Lack of Sleep Can Trigger Migraine Proteins
Anyone who suffers from chronic headaches or worse, migraines, knows that lack of sleep can sometimes be the culprit. And anyone whose been victimized by a migraine also knows that losing sleep can be a trigger for these excruciating and…
Sleep at the Beach
The fourth of July, in our home, represents the holiday to show that summer is really here. While in Arizona it is usually pretty hot by July (about 110 degrees or so), we usually get out of town to beat the heat at the beach!
At the beach, not only do I tend to sleep even better than normal, many of the people I meet tend to tell me about how well they are sleeping here. Sitting in the cool breeze, listening to the ocean and watching my kids surf and build sand castles, I thought about why everyone seems to sleep better at the beach. Here are a few of my ideas:
Better Sleep for a Technicolor World
Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue. Purple. Look around and pay attention to the color you see. Is it bright and vivid? Better or worse than yesterday? Now think about how well you slept last night. Or the night before. Could…
Relief for Cancer Patients with Insomnia
A new study is underway in a research program based in Alberta, Canada to help such patients gain the control they so desire of their sleep life. It’s called I-CAN Sleep (short for Individuals with Insomnia and CANcer), and it’s the first Canadian study to assess sleep-improving techniques specifically intended for cancer patients and survivors.
Short, Fat, and Fast: The Long and Short of It
If you’re among those who constantly crave fast and fatty foods, I need to ask you: When’s the last time you got a long night’s sleep?
And then I’d want to follow up and ask about your waistline, too. Why?
This is not a trick question. It turns out that all three are associated with one another: being overweight (and in some cases, obese), being a “short” sleeper (i.e., logging 6 hours or less a night), and being in the habit of eating out and enjoying fatty foods.
Narcolepsy: An Autoimmune Disorder?
It’s long been thought that narcolepsy is an autoimmune disorder whereby an individual’s immune system goes haywire; rather than targeting just foreign invaders and germs, it instead turns against the body and begins attacking certain cells. Although this has never been definitively proven, we now have more evidence showing that narcolepsy indeed may be blamed on a misfiring immune system.