As brainstorming and idea for the last & final blog, I was continuously drawing blanks. I wanted something grand but there’s so much I’ve done, except talk about my own personal sleep journey. So for my final post I decided to talk about my love hate relationship and also provide some relaxation and sleep management tips that you could try over quarantine.

I actually have a slight fear of sleep that I developed as a kid. Not necessarily of sleep but more so the dreaming aspect of it. I would and still do have the most vivid and intricate dreams. It wasn’t like normal dreams though, I get them religiously almost every night. The worst part is my family simply added fuel to the fire by interpreting my dreams with west African folk tales like if I dreamt of a party, someone was going to die. So naturally I was terrified. But, when these scary dreams weren’t happening, and I experienced just plain regular sleep, it was love. I used to turn my dreams into personal storybooks where I’ve met Obama and had a crazy twin sister. Because of this fear of dreams I began developing horrible sleep habits. I began to stay up till 3 a.m at 8 years old and I slept in my parents room up till I was 11. Fast forward 8 years and here I am. Bad habits turned me into thinking I could run off 2 hours of sleep every night. And while I tried to correct them using this blog, it is true that old habits die hard. And while trying to kill and rebuild my habits, I have picked up a few things that personally help me.

CBD

A while back I wrote a separate post on this but decided to keep it in my drafts due to fear of maybe backlash, but if enough people are interested I can definitely post my experience with it. Unlike THC, CBD does not hold any hallucinogenic effects and only stays in your system for about 2-5 days. Cbd comes in many forms as well and I normally take it in a gummy form. While melatonin is great for sleep, it made my live action dreams even more intense. I found with CBD I was more relaxed then sleepy. I think when we are relaxed, we tend to fall into more peaceful sleeps which definitely makes a difference.

Bluelight Glasses

I talked briefly about blue light and how harmful it in a past blog post≥ I decided to order a $13 pair from amazon and this is a purchase I didn’t know I needed till I got it. I a lot of my headaches went away and especially during this time of online school and quarantine, I’m sure I can speak for everyone when I say my screen time is through the roof.

Lastly, Yoga & Meditation

For me, I was very sketchy about yoga just because of pre-existing beliefs I had. But one day I buckled down and did some research and I dipped my toes into yoga. At first I was bored because it truly feels like you are just posing. But that’s also where the revelation came that the boredom was purposeful in a sense. It is a time to unwind and relax, a time to meditate. And I try to  normally do yoga in the mornings just to start off on a good note and just set the tone for the day. There’s a lot of meditation apps that can guide you through this process and free videos on YouTube including one of my favorites which will be linked below.

So I guess this concludes my passion blogs, hope you guys enjoyed & stay safe!

Growing up my step father was and still is a snorer. Countless memories of me as a kid with a pillow over my head to muffle him. The vacations where we shared hotel rooms were my worst nightmare.When he snores, the room is sure to shake. And don’t even get me started on having sleepovers. Once, my friends thought some machine had gone into over drive and I just sighed and said “nope just my dad”. Im sure a lot go you have experienced some crazy snores so this week I decided to discuss…. you guessed it snoring.

What exactly is it?

Snoring is the hoarse or harsh sound from nose or mouth that occurs when breathing is partially obstructed while sleeping and if you have not experienced a crazy snorer, consider yourself blessed. Now, everyone snores a little every now and then, but for some it is chronic and also a big pointer to underlying health issues. Snoring is also related to sleep apnea where you stop breathing multiple times throughout your sleep and if you are a loud snorer or never feel well rested, this can be an indicator. Snoring can also be caused by a number of things including the anatomy of your mouth and sinuses, weight, allergies and even alcohol. According to Mayo Clinic Researchers, it occurs “When you doze off and progress from a light sleep to a deep sleep, the muscles in the roof of your mouth (soft palate), tongue and throat relax. The tissues in your throat can relax enough that they partially block your airway and vibrate”.

Risk Factors & Causes

• Being a man: Men are more likely to snore than are women.
• Being overweight: People who are overweight are more likely to snore or have obstructive sleep apnea.
• Having a narrow airway: Having a long soft palate, large tonsils or adenoids, can narrow the airway and cause snoring.
• Drinking alcohol: Alcohol relaxes your throat muscles
• Having nasal problems: Having a structural defect in your airway, such as a deviated septum, puts you at risk of snoring.
• Having a family history of snoring or obstructive sleep apnea: Heredity is a potential risk factor
• Sleep deprivation: Not getting enough sleep can lead to throat relaxation
• Sleep position. Snoring is typically most frequent and loudest when sleeping on the back as gravity’s effect on the throat narrows the airway

“Snoring.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 22 Dec. 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/snoring/symptoms-causes/syc-20377694.

I had trouble trying to come up with something to write about for this week. As much as I wanted to alter and mess around with my sleep schedule, I just didn’t have the time. I started googling topics about sleep that I could discuss and settled on sleep talking. But while writing up my post I dug up old memories and discovered there’s something a lot of people don’t talk about; bed wetting. For now his name will be Bob and let’s pretend he is a family friend. Bob was at my house all the time growing up but even up until we were probably 12, he was still wetting the bed. Now while we were young it was fine because we were still learning to control our bathroom urges, but after 10 shouldn’t we have that kind of together. After doing a little pep talk and finally convincing myself that writing about pee urges would be a good idea, I began my research.

The Science Behind It

Who knew that that even bed wetting has a technical name. The formal name for bed wetting is Nocturnal Enuresis. Bedwetting is typically not even considered to be a problem until after age 7. It affects over 5 million children and is typically found in more boys than girls. There are two types of this condition:

1.  Primary Nocturnal Enuresis: children who never achieved dry nights since potty training. (typically no accidents during the day time)
2. Secondary Nocturnal Enuresis: a child has achieved at least six months of consistent dry nights but has now started bedwetting again. (most of these cases are related to a traumatic event, eating disorders and or medication)

Bed wetting can also be caused by many things. The first thing that can cause bed wetting is genetics. The “bed wetting gene” can definitely be inherited. Urology Care Foundation, discovered that half of children who have this problem  had a parent who also struggled with this problem. It increases to 75% if both parents suffered from enuresis. Next is slow development of brain bladder control. Deep sleeping is a common trait amongst bed wetters and such deep sleeps affects the way your brain communicates with your bladder and instead of alerting the person to wake up, they instead relax and release their pelvic muscles. A third common cause is that children kidneys make too much urine at night and their bladder cannot hold it all. And lastly, stress. Any stress that is brought onto a child whether its moving to a new school or going through their parents getting a divorce. Bedwetting is often treated by reducing fluids before bed, creating a bathroom schedule and sometimes medication.

So last week I decided to talk about this Parasomnias and various versions of this sleep disorder. This weeks blog post will focus on the same this but this time for Dysomnia’s. I also want to quickly add that if you have any suggestions, don’t be afraid to leave a comment or just tell me!

Dysomnia?

Includes the following disorders: Insomnia, Sleep Apnea, Narcolepsy

The first thing I want to talk about is the difference between Parasomnias and Dysomnia’s. While Parasomnias include disorders that cause disruptions during sleep, Dysomnia’s are sleep disorders that cause you to have trouble falling asleep. Most Dysomnia’s don’t have a psychiatric cause. These sleep problems often lead to a decrease of productivity during the day leading to more stress, tension and adding to their sleep issue. It is possible for Dysomnia’s to be associated with lack of bright light, aging, overactive thyroid, alcoholism, jet lag, etc.While there are many types of Dysomnia’s, I wanted to focus on 3 main ones. One of the most popular sleep disorders is insomnia. This condition is where you have problems falling and staying asleep, it can be short term or or chronic. Stress (especially if just experiencing a traumatic event) , disruptions in sleep pattern and jet lag are causes of primary insomnia. Secondary insomnia can be caused by mental illness, substance abuse endocrine problems or other sleep disorders. Sleep Apnea is also a very common sleep disorder. This disorder is when breathing repeatedly stops and starts during your sleep cycle. Sleep apnea is defined into three specific types:

• Obstructive: occurs when throat muscles relax, also the most common form
• Central sleep apnea: occurs when your brain doesn’t send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing
• Complex sleep apnea syndrome: occurs when someone has both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea

Symptoms of sleep apnea include loud snoring, dry mouth when awakening excessive sleepless, morning headache and gasping for air while asleep.  Lastly there is Narcolepsy. One in every 2,000 people in the United States are affected by narcolepsy. this is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep. Often times it is followed by cataplexy which is a sudden loss of muscle tone. Mayo Clinic provided an interesting example that I think helps get the fundamentals of narcolepsy across. “For example, you may fall asleep while performing a task you normally perform, such as writing, typing or driving, and you continue to perform that task while asleep. When you awaken, you can’t remember what you did, and you probably didn’t do it well.” Thats all for this weeks post!

References

What is dyssomnia? Types, causes, symptoms, and treatment

https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/insomnia-symptoms-and-causes#1

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sleep-apnea/symptoms-causes/syc-20377631

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcolepsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20375497

Last week I discussed the effects of physical activity on my sleep schedule and while I want to dive deeper into sleep disorders I feel as though I skipped over a small but essential part to understanding our sleep patterns more. Now we know there are various sleep disorders, but they are separated into two very special groups: Parasomnias and Dyssomnia’s. This week I decided to focus on Parasomnias’s, what they are, how they work and what sleep disorders they include.

Parasomnias’s

Includes the following sleep disorders: Sleepwalking, REM Sleep Behavior Disorder, Nightmares, Night Terrors, and Teeth Grinding

Sleep disorders that fall into this category happen tend to be unwanted activities or experiences that occur while we are falling asleep, sleeping or waking up. Many people with Parasomnias find it hard staying asleep and often times have no recollection of memories from the night before. Non REM disorders include night terrors and Sleepwalking (somnambulism). Night terrors tend to be short but last no longer then 30-40 minutes. What normally happens during this time is the person is abruptly aroused and this is followed by screaming or crying. They are more common during the first half of the night and may last longer if the person is interrupted or agitated. Night terrors normally occur in children ages 4-12 and to about 3% of the adult population. Normal when occurring to adults it is induced by emotional distress or alcohol. Sleepwalking or also known as somnambulism occurs when a person appears to be awake and moving around with eyes wide open but is actually asleep. They also have no recollection of these events happening and may wake up in the middle of their sleep/episode confused. This also occurs within the early stages of sleep and typically within children aged 6-12 years old. There are also REM disorders. This includes nightmares, sleep paralysis and REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). Nightmares tend to happen towards later stages of sleep. These are vivid dreams that typically involved fear, terror or anxiety. Most people can recall the details of these dreams. Nightmares can happen to anyone but the chances are more when factors including illness, anxiety, any traumatic event such as the loss of a loved one, or negative reactions to a medication come into play. I went into detail about sleep paralysis in a recent post so I won’t talk too much on that one. The last disorder I will discuss is REM sleep behavior disorder. This is when individuals act out whatever they are dreaming about. Normally REM sleep is accompanied by a state of paralysis, but with this disorder people find themselves being able to move their limbs. This occurs typically in men over the age of 50 but it can also occur in women as well. Most times it can be caused by a reaction to medications especially antidepressants. Hope you guys join me next week to discuss Dysomnia’s and investigate what the real differences are!

References:

In high school I was involved in an array of sports. From Lacrosse to Volleyball, every season I had some sort of activity to do. Before I came to college I promised myself I was going to stay on top of my fitness regimen and continue to set new goals for myself. Then I actually got here and all expectations were out the window. I was so focused on adjusting and making friends and keeping up with my grades that I completely lost track of everything. Now I probably should have put two and two together and realized that my wacky sleep schedule may have something to do with my lack of physical activity but denial was how I chose to go about it. Now that its second semester, I’m on that “new semester, new me” kick and I definitely want more for myself. So for this week I decided to workout in order to sleep.

Quick Facts

A physical activity increase, also increases the time spent in deep sleep which is the most physically restorative sleep phase. While it is improving the quality of your rest, exercise can also increase the amount of sleep you get.Daily activity also improves overall mood and help aid sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. Now you may be wondering “Is there a specific amount of sleep you need?”. To simply answer it, no. The National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association recommend at least 150 minutes of exercise a week for healthy adults which is about 30 minuets of exercise per day, which seems pretty doable.

Results?

Normally I’m not a gym kind of gal. I prefer classes which isn’t really a problem considering Penn State offers a variety of free classes in the IM and White Building. I decided to go with a 45 minute kickboxing class because kickboxing is a pretty good full body workout and it just seemed like a cool class to take. I had also read that yoga is good for your nervous system and can help aid with anxiety so I decided to attend a yoga class as well. But this was before my first kickboxing class. Now, if you’re like me and you’re coming fresh out of gym retirement prepare for some achey bones. It was definitely a full body workout and I basically crawled back to my dorm. That first night I slept like a complete baby, but it was probably just me being exhausted. As the week went on and I attended more workout sessions, I definitely began to notice I was getting tired at earlier times and I couldn’t really push my limits any more. Im not sure if it has completely worked because again, it’s been maybe 6 days since I’ve picked up this routine. But so far I would definitely rate it a 6/10. I have noticed changes and I can only imagine the improvement when I become more consistent and have a little more time. I’ll make sure to include the link to Penn States Rec sight if anyone is interested in looking through their classes. They really do have something for everyone.

Links:

https://thesleepdoctor.com/2017/05/22/benefits-exercise-sleep/

https://pennstatecampusrec.org/Program/GetProducts?classification=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000026002

Hello to all. Another sleepless week has fallen upon me and I didn’t really know where I wanted to take this weeks post. Earlier in the first semester I did a blog post surrounding the temperature of your shower water and how studies showed that lukewarm water is ideal for a good nights rest. Well, I figured room temperature could have something to do with it as well. There are some people who definitely have preferences. Normally they, A. swear the room has to be piping hot or B. demands the room becomes Antartica. But which one does science back up? I am definitely a type B person. Even during the 17 degree nights here in State College, my window is wide open. Its definitely interesting that science suggest you should sleep in a cold room for better rest but I still can’t seem to sleep.

Science Behind It

Due to our circadian rhythm, as our bodies get colder our bodies release more melatonin. Sleeping in rooms over 70 degrees actually halts the release of melatonin which is why during those hot summer nights you may just toss and turn. So what temperature should my room be Jada? Glad you asked. Scientist say that 66 degrees is the perfect temperature for a restoring nights rest. Along with good sleep, there are other benefits that come with having a cold room. Cold sleeping environments are proven to help prevent metabolic diseases such as diabetes. It also enhances your overall mood. Serotonin is the precursor to melatonin meaning, melatonin is made from it! But what if my room never gets cold? Ah, another great question. Besides the obvious “turning on the AC” or “opening a window” there are other alternatives, especially if you’re living with someone else who may not enjoy a cold room. One solution is investing in a gel mattress topper. Memory foam toppers are great, but they also tend to trap more heat. Another solution is investing in blackout curtains. Not only does it regulate the temperature in the room but it ensure’s that no light can disrupt the melatonin production. Is it even safe to sleep in a cold room? It sure is. For those worried about getting sick, the main reasons why people get the common cold is not from actually being cold but instead poor air circulation, lack of vitamin D and of course bad sleep schedules!

More Info & References:

https://airfuji.com/does-cold-air-kill-germs-what-about-heat/

Is It Really Better To Sleep in a Cold Room?

https://www.countryliving.com/life/news/a44587/sleeping-cold-room/

https://curiosity.com/topics/this-is-why-you-should-sleep-in-a-cold-bedroom-curiosity/

At the end of last week I began brainstorming new ideas for my passion blog so I could start planning them out. I believe it was Monday when I fell into the deep pit of Youtube and stumbled across thousands of videos surrounding lucid dreaming. Some focusing on the Do’s and Dont’s, while others focused on how to actually control yourself during these dreams. As a kid I used to experience this all the time but not so much now, maybe once every few months. Listening to experiences and hearing new theories had me sort of feigning to experience it now, especially for this week’s blog post. Now, I wasn’t going to purposefully induce sleep paralysis just to test out theories….. (I actually was until my best friend advised me not to). BUT maybe I was thinking about this so much that I did induce it. Anyways, not sure if I should consider it luck as luck being on my side or just some sick twisted fate but,I ended having a sleep paralysis Wednesday .

So What Really is Sleep Paralysis?

The name sleep paralysis derives from folklore stories that reference it being a terrifying experience where they were held down and choked. About 50% of the worlds population experience sleep paralysis but higher rates are reported among those who suffer from panic disorders and ptsd. As stated by the National Sleep Foundation,  “sleep paralysis is also a common symptom of narcolepsy, a condition characterized by excessive sleepiness, sleep attacks and sudden loss of muscle control”. Now what exactly induces sleep paralysis you may ask? Well, it normally occurs during the disrupted REM stage in our sleep. Normally, we dream during this REM stage and when we are entering or exiting this stage our body paralyzes our muscles anyways so you don’t act out the dream. But what happens is the body is now half awake. Everyones experience differs though. Some report not being able to move or feeling a heavy presence on their chest while other report seeing figures and even interacting with them.

Wrap It Up Then.

This is a new section of my passion blog that is meant to provide readers with not only more sites on the weekly topic but anything relating to it whether its research, videos or even a song related to it. Heres some interesting videos I watched revolving sleep paralysis, & hopefully you don’t fall into the same dark abyss of the internet that I always do.

references: https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/sleep-paralysis-demon-in-the-bedroom#1

For this semester I have decided to stay with my regular theme of finding effective sleep methods. I want to keep the same general layout but maybe include some new mini topics.While it will mainly be focused of sleep methods I want to shine light on sleep disorders as well. Every other week will be a blog post dedicated solely to sleep disorders, the science behind them and how people deal with them. I think adding this will add some variety to my blog and give me more to write about. I also want to build on the small section I have dedicated to the song of the week. I think it’s a great addition while also giving the audience more room for interaction. Lastly, I want to have more data to back up my results of the sleeping methods. I’m still trying to get the logistics together but I hope to include charts of my sleeping schedule from the week and just any general information to build that writer-user trust.

These past two weeks have probably been the roughest so far. Between midterms, impromptu trips home and just poor time management I’m slowly becoming a walking ghost. I’m generally running off 2-5 hours of sleep a night and just barely making it to my 11am’s. After only having a few successful methods, I am now extremely dedicated to finding  “The One”. So this time around I decided to dabble in pills (just kidding, not really though).  The last method I discussed was ASMR which was useless and quite annoying but, I digress. After calling my dad and asking if he could loan me his amazon prime account along with some spare change, I had some melatonin pills waiting to be put to the test.

What is it called again…Melanin? Melons?

Melatonin, often referred to as the sleep hormone, is a hormone released by the pineal gland that lets our body know it’s time to sleep.It can be naturally found in many foods such as cherries and tomatoes but for experimental purposes, I took two 5 mg capsules. It is lipid and water soluble allowing it to easily penetrate cell membranes and the blood brain barrier.The release of melatonin is controlled by our circadian rhythm and from previous post I’ve described this in depth, but its basically our bodies natural clock. During the day the release of melatonin is surpassed because of light exposure, but as it gets darker your body begins to release this hormone, this usually begins about 2 hours before bedtime (around 8pm). As the amount of melatonin in your body increases, you body temperature is lowered, your level of alertness is also decreased and there is a delay in the making of cortisol which is a tree hormone. This delay also reduces blood pressure and blood sugar. From 2am to 4am is when the amount of melatonin is at its peak. Gradually the bodies circadian rhythm will realize its time to start waking up and the release of melatonin is surpassed once again, thus repeating the same cycle. Due to a more rapid shift into REM sleep, melatonin is often linked to vivid dreams and sometime even nightmares. To wrap up the research portion, I want to emphasize that melatonin not a sedative nor will it make you want to sleep more. The purpose of melatonin is put your circadian rhythm back onto a more natural schedule.

How’d it go?

The past few methods have forced me to follow pretty strict schedules. But because this was a pill I was basically at its mercy. Because of this I fought to finish and complete any necessary assignments. I decided to take them overnight at 9pm hoping it wouldn’t be too big of a change that I couldn’t wake up in the morning. But if you’ve seen me coming into class these past few days…It can be naturally found in many foods such as cherries and tomatoes but for experimental purposes, I took two 5 mg capsules. I also decided to record any crazy dreams I had. The first few days I started taking them I didn’t really notice any change. I was still going to bed at ridiculous times and I wasn’t experiencing any crazy deep sleeps. It wasn’t until the 4th day where I slept from 10pm up until 10am… a full 12 hours. Not only was that the most I’ve slept since arriving at Penn State but it was also one of the craziest dreams I’ve had. Im not sure whether I would consider it a nightmare but it was kind of creepy. It consisted of me walking through a dark forest and I had this super long hair on my head that was just trailing behind me. Suddenly this guy on a bike was chasing me trying to say something but this overwhelming music was playing and I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Suddenly the sky turned red and I split into three different people and we were all just running until we like stacked on top of each other and the long hair wrapped us up like a caterpillar cocoon turning me into the huge giant. To say the least I woke up feeling well rested but a little concerned because ????????? What kind of dream I that…..As the days followed I found myself normally sleeping from 12am-9am, though there were some days that I would accidentally sleep through class but I cannot really say if it was due to the melatonin or my body just loving all this extra sleep. Around the 8th day though I started realizing the melatonin wasn’t as effective. I read a little bit about it online (mainly reddit if I’m being honest) and many people suggested upping my dosage a little or taking a small 2-3 day break. So I did. They were very hard days but I didn’t want my body to become completely dependent on it. I just wanted to naturally fix my sleep schedule.

Final Thoughts

I approve, green thumb all around. Go ahead and place your orders, run to Target, get your melatonin because this is it. I would caution that there were a few scary dreams and I would also check with a doctor or in my case, reddit, to see what the proper dosage might be for you. Its a great supplement that I didn’t really notice had any bad side effects. I now take the pill every two days and hopefully I can stop depending on it. Overall its an A+ from me.