Welcome to Dreamland

Everybody does it and we all do it everyday… or night. Regardless of race, creed or color, it’s one thing that we all share: sleeping.

The so-called experts claim that you should get eight hours of sleep every night. That’s also what’s known as a “fat chance” – which has nothing to do with weight. Another widely agreed-upon fact is that we need sleep regardless of the time spent doing it. The CDC claims that if you stay awake for 17 hours, it’s the same as having two glasses of wine.

The number one consensus prevalent in the scientific community is that no one has any idea why we do it. According to QI, some researchers claim that sleep is the time when our brains re-load – as it were. They compare it to restarting your computer. But that’s not proven.

Wake up and go to Sleep

According to Inc. Magazine, a whole lot of entrepreneurs really struggle to get a good night’s sleep. Entrepreneurs are, in general, strivers, which means when they see a problem they set about trying to fix it. But according to Inc., this natural inclination to improve our sleep actually often ends up making our sleep worse. On the other han

d, QiGong and yoga and others claim that they can help you sleep better and to fall asleep faster. The keyword, of course, is “claim.”

Studies at the University of Toronto say that there is no neuropsychiatric, no neurodegenerative, or mood disorder that doesn’t have a sleep abnormality associated with it. All of which begs the question is the sleep problem a product of the abnormality or its cause.

But wait! There’s more. There is something called paradoxical insomnia. According to the sleepfoundation.org it’s also known as sleep state misperception – a condition where individuals feel awake even while they are asleep, leading them to underestimate how many hours they sleep each night. People with this disorder can feel as though they have barely slept at all despite sleeping for a relatively normal length of time.

To no one’s surprise, sleep has its share of excess baggage. For one thing, somaticmovementcenter.com touts pandiculation – the term which describes stretching and yawning at the same time. And, of course, there are dreams – which is a subject unto itself. A study done in 2004 reported in sciencealert.com found that people tend to have more disturbing dreams if they sleep on their left sides.

Last, but not least, sleep is also a favorite subject for the music set. Little Willie John had a hit record in 1960 with a song entitled “Sleep” which was first popularized by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians in the 1920s. There also was Bobby Lewis’ “Tossin & Turnin” in 1962. And then there is the plethora of songs devoted to dreams such as Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” in 1977.

“Having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.”

— Andy Rooney, American radio and television writer