have some zzzzzzzz

CNN had an interesting special last saturday. entitled Sleep and hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the show delved on sleep disorders and sleeplessness with common remedies, on the effects of lack of sleep on our emotional, mental and physical health, on the dangers of fatigue, and yes, even on dreams.

the show only further reinforced that we should all have 6 to 8 hours average sleep for us to be "effective" in our regular chores and activities. but we all know that, don't we? less than 6 to 8 hours sleeping time and we encounter bouts of drowsiness throughout the day, slower thinking, passive behavior...yadidadida.

for drowsy driving on the other hand, blasting the radio volume up or opening the window is actually not the answer to combatting sleepiness, the experts say. the best thing to do is find a place to...noooo, not drink coffee, but to have a nap, like 30 minutes to 1 hour. once up, don't drive immediately just yet. wait for another 20 to 30 minutes till you're fully awake - you can have that coffee, wash your face, or maybe even slap yourself. just give your body enough time to readjust itself first, and off you may go.

if you want to know if you're wanting of sleep, here's a test: in a dark and quiet room, sit on a comfortable couch or chair for 10 to 15 minutes. if you are able to slip into a sleeping mode within this short period of time, then boy, you are one sleep-deprived person!

incidentally, while watching the program, i informed my dear friend Celine, she being quite narcoleptic, and her husband an insomniac. she tried to catch its replay on sunday.

tried, because while watching the show, she fell asleep.

posted by vina @ 2:45 PM           

7 Comments:

At 9:49 PM, May 16, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey vina.. thanks for linking me up. nice article ha. ive had (still have) my share of sleepness nights din. hope i can stil catch a rerun of the episode.

 
At 1:11 AM, May 17, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

true indeed..and blogging makes me sluggish the whole day :)

 
At 10:36 AM, May 17, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

great post Vina, with just the right mix of info & humor:) Erratic sleep was something I really had to contend with when I transferred to this new assignment where graveyards & change shifts are common (am sure you can relate) but then, I just couldn't live, would not be able to live without my coffee!! -ajay

 
At 3:48 PM, May 17, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've had several close calls where I almost ran smack onto an oncoming freight truck and then a bus after driving for 6 hours straight... no, coffee didn't help. Talk about 'drowsy driving'.

Fortunately, I'm still in one piece... :-)

BTW, thanks for dropping by my blog, vina. :-)

 
At 4:54 PM, May 17, 2006, Blogger vina said...

hi yuri, i guess we all do have our share of sleepless or sleep-deprived nights. bawi na lang tayo palagi! for the rerun, you could check na lang the CNN website, coz i'm not sure if it's going to air again. you could check the transcripts if you're interested.

ghee, that reminds me to get back to my work...i'm stuck in the blogosphere!

hi aj, thanks for the remark. i really appreciate it. yes, i definitely know what you mean. shift schedules just suck the life out of us...

eeey, snglguy, 6 hours of driving-alone? poor single guy you.

 
At 7:46 PM, May 18, 2006, Blogger Sidney said...

"i guess we all do have our share of sleepless or sleep-deprived nights.

Maybe you should think less about Derek and Zanjoe. I guess those guys keep you awake. ;-)

 
At 6:16 PM, May 23, 2006, Blogger vina said...

haha tito sidney! you got me on that one.

sheesh...ah...you got me on that one...

 

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