[acb-hsp] "Dreamland"

Mon Aug 20 16:53:40 EDT 2012

I for one can not take it because it gives me vivid dreams and I do not feel rested.

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 20, 2012, at 1:21 PM, "Baracco, Andrew W" <Andrew.Baracco at va.gov> wrote:

> I have not heard or read of any adverse effects from taking Melatonin,
> but to be effective, it must be taken at the right time of day, and
> taking it at the wrong time could affect the sleep cycle adversely. Also
> a sleep evaluation can determine if disturbance of sleep cycle is really
> the problem as opposed to something like apnea, or the effects of other
> meds you might be taking.
> 
> Andy
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf
> Of MARILYN LUTTER
> Sent: Friday, August 17, 2012 3:37 PM
> To: John Kolwick; Discussion list for ACB human service professionals
> Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] "Dreamland"
> 
> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I have had my share of sleep problems and have consulted a sleep
> specialist. 
> I agree with Andy that melatonin should be taken with the advise of a
> physician and treated like you should take prescription medicine.  I
> apparently am very sensitive to it because a very small dose made me
> really sleep more and sooner than I wanted.  It should not be taken,
> particularly in high doses without medical advice.  If I am scaring
> anyone into rethinking how they handle it, I want to.  I don't know what
> the complications can be, but I do know it is not something which should
> be treated too casually.
> 
> Marilyn Lutter
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Kolwick" <john2109 at suddenlink.net>
> To: "Discussion list for ACB human service professionals"
> <acb-hsp at acb.org>
> Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2012 5:28 PM
> Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] "Dreamland"
> 
> 
>   Hello Andy, I had responded earlier to her post and the things you
> say
> here are certainly true.  I guess my brain was not fully awake this
> morning.
> With sleep apnea that can cause a variety of sleep issues and medication
> interactions is certainly a concern.  thanks for pointing this out.
> 
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Baracco, Andrew W
> Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2012 1:30 PM
> To: Discussion list for ACB human service professionals
> Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] "Dreamland"
> 
> I would only recommend taking Melatonin under the supervision of a
> physician who is knowledgeable concerning sleep disorders. There are
> many reasons why a person would have difficulty sleeping, and such a
> physician would be in a good position to sort out possible causes.  For
> one thing, he could reconcile any meds that you are taking, as some
> medications, and medication food combinations can adversely affect
> sleep.  Melatonin is not simply a food supplement. It is a hormone and
> taking such a drug is serious business.  In order for it to be
> effective, the timing of the administration must be precise.  Taking it
> at the wrong time can make things worse.  Also, there is little quality
> control over much of the Melatonin that is sold OTC. Dosage is
> important, and you're not always sure just what you're getting.  I would
> consider the taking of Melatonin to be a matter that is just as serious
> as contemplating taking any other drug.
> 
> Andy
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf
> Of Louise Pearson
> Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2012 4:01 AM
> To: Discussion list for ACB human service professionals
> Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] "Dreamland"
> 
> Hi everyone
> 
> Now this brings up an interesting topic to me at least Peter, and I
> apologise for therefore going off topic.
> 
> Does anyone on list take Melatonin? I am having trouble just feeling
> tired
> all day at work.  I actually have sleep apnoea, so ... I've been back
> and
> had another sleep study, but ... this is actually not the problem
> apparently.
> 
> So I'm back at the old ... should I, as a totally blind person, be
> taking
> supplements of melatonin? I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has
> tried this out ... and/or fiddled with the time of day when they
> administered this?
> 
> I have heard that it can be good to take in the middle of the day, for
> example.
> 
> I apologise again for going off topic.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Louise.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "peter altschul" <paltschul at centurytel.net>
> To: "Acbhsp" <acb-hsp at acb.org>
> Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2012 2:22 AM
> Subject: [acb-hsp] "Dreamland"
> 
> 
>> "Dreamland": Inside the Mystery of Sleep
>> August 14, 2012
>> The opening scene of Marcel Proust's "Swannbs Way" is one of the most
> 
>> famously difficult to get through in literature.  That's not because
> of
>> its style, which is sublime, but because it describes the experience
> of
>> falling asleep.  Many susceptible readers nod off the first few times
> they
>> attempt it.  All writing about sleep has this problem; of the
> fundamental
>> human appetites, it's the least exciting.  The better you invoke it,
> the
>> more likely you are to incite it, and because it canbt be remembered,
>> sleep can't be described.  Nothing could be duller than watching
> someone
>> else do it.  Only people who can't sleep spend much time thinking
> about
>> it, and if there's anything more tedious than witnessing another
> person's
>> nap, it's listening to a keyed-up, obsessive insomniac go on and on
> about
>> how they can't.
>> So kudos to David K.  Randall for writing what must be the most
> diverting
>> and consistently fascinating book on the topic ever, "Dreamland:
>> Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep." I feel I can speak with
> some
>> authority on the subject because I've read quite a few sleep books in
> my
>> time.  My interest arises from my own mild parasomnia, or sleep
> disorder,
>> one that runs in my family.  We talk and sometimes walk in our sleep.
>> Randall suffers from the same condition, although of the two of us,
> he's
>> the only one whobs truly stsufferedst from it.  A few years ago, he
> hurt
>> himself when he collided with a wall while sleepwalking.  It was the
> first
>> time (he knows of) that he'd ever walked in his sleep, but every night
> his
>> wife curls up at the far end of their "oversized" bed, wearing
> earplugs to
>> shut out his btalking, singing, laughing, humming, giggling,
> grunting."
>> Also, he kicks.
>> If there's anything creepier than hearing someone laugh in their
> sleep,
>> it's got to be another of Randall's propensities; he can fall asleep
> with
>> his eyes open.  We deduce, therefore, that his wife is a woman of
>> fortitude, but the sleepwalking incident freaked her out properly.
> She
>> insisted he seek treatment and Randall visited a sleep lab.  An
>> uncomfortable night spent with electrodes taped to his head elicited
> the
>> observation "you certainly kick a lot" and not much more.  Randall
> learned
>> that "sleep is one of the dirty little secrets of science." We don't
> know
>> as much about it as we should, or could.
>> Hence, "Dreamland," a book that cleverly approaches a spectrum of
>> sleep-related issues from the worst-case-scenario perspective.  If you
> 
>> want to know how serious the problem of sleep deprivation can be, look
> at
>> the U.S.  Army, which is only just coming to terms with the role lack
> of
>> sleep plays in the 25 percent of American combat deaths resulting from
> 
>> friendly fire.  During the occupation of Iraq, soldiers sleeping less
> than
>> four hours per night reported five times as many altercations with
>> civilians as those who had the full eight.  Lack of sleep impairs a
>> person's ability to make decisions, communicate with others and
> improvise
>> effectively.  Well, we all know that, don't we? But learning how much
>> blood and good will has been squandered as a result of macho attitudes
> 
>> toward soldiers' sleep needs (four hours a night -- for hardworking
>> 20-year-olds -- really?) is sobering.
>> Randall explores the significance of circadian rhythms -- the body's
>> internal clock, which "tells an organism when it is time to perform an
> 
>> important activity and when it is time to rest" -- 
>> by looking at the lives of professional athletes.  Stanford sleep
>> researchers, he relates, demonstrated that East Coast football teams
>> labored under a permanent disadvantage in Monday night football games.
> 
>> The games were always scheduled at 9 p.m.  EST, no matter where they
> were
>> played, to maximize television viewership.  The average human body
> will
>> bperk up around nine o'clock in the morning and stay that way until
> around
>> two in the afternoon, which is when we start thinking about a nap.
> Around
>> six in the evening, the body gets another shot of energy that keeps us
> 
>> going until about 10 at night." A three-hour jet lag may sound minor,
> but
>> it meant that West Coast teams always played at what their bodies
> thought
>> was 6:00 p.m., a peak in the cycle, while their East Coast opponents
>> played at a time when their bodies were winding down.  The point
> spreads
>> reflected the difference.
>> Perhaps the most bizarre material in "Dreamland" concerns
> sleepwalking,
>> and specifically the responsibility a person has for any crimes he
> commits
>> while asleep.  It happens.  If most sleepwalkers are like me -- barely
> 
>> able to bumble across the room before waking ourselves up -- a rare,
>> unlucky few have been known to perform complex actions, like cooking
> or
>> driving a car, while unconscious.  In 1988, a 23-year-old Toronto man
> was
>> acquitted of murdering his mother-in-law while asleep.  Randall notes
> that
>> "parasomnias seemed to be a particularly male trait," but I suspect
> that
>> men, who are more prone to aggressive dreams in the first place, are
> more
>> likely than women to engage in sleepwalking that presents a threat to
>> others.  Attempting to strangle one's bed partner because you think he
> or
>> she is an attacker is a classic example.  Less dangerous forms of
>> sleepwalking, like my own, simply don't get reported.
>> The most unusual thing I've ever done in my sleep is write a letter
> --
>> although I'd only managed the salutation before the difficulty of the
> task
>> woke me up.  The next morning, the handwritten evidence of this
> incident
>> spooked me.  It was like a message from a stranger I could never meet,
> but
>> who just happened to inhabit the same body.  Whether I could be held
>> responsible for this stranger's actions isn't a question I've ever had
> to
>> face, but it's the kind of quandary that courts, legal scholars and a
>> handful of neurologists have had to wrestle with.  One expert Randall
>> interviews advocates a new classification for such crimes:
>> "semi-voluntary." If the culprit knows he has a problem and doesn't
> take
>> measures to control it, he holds at least some responsibility for the
>> results.
>> The concept of an unconscious mind has fallen out of intellectual
> favor,
>> associated as it is with largely invalidated Freudian models of the
> self.
>> Yet some of the sleep-related subjects Randall covers in "Dreamland"
> do
>> touch upon this territory, from dreams to the many accounts of people
> who,
>> after having pondering a persistent problem, suddenly woke up with a
> fully
>> formed solution.  Paul McCartney wrote the hit song "Yesterday" in
> just
>> this way.
>> It appears that, while asleep, the brain sorts through the day's
> events
>> and lays down long-term memories, an administrative process that
> Randall
>> describes as "cleaning up and organizing the mind's filing cabinet."
> This
>> does not at all resemble the highly symbolic theater that human beings
> 
>> have imagined the dream landscape to be for millennia.  However, in a
>> later sleep stage, once the initial tidying is over, the brain begins
>> bfinding connections and associations with the data embedded in its
> memory
>> cards,- a creative activity that looks an awful lot like thinking.
> This
>> makes the idea of an unconscious self seem less obsolete.
>> "Dreamland" covers an abundance of other slumber-related issues, from
> 
>> sleep apnea to the importance of mattresses (which is negligible) to
> the
>> interesting fact that most people sleep much better alone.  It's all
>> weirdly fascinating, which -- trust me -- is a testimony to the lively
> 
>> curiosity, solid research and inventive angles that Randall brings to
> each
>> aspect of his subject.  You almost certainly don't sleep the way you
> think
>> you do.  There's much evidence to indicate that people are the worst
>> possible information sources when it comes to their own sleep habits.
>> That's not surprising when you consider that they're unconscious for
> most
>> of it.  It's remarkable to think that such a mundane activity should
> still
>> be shrouded in so much mystery, but you couldn't find a more charming
>> guide to what we do know than "Dreamland."
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