The CDC Measures American Sleeplessness Americans are progressively sleepless. The latest survey reported Friday by the Centers for Disease Control, found 35.3% of 75,000 adults were sleeping less than 7 hours a night. Some people don’t need much sleep. Yet most of us perform better with at least 7-8 hours of sleep. Too little sleep […]
Your kludgy brain (and how to use it – 3/2/11)
Seeing Without Sight Ever wondered how congenitally blind people “see” what they’re reading? It’s because they’re using the visual processing part of their brains to decipher words. It turns out your brain is a group of kludges – Rube Goldberg machines of tacked together parts that get the job(s) done. Darwinian evolution never went to […]
Take breaks or you make mistakes (2/28/11)
How Can You Keep Your Concentration Sharp? Pay attention! We hear that phrase when we’re very young, but does acknowledging those two words really make focus us better? Probably yes – if they’re a diversion from boredom or mental wandering. People are not machines, no matter how hard we, our parents or our employers try […]
Snorting the cremated remains of Great Danes (+ doggie xanax and other tales – 2/10/11)
Stealing Doggie Xanax Sometimes the dog did not do it. One of my patients has a son who struggles with mood swings and addictions. After a recent hospitalization he returned home. He appeared to do quite well in his classes and social relations. His use of illicit drugs seemed over. Or so his parents thought. […]
Who’s flying your plane? (2/7/11)
When Your Pilot Falls Asleep – and Locks the Door Sometimes folks fall asleep and you can’t wake them up – not for quite a while. When it’s your SAS pilot flying you from Copenhagen to Stockholm, it does provoke comment. Last year, as reported by Fran Golden in AOL Health, a short hop, one […]