Too Many Are Depressed Depression is one version of hell on earth, and Americans have a lot of it. A recent international study run by Evelyn Bromet of 18 countries found America near the top, with 19.2 percent of the population having experienced depression — only France, at 21 percent, ranked higher. With our tottering […]
Please don’t wake up – interrupted sleep harms memory (8/01/11)
Arousals You Can Live Without Some technologies are astonishing. Imagine this – you want to wake up an animal so quickly and efficiently that you do not change overall sleep – just cause brief arousals that don’t shift the amount of REM, deep sleep, or how long you get to rest. And you do it […]
Electronic Insomnia Part I
When Humans and Machines Collide When human evolution and technology collide billions of us became experimental subjects. The results include new behaviors, new diseases, and new versions of old disorders. So prepare now for the future – the new world of electronic insomnia. But first a very short look at the past. We’ve Even Got […]
Prepare for daylight savings (3/9/11)
Thieves of Time People don’t get enough light in their lives. They really become distressed when governments take sunlight away from them – rather like officials increasing the tax on air. With daylight savings approaching this weekend, the politics of daylight are heating up. Scotland The most recent example of public unhappiness is Scotland. Attempts […]
Are you getting enough sleep? (3/7/11)
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 […]