Because learning about your brain and sleep can be fun . . .
“I slept like a baby!” Really? You must have been in the fantastic fetal sleeping position for most of the night. You were turned to your side and had your legs tucked up, maybe even as far as up to your chest. Some mattress-selling sites seem to be under the delusion that there are significant…
Have you ever noticed how you can become sleepy when you drink a glass of hot milk before bed? Now note we’re talking about hot milk without cocoa. Cocoa is a stimulant. That drink is also full of simple sugar—a source of quick energy, the exact opposite of what you want and need before settling…
Mental strategic planning sessions in dreams can be long on dialogue, short on symbolism Many dreams feature imagery and symbolism. In that way, they’re not too different from songs and poetry. Yet planning in business and government isn’t done by poets, artists, or the like. Poets call attention to problems and situations. They add richness…
Doctors, supervisors, 24-hour locksmiths, tow-truck drivers, and others can be affected by this. Is it time to get a different job? Not all “call” is created the same. There’s no one answer to the abovementioned question in the headline that makes sense for everyone, everywhere. Somebody needs to be on call for some businesses, industries,…
Humans and dogs have been living, working, playing, and sleeping beside each other for thousands of years. Our two species have grown up beside each other. We’re best friends. Despite many changes over time, we’ve moved out of caves and huts together and into today’s prefab housing and apartments. Whether you should sleep next to…
If someone made a list of the top fitness secrets, doing isometric exercises before bed would have to be in the top 10. Many people have a dilemma. It would be best if they exercised, and they’re busy, and they only have so much time in the day. Regular exercise, after all, is part of…
Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” is a great song about a child and his nightmares, but there’s nothing great about shaking with fear and lying in a pool of sweat from having a bad dream. Nightmares can shake the strongest, toughest person to their core. That’s because they reveal our deepest fears. Some people feel once you’re…
So you’ve seen something you think you’ve seen before, somewhere. They call the phenomena déjà vu. Time is supposed to be linear where one thing happens after another in a logical sequence. Every occasion is supposed to be all-new and never-before-seen. When your experience of time doesn’t match that it can be jarring. Here are…
Some say, “What’s the point of drinking decaffeinated coffee?” For those people, coffee is a morning beverage. The aroma, the taste, added sugar, and cream gives them a kick that helps them wake up to greet and meet the new day. When it comes to the holiday season, with the pies, desserts, and gatherings of…
Sometimes you’ve got to go deep within your mind to understand and interpret your dream. They say nothing worthwhile is ever easy. And it’s not true. Many worthwhile things are easy: brushing your teeth and getting dressed, for example. Those things are so easy that they get taken for granted. They’re also very worthwhile. Plenty…
Intuition is the feeling of relative certainty without proof or evidence. Does this mean that it’s another way of saying that you’re jumping to conclusions? Maybe, but “jumping to conclusions” connotes more of a knee-jerk response. Intuition, on the other hand, describes an inspired judgement. If you’ve ever recovered information from a dream you’ve not…
Is making your bed every morning pointless? What’s the psychology behind making your bed every morning? Besides sometimes seeming pointless, not making your bed in the morning seems like a no-brain way to save a little time every day. Editing those odd moments out can add up until they amount to a lot of time…
The questions in the headline aren’t easy to answer. There are a lot of different opinions and only a few points of consensus. Here’s one definition: Dreams are a phenomena that happens primarily when sleeping, whether remembered or not. They’re a type of brain activity that results in communication between the subconscious mind and the…