Wenatex Blog :: Healthy Sleep for a Better Life

Do you remember your dreams? Do you often have freaky dreams? Have you experienced a recurring dream?

The study of dreams is a fascinating area - researchers have discovered a lot in the last few years but there is much more to learn.

A really good article I read this morning gives a fascinating insight into the science behind dreams. If you are interested in the subject and wish to read the article, go to http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/freaky-dreams-what-do-they-mean.

Please share your thoughts and experiences.

To make the most of your dreams, you need to get a good night’s sleep. Wenatex conducts free seminars on the benefits of a healthy night’s sleep in local venues all around Australia and New Zealand. If you wish to find out more, please register your interest at http://www.wenatex.com.au/seminars_registration.asp.

More and more research is coming out linking memory with sleep. I read quite a good article this morning  that suggests that sleep assists “prospective memory” — things we intend to do — as opposed to “retrospective memory” — things that have happened in the past.

The example used in the article is:  Before sleeping you remembered you had a message to deliver to your colleague and you would see him in the conference room tomorrow, sleep enhances the likelihood that you will tell him in the conference room, but not in some other context, the office, elevator, the mail room, for example.

Read the full article at http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/01/memory-and-sleep-intertwined/15275.html

The human brain works in mysterious ways. Do you have an opinion? I would love to hear it.

Wenatex have free seminars all over Australia, New Zealand, and Toronto Canada educating people about the benefits of healthy sleep. If you are interested in coming along, you should register your interest at http://www.wenatex.com.au/seminars_registration.asp

“The sleeping brain is not stupid… it’s smart and it is making sophisticated decisions about which memories are important and should be held onto.” This article is an excellent one as it talks about the latest sleep research results in terms that even the most “non-tech” person like me can understand.

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/634169.html

The subject of sleep is fascinating. Please share your thoughts.

Humans perform learned tasks better after sleep and recent research has uncovered that it appears to be the same for birds.

I read this interesting article today on the subject http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/01/12/tech-biology-bird-brain.html and wanted to share it with you. Let me know what you think.

Tired Mums, it is as we have always suspected… while asleep, Dads turn a deaf ear to crying babies.

However, Dads, all is not lost. It seems that there may be “evolutionary differences that make women sensitive to sounds associated with a potential threat to their children while men are tuned to disturbances posing a threat to the whole family.”

If you want to read more, this really interesting article can be found at http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/143188/Sleep-patterns-Yes-dads-do-turn-a-deaf-ear.

Can we solve problems in our sleep particularly in the REM sleep phase? Some researchers believe so and this article looks at some major discoveries made in dreams. One of the examples that interested me was the writing of the song ‘Yesterday’ by Paul McCartney.

Please also read some of the comments at the bottom, they support the article really well.

Personally, I am convinced I solve problems during sleep… or at least mull them over and wake up with a clear idea on how to solve them.

The full article was published by BBC News in the UK and can be found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8092029.stm. Let me know what you think.

While researching all things “sleep”, I came across an article about Lee Hadwin, who is just fascinating! Lee is a “sleep artist” and even though he has no inclination towards being an artist when awake, he draws fabulous works of art in his sleep.

Lee has been a sleepwalker since the age of four and started drawing in his sleep 14 years ago. “It started out just being scribbles everywhere, and I still do scribbles from time to time. But then I started doing proper artwork, really complicated things. Without the video footage we have got, I wouldn’t have a clue I was doing it.”

The interest in Lee’s work has been building with galleries around the work keen to show his work.

The article that sparked my interest was written by the North Wales Post where Lee lives, about Lee doing his bit recently for charity, http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2009/05/05/sleep-artist-does-his-bit-for-charity-55578-23540823/

If you are interested in this fascinating sleep artist, see his website at http://www.leehadwin.com/?p=118

A story such as this brings home to me just how little we know about sleep and its effects on the body and mind. Please let me know your thoughts.

If you are a “night owl” like me, you will definitely be interested in this story. 

New scientific research has revealed (what I have always known… he he!) that late risers i.e. “night owls” actually have more mental stamina than those who awaken at the crack of dawn i.e. “early birds”.

Check out the article at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090423.wsleep0423/BNStory/Science/home

So are you an early bird or a night owl? Have you adjusted your life or work to take into account your sleeping patterns? Let us know what you think of this story and how it affects you.

Sleep is now recognized as being critical for learning and memory, and now a new study into fruit flies offers clues as to why. From their research, scientists have identified three specific genes critical to the sleep-learning connection. One of these genes is the fly equivalent of a specific gene in humans linked to learning and memory, known as the serum response factor.

So, if you want to learn something new, do as the fruit fly does, get a good night’s sleep!

It is a fascinating article that can be found at http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20090403/sleep-clears-way-for-new-learning. Let us know what you think.

During pregnancy I had terrible problems with memory, particularly with numbers. I remember going to the bank with two cheques and had to ask the teller to add them for me! I believe this is commonly referred to as “placenta brain”.

Well there was an article in the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday stating that Australian researchers have discovered that the “reason for the decline in auditory memory is suspected to be poor quality sleep”! I wish I had have known that during pregnancy!!!!

Read the article at http://www.smh.com.au/national/thanks-for-the-memory-loss-baby-20090328-9es3.html and let me know your “placenta brain” stories.