Pain, insomnia, nighttime urination, sleep apnea, REM sleep disorder -- all can be serious problems, yet getting more exercise, reducing bedtime obstructions like TVs and Smartphones, and keeping a regular bedtime routine can help people develop good sleep habits.
Getting Older Myself
I find myself increasing unable to sleep seven hours straight. Instead, I split shifts -- sleep between bedtime at a normal nighttime hour and take a long afternoon nap. Is this OK? Probably not, yet I feel rested with enough sleep every day -- it has become habitual. My body adjusts, and I guess I'm not strong-willed enough to force eight hours of straight-night sleep.
Especially in the afternoon, I use the TV to put me to sleep, and I can even doze sitting close to my loud stereo while listening to mainly rock music. This pattern has developed over the last few years, and now, i ask the body "Are you tired and sleepy? Then just close my eyes, and recline. I usually end up in dreamland without much time elapsing. And, plenty of REM pops through my brain at either time -- night or day. i feel somewhat disoriented when I wake up the same day; however, I get up and any illusions of time quickly pass. What a luxury to be able to nap. Viva the siesta!
Mayo Clinic says "many factors can interfere with a good night's sleep — from work stress
and family responsibilities to illnesses." It's no wonder that quality
sleep is sometimes elusive for seniors in this faster-paced environment. I have given myself over to my mood, tiredness, and relaxation these days -- I'll sleep whenever I feel the need. Plus, I take on fewer and fewer projects involving stressful, long hours of work. I know what you are thinking: he is crazy and lazy. You may have something there, yet less exertion often requires less sleep. At least, that's my story. As they say, "I'm sticking to this modus operandi -- "It can wait. I'll catch up sometime later" ... perhaps "later is never."
Or, sometimes I follow advice in this little cliche -- "forget about it today; tomorrow I'll be ready and able." Have you ever heard "tomorrow never comes"?
If you want to talk about rest and gaining a second wind, forget about it. I rest whenever I can, and I am never able to catch a refresher on the same day. Without feeling bad about my slow recovery time, I hope to forget about any stress associated with procrastination. After all, I worked part-time and summer jobs during school vacation starting at about age fourteen. It's been a pretty long drag. Should I feel awful about quitting a job around the house once I get exhausted? I don't -- I realize it's time for a nap, not a so-called "power nap" to aid production, just a plain "I'll sleep it off" dozing like a man with a hangover. Nope, I don't drink on the job -- just a dumb analogy.
Dreams normally don't bother me either. I'm a nonbeliever of dream interpretation. Omens? Psychological meanings? No. To me, dreams are just crazy, mixed up images and animated sequences that never seem to affect any part of my consciousness. Sometimes I do get a habit of having bad dreams in succession. Still, i always experience successful wake-ups before any disasters strike, except for the times I'm fighting some asshole lout and wake up swinging and kicking. Beware wives and dogs: I am physically active in my slumbers sometimes, and, for this, I am greatly sorry. Yes, I've taken a few swings in dreams and remember escaping with my life due to violent retaliation ... a gun, a knife, but many feet and hands in defense. Also, don't stand too close to tell me to wake up. I just may be thinking you are in intruder. Distance = secured safety. Yell if you must -- out of swing range.
Sleep? The impact? The unpredictably of wild images, lack of deep slumber, and dreams should be taken at face value. At least, that's the way I see it. If I don't get enough sleep, I don't worry. Instead, I carry on until my energy drains. When I need rest, I take it, no matter the inconvenience or the result of my untimely repose. Close my eyes = trying to sleep. Open them, and sit = peaceful rest and mainly brain switch in "off" position.. And I surely believe old age brings both good and bad energy days. Food, medications, strenuous activity, restless worry -- I'm sure I weather the excess or lack of unconsciousness due to many causes. At age 73, I just don't worry about the details.
I admit my complete ignorance on any meaning in dreams. All I know is that "dreaming" is what occurs when the mature brain is adequately activated, disconnected from external stimuli and without self-reflection. Once instigated, dreaming actively draws on memory
Johan Frederik Storm, a doctor and professor at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences at the University of Oslo claims, "The theory is that dreams occur in the same cells in the cerebral cortex
that receive the sensory stimuli through which we experience the real
world when we’re awake.
“These cells are in a completely different state when we dream, which
means that they’re driven by information from the brain's internal
stores, instead of being activated by new sensory input from the real
world,” Storm explains.(Anne Lise Stranden."Researchers may have discovered where dreams come from."https://www.sciencenorway.no/brain-dreams-sleep/researchers-may-have-discovered-where-dreams-come-from/1793982. January 8, 2021.)
"New sensory output. Without input from the real world?"In my sleep, dreams are always combining incongruous people and behaviors in ridiculous behaviors. Most of times these are people I know involved in something often threatening. What the hell? Leave it at that -- a mad man's paradise of old, somehow remembered sequences, sloppily and pitifully strung together. I don't even care to entertain 99% of their presence. And, naturally, "bad dreams" outnumber "good dreams" in my off-centered brain. Not getting much unconscious "action" either. Just jibberish
Was it Warren Zevon who first wrote, "I'll sleep when I'm dead"? I always find this amazingly simple tune with a theme of absolute closure stimulating. "Raising a little harm" for me happens in conscious application -- maybe that's why I think the touted need large hours of sleep depend on so much other input, and are vastly overrated.
"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Written and performed by Warren Zevon
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