Because learning about your brain and sleep can be fun . . .
When it looks like you might have to suffer a night of little sleep, it helps to have a trick to help you fall asleep in your bag. One useful and flexible—and even enjoyable—technique is the fake scenario. Why does it work? Because where the mind goes, the body follows. What is a fake scenario?…
If only the mind came with an off switch. If it did, you could flip it and shut off a racing mind when you needed to sleep. With a switch, you could stop overthinking right in its tracks, right away. The switch couldn’t affect your brain, however. That would be a disaster. You need your…
Here’s why you think you’re not dreaming when you sleep …and how you can start dreaming again. “I don’t have dreams,” you say. Or is it that you haven’t had any dreams when you’ve slept—at least it’s been a while? Do you feel like you’re being shut off from creativity, making you feel dull? That’s…
“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…
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…
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…
It’s a fact: sleep aids in regenerating the body tissues. Sleep troubles like insomnia, restless leg syndrome, and sleep apnea mean your body doesn’t heal well. It’s a downward spiral that leads to a lack of sleep, predisposing your body to stress, anxiety, and tiredness. You might have tried exercising in the evening before. Maybe…
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…
Some nights the last thing you want to do is go to bed. There are too many things tempting you to stay up. So many more things seem more appealing than shutting off the lights and closing your eyes. Do these self-defeating temptations sound familiar? You could be watching something on YouTube. Texting a friend.…
From Monday, September 27 to Friday, October 1 ChiliSleep will host the Back to Sleep Challenge. It’s an online, free, five-day event featuring prominent speakers from the world of performance improvement and sleep medicine along with a dedicated Facebook group and homework to practice implementing what you learned. The lineup includes: Kelly Starrett—physical therapist and…
On the surface, prayer and meditation look the same. Someone closes their eyes and sits still. There may or may not be an image, some beads, candles (scented or unscented) perhaps some other object involved as well. They’re not. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, prayer is a request or statement to God or a god…
The big secret to sleeping on a busy, noisy street is getting used to it. The smaller secret is how to deal with occasional spikes in noise. That’s it. Getting used to traffic noise and the occasional spikes like blaring car horns can happen for almost anyone. Eventually. When they go out to the country,…