“I've always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept, all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed.”
Sleep that blissful thing! It can be an elixir of energy, youth, ideas and so much more. One has to earn it, a goodnight sleep, the afternoon siesta, the power nap all. A mind and body that toils hard and is lubricated for 16 odd hours usually benefits.
A good night sleep not only ensures you have a great day it also boosts immunity, makes medication more efficient. It’s not called beauty sleep for nothing as per American sleep academy your skin is supple and plump, it prevents weight gain, gets one in a better mood, makes you more productive, your heart is healthier and drastically reduces stress.
Even the sheep’s abandon a few of us and leaves us tossing and turning, as per medical journals the sleep deprived are more likely to suffer from ailments like blood pressure, cholesterol. Strokes are more likely to take palace in the wee hours on account of how sleep interacts with blood vessels.
The activity in the brain defines the sleep cycle. I vividly remember in primary school, was often at the receiving end of my sister shoving pillows to wake me up. All groggy, one saw her mimic my eyes moving non-stop, first graders (in my era) weren’t aware of the concept of REM. It’s much later one learnt about NREM and REM. The darting movements of my eyes under closed eyelids really amused and scared my sister.
The first stage of sleep occurs between wakefulness and sleep, this period is called NREM during which we drift into sleep. This stage involves a marked decrease in both overall muscle tension and core body temperature. We progress towards a state of deep relaxation, but in some cases are responsive to environmental stimuli someone crunching on your favourite snacks might lure you out at this stage. Stage 3 and 4 are content providers to many authors, directors, and artists if not for light-hearted family room conversation.
REM sleep is also referred to as paradoxical sleep because while the brain and other body systems become more active, muscles become more relaxed but voluntary muscles become immobilized.
Moonlight bullies one into sleepwalking, called “Somnabulism”. It takes place in deep sleep when you say the person is sleeping like a log, herein the body paralyzes skeletal muscles, these muscles are responsible for walking and other complex behaviours (cooking, driving et al). The neurons that release GABA (a neurotransmitter, a primary chemical involving paralyzing muscles) are developing in children. Therefore sleepwalking peaks between 8-12 year olds but adults too sometimes never outgrow bullies and in few cases are tormented by them later in life.
Sleepwalking patients have eyes directed up and outward in a vacant expression. They appear to be awake but if you speak with them, they tend not to respond. Sleepwalkers have no sensory perceptions, no sense of smell, taste, or importantly of pain. Once they are awakened, they have no memory of incidents that occurred while they were sleepwalking, and they have a period of confusion if they're awoken during the episode.
Riches can’t buy you good sleep many celebrities suffer from sleep apnoea, insomnia, restless leg syndrome and yet others moonwalk J Jennifer Aniston walks around the house and once scared herself by setting the alarm off. Oscar winner, Octavia Spencer warns her guests of her alter ego who is not pleasant and is often seen cooking up a feast in the middle of the night. Remember squealing with laughter watching Woody Woodpecker sleepwalking, a universal studio product by Walter Lantz and a personal favourite with Jerry sleepwalking in the classic Tom & Jerry show.
As strange but harmless ventures out of bed, they provide entertaining stories to share and unique phenomena to explore. My best friend from childhood days told me many interesting night walking adventures, till date am unsure. It could be her vivid imagination that has propelled her to be a renowned artist today or vice versa. As these actions move beyond the innocuous, such as eating and blurting out embarrassing information, and enter the realm of violence, their degree of importance and relevance increases exponentially.
Parasomnias are usually harmless and seldom report reckless actions. There is a lot of intrigue around “sleepwalking defence”, wherein it is stated a criminal isn’t culpable because they acted in a state, without consciousness or intent to commit a crime.
One of the more famous sleepwalking cases was that in 1988 of Kenneth Parks, a young Canadian man, was acquitted in the murder of his mother-in-law after using the sleepwalking defence. On that dreaded night, he arose from bed, drove 14 miles to the house of his in-laws, got a tire iron, went into the house and strangled his father-in-law, who survived, and beat his mother-in-law to death with the tire iron. Parks then drove to a police station and said, "I think I killed someone,". Police said he seemed confused about what had transpired, and they noted something odd: Parks appeared oblivious to the fact that he'd severed tendons in both his hands during the attack. That obliviousness to pain, along with other factors, including a strong family history of parasomnias, led experts to testify that Parks had been sleepwalking during the attack. Not conscious, not responsible, not guilty.
https://youtu.be/AuWAkREjl6U
Another case that was much discussed in 1999, however in this case the jury declared Scott Falater guilty of first-degree murder. He stabbed his wife 44 times with a hunting knife. He then dragged her into a backyard pool and held her head under water. A neighbour who witnessed this horrific incident called the police. His lawyer appealed a sleepwalking defence. The fact that, Falater had tried to conceal evidence turned him in, bloody clothes, boots, gloves, and undergarments were found stuffed in a Tupperware container hidden in his car. The neighbour testified about the victim being completely conscious as he saw him instruct his dog to lie flat.
So beware you may seek pardon on account of somnabullies, never forget those peering neighbours with hawk eyes. You earned them and the verdict on account of your deeds.
So go ahead and have wild escapades in your dreams but don’t be bullied by the moon into acts of madness if you can resist that, just take that foolishness to take risks and be passionate in your waking hours. Rise and shine, you never know prince charming can have many avatars today ranging form getting that dream job /boots / loosing two sizes anything, good things can also come in small packets so try to squeeze in a good nappuccino every now and then.
Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night. So train your hearts to see better than your eyes perceive, follow your dreams and create your own little fairy-tale.
An artist is a dreamer who consents to his / her dream and allows the work to speak where words may fall short…BreatheMart is fortunate to have engaged artists who are true to their soul. Do explore their eclectic collection of merchandise @ https://www.instagram.com/breathe.mart/
Artist Credit :David Derr , Lisa Yount , TomBennett and Anna Madia
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