Parasomnia. Parasomnias are a category of sleep disorders that involve abnormal movements, behaviors, emotions, perceptions, and dreams that occur while falling asleep, sleeping, between sleep stages, or during arousal from sleep. Most parasomnias are dissociated sleep states which are partial arousals during the transitions between wakefulness and NREM sleep, or wakefulness and REM sleep. Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) parasomnias[edit] NREM parasomnias are arousal disorders that occur during stage 3 (or 4 by the R&K standardization) of NREM sleep—also known as slow wave sleep (SWS). They are caused by a physiological activation in which the patient’s brain exits from SWS and is caught in between a sleeping and waking state. In particular, these disorders involve activation of the autonomic nervous system, motor system, or cognitive processes during sleep or sleep-wake transitions.[1] Confusional arousals[edit] Sleepwalking (somnambulism)[edit] Sleep terrors (night terrors)[edit] Sleep sex[edit]
Melatonin. Melatonin The hormone can be used as a sleep aid and in the treatment of sleep disorders. It can be taken orally as capsules, tablets, or liquid. It is also available in a form to be used sublingually, and there are transdermal patches. There have been few clinical trials, particularly long-term ones, in the use of melatonin in humans. Discovery[edit] Biosynthesis[edit] Melatonin biosynthesis involves four enzymatic steps from the essential dietary amino acid tryptophan, which follows a serotonin pathway.
In bacteria, protists, fungi, and plants melatonin is synthesized indirectly with tryptophan as an intermediate product of the shikimic acid pathway. Regulation[edit] In vertebrates, melatonin secretion is regulated by norepinephrine. It is principally blue light, around 460 to 480 nm, that suppresses melatonin,[24] proportional to the light intensity and length of exposure. Animals[edit] Plants[edit] Functions[edit] Circadian rhythm[edit] Antioxidant[edit] Immune system[edit] Medical uses[edit] St John's wort. Botanical description[edit] Translucent dots on the leaves St John's wort is a perennial plant with extensive, creeping rhizomes.
Its stems are erect, branched in the upper section, and can grow to 1 m high. It has opposing, stalkless, narrow, oblong leaves that are 12 mm long or slightly larger. The leaves are yellow-green in color, with transparent dots throughout the tissue and occasionally with a few black dots on the lower surface.[1] Leaves exhibit obvious translucent dots when held up to the light, giving them a ‘perforated’ appearance, hence the plant's Latin name.
Its flowers measure up to 2.5 cm across, have five petals, and are colored bright yellow with conspicuous black dots. When flower buds (not the flowers themselves) or seed pods are crushed, a reddish/purple liquid is produced. Ecology[edit] St John's wort reproduces both vegetatively and sexually. The seeds can persist for decades in the soil seed bank, germinating following disturbance.[5] Invasive species[edit] While St. Feverfew. This article is about the Eurasian Asteraceae species. For the North American Asteraceae genus, see Parthenium. For the band, see The Feverfew. Tanacetum parthenium (feverfew) is a traditional medicinal herb which is commonly used to prevent migraine headaches, and is also occasionally grown for ornament. The plant grows into a small bush up to around 46 cm (18 in) high with citrus-scented leaves, and is covered by flowers reminiscent of daisies.
Cultivation[edit] A perennial herb, which should be planted in full sun, 38–46 cm (15–18 in) apart and grows up to 61 cm (24 in) tall. Uses[edit] Leaves of Feverfew Feverfew has been used as a herbal treatment to reduce fever and to treat headaches, arthritis[3] and digestive problems, though scientific evidence does not support anything beyond a placebo effect.[4][5][6] History[edit] The word "feverfew" derives from the Latin word febrifugia, meaning "fever reducer".[12] although it is no longer considered useful for that purpose. References[edit] Sleep paralysis. Sleep state in which a person is awake but unable to move or speak Medical condition Sleep paralysis (plural: sleep paralyses) is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which a person is aware but unable to move or speak.[1][2] During an episode, one may hallucinate (hear, feel, or see things that are not there), which often results in fear.[1] Episodes generally last less than a couple of minutes.[2] It may occur as a single episode or be recurrent.[1] Treatment options for sleep paralysis have been poorly studied.[1] It is recommended that people be reassured that the condition is common and generally not serious.[1] Other efforts that may be tried include sleep hygiene, cognitive behavioral therapy, and antidepressants.[1] Symptoms[edit] The main symptom of sleep paralysis is being unable to move or speak during awakening.[1] Pathophysiology[edit] If the effects of sleep “on” neural populations cannot be counteracted, characteristics of REM sleep are retained upon awakening.
J. To stay asleep, perchance to keep dreaming « Psycurious. I know I’ve skipped a step – how to achieve lucidity in your dreams – but we’re just going to have to come back to this, as there seems to be more interest in how to stay IN the dream once you notice you are, in fact, dreaming. I admit this is a problem. It’s not been as much of a problem for me as remaining lucid has been, but enough that I’ve learned some tricks to stay asleep. To start with, don’t move. It just seems agitating somehow, even though your physical body isn’t moving.
Sometimes you’re close enough to waking consciousness that moving in the dreamscape DOES translate to actual movement (paradoxically, when I’m having a nightmare and ephiphanize that it’s only a dream, it still takes a heroic effort to wake up and break the “I can’t moooooove!” Safety feature), which rouses you. Sometimes just the excitement in the dream indicated by movement of the dream body is enough to pop you into a waking state. Have a plan. Then ask yourself, once again, if you’re really awake.