laremy.sg

This is a painting entitled “The Nightmare” (1781) by Henry Fuseli and it depicts the condition of sleep paralysis/night terrors.

I used to suffer from this condition. I probably still have it but its occurrences have diminished somewhat since I started:

• Having (somewhat) regular sleep patterns,
• Getting (somewhat) more rest, and
• Moderating my caffeine intake.

Anyway, I just found out that someone close to me suffers from this condition, so I decided to read up about it again. This condition supposedly affects Asians and teens* more than it does other people, so I thought I’d post up some info here so that you can find out how to deal with this condition if you suffer from it too**:

• All in the Mind?: An article by Paul Chambers.
• Sleep paralysis: Facts and data.

  and of course, how could I not leave you without

• The Horla, a short story by Guy de Maupassant***.

Have a good rest tonight.

• Of ignorance: I thought it was ‘spirits’, and the people around me weren’t inclined to discourage me from adopting that point of view, and
• It never occurred to me to do research on the conditions I was afflicted with until I was slightly older. Then again, Googling for information has become a norm, so it could also be techno-cultural evolution, I guess.

*** Oh! I think Charlotte Bronte and Roald Dahl may have made references to sleep paralysis in their stories (Wuthering Heights and a short story about a snake in a bed, respectively) too, although it seemed they might not have known about this condition at those times. I’ll need to dig up the stories again to be sure.

There is no inherent evolutionary benefit for small dogs that yip incessantly for no good reason.

I’m serious. I was rudely awakened in the early hours of dawn by a small, yipping dog that stays in the blocks of flats opposite my window. That sucked because I hate having my sleep interrupted. I have trouble sleeping at night and some sleep disorders to boot, so getting a good rest can sometimes be quite a challenge.

Coincidentally, Cowboy Caleb posted a link to a visual opinion piece in the New York Times which provides another perspective on the difficulties of getting a good night’s sleep.

I hope small, yipping dogs get bred out of the evolutionary chain soon.

As far as I know, that discussion never went anywhere. Parents and teachers said a lot about it; a few doctors chirped up about the importance of adequate rest; some principals were interviewed for their opinions; and a few eccentric people even talked about the necessity of the hardship of getting up early as an essential character-building tool. But in the end most primary schools continued to start at the traditional time 7:30 am.

Back to the future. Recently my wife and I attended the orientation programme of my son’s primary school (he begins Primary One next year). We learned that while the school officially started at 7:30 am, all the kids were to be in school by 7:10 am sharp.

– Mr Wang Says So, The Little Kiddies and their Beauty Sleep.

Personally, I believe school should start later, and my belief is backed up by scientific evidence:

• Start school later in the morning, say sleepy teens.
• Schools Waking Up to Teens’ Unique Sleep Needs.

However, this whole debacle about school start times can be (again) effectively eradicated if the idea I proposed yesterday kicks off.