Take The Day Off
Posted by Michelle Moquin on September 3rd, 2012
Good morning!
Happy Labor Day today!
Okay I get why they call it Labor Day, but this day, like most of America, is one day we are not going to work. Believe it or not, I contemplated working today. Wha’at? Am I crazy? Yes, sometimes, I don’t take a break when I could use one. That is not what’s going to happen today.
You know what they say, “All work and no play, makes Jane a dull girl”. Insert “your name” in place of “Jane”…or not. Go Play. I’m going to. Headed to Marin – There are lots of fun things to do there today. Whatever work you’re doing or plan to do, I give you permission to take the day off. Listen to your blog host. :)
See you tomorrow…when we’re all back to work. Or not.
Peace & Love….
Live it good and give it BIG.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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September 3rd, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Should You Interrupt Someone’s Nightmare?
A friend recently told me that her husband has nightmares several times a week, during which he tosses and turns with a look of concern on his face.
Her dilemma:
Should she wake him from these disturbing dreams or let them run their course? And does he need to see a sleep specialist and/or a mental health professional?
To get some guidance for my friend, I called Barry Krakow, MD, founder and medical director of Maimonides International Nightmare Treatment Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
ARE NIGHTMARES HEALTHY?
About half of all adults have occasional nightmares—unpleasant dreams that cause strong negative responses, such as fear, horror, anxiety or sadness, said Dr. Krakow.
Why?
Nightmares often help dreamers understand upsetting events of the day and their emotional responses to them. Therefore, occasional nightmares are usually healthy, according to Dr. Krakow.
But sometimes nightmares can be unhealthy. And when they become unhealthy, you may need to wake the sleeper and/or refer him or her to a sleep specialist and/or a mental health professional. To learn how to tell the difference, here’s the first question to ask yourself…
HOW SEVERE IS THE NIGHTMARE?
In most cases, said Dr. Krakow, a nightmare is mild, and in that situation, it’s best not to wake the person who is having the nightmare.
For example, if the person is simply tossing and turning, looking concerned and/or whispering to himself, leave him be. But nightmares vary in intensity.
The only time it’s worth waking someone up, he said, is when the nightmare appears to be severe. For instance, if he’s thrashing about violently, some gentle words and a nudge to wake him are in order because you don’t want him to injure himself (or you).
To figure out whether you should encourage the person to see a sleep specialist and/or a mental health professional, you need to ask yourself a second question…
ARE THE NIGHTMARES CHRONIC?
Most people who have nightmares get them only occasionally—once every few months or less—which is nothing to be concerned about, according to Dr. Krakow.
But up to 8% of all adults develop chronic nightmares, having them several times a week, which, of course, is more troublesome.
Chronic nightmares can interfere with the amount of sleep that a person gets, so anyone with chronic nightmares—whether the nightmares are mild or severe—should see a sleep specialist and/or a mental health professional.
It may prove to be particularly important to see both types of experts because chronic nightmares can sometimes signal a more serious problem, such as sleep apnea or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
GET RID OF NIGHTMARES—FOR GOOD!
When treatments for sleep apnea and/or PTSD don’t do the trick, or if neither sleep apnea nor PTSD is the cause of the chronic nightmares, Dr. Krakow and his colleagues offer patients a cognitive behavioral treatment called imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT), which has been shown in research to stop chronic nightmares in up to 70% of sufferers.
IRT involves three to five group or individual sessions over the course of a few weeks in which the patient talks through his recurring dream with a counselor (and sometimes with other patients) or writes it down…and then creates a “script” for a positive “new dream.”
The patient then “rehearses” this new dream on his own three or four times each day by reading the “script” aloud. After a few weeks, nightmares tend to dissipate.
To find an IRT therapist near you, look for a behavioral medicine specialist at a sleep center in your area by searching http://www.SleepCenters.org and ask if he or she can teach you IRT.
Most insurance plans will cover IRT, said Dr. Krakow. For self-instruction, Dr. Krakow offers a four-hour IRT educational CD called Turning Nightmares into Dreams.
It contains therapeutic instructions divided into 20 sessions and a study workbook. It costs $70, and there is a digital version of the material available for $40. For more information, click here.
Source: Barry Krakow, MD, sleep disorders specialist, founder and medical director of Maimonides International Nightmare Treatment Center, and medical director of Maimonides Sleep Arts & Sciences, Ltd., a sleep medical center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
September 3rd, 2012 at 12:46 pm
During the time that President Obama has been in office the Republican led Tea Party has consistently led attacks against him. They have made posters and signs both naming and picturing him as an ape or a joker.
The last two years Republicans have been campaigning to select their candidate. They used their “bully” pulpit to bash and trash against every success that the President accomplished and never offered any credible opinion on how to help correct the nations problems.
While in the Congress the Republican minority led by Paul Ryan has illegally filibustered in order to prevent the nations business from going forward.
They have been totally indifferent to the effect that such action has had or would have on the nations credit rating, foreign business, military prowess or the well being of the citizenry.
I personally find their actions unAmerican, anti-women and “racist” because their own rhetoric has exposed them.
Meanwhile President Obama, against much opposition, has led this nation out of crisis and danger and forward to a more wholesome and successful nation.
September 3rd, 2012 at 12:54 pm
Suppression through disillusion is the real purpose of negative adds and the republicans will be airing them at rates which dwarf all precedent by orders of magnitude.
This is why the right is so thrilled about Citizens United; that travesty will allow them to depress the vote anonymously. If it works then we will have evidence that their propaganda can condition the people, and that will be the beginning of republican/corporate rule over a rapidly declining nation.
The right is desperate to circle its wagons against the dreadful result of its own sicknesses. That is why it seeks to concentrate wealth and assets in its own hands and why defunding the social contract is so central to its plans.
These people actually think they can hide behind gated communities and use the constitutional right to private property as the legal means to keep the people in their place with the National Guard, and ultimately the military. They believe they can prevent another French Revolution by force.
Its time to recognize what a sick ideology always desires; inscrutable power which relies on corralling people whose own selfishness and fear make them act against their own interests.
September 3rd, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Are the young too stupid to understand that they will be the ones paying for Obama’s
profligacy? Do they really want to sacrifice freedom and live in a police state for
$9 worth of birth control pills? Education really has failed.
September 3rd, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Sadly, the republicans will probably disenfranchise many young voters. Moreover, I also think there are some older voters as well—who will not show up to vote for similar reasons and or excuses.
That’s the only way they can win this election in my view. A considerable polarity of the American voters who would vote for Obama—not showing up to vote could seal-the-deal.
If you’re a republican, you’re pedigree and cultural instincts says: doing whatever disheartens the American vote and voter for Obama. No matter how mendacious it or that may be—do it!
September 3rd, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Obama is right. Not only will the Republicans try all sorts of dirty tricks to keep college students from registering to vote, they will try to impose rules that make it difficult or near impossible for students and other young Americans to vote.
They will also spread misinformation about how and where to vote that will try to confuse or discourage voters on election day. So get registered, get to the polls and vote for those you think will help the Country, but vote!
September 3rd, 2012 at 1:07 pm
In 2012, Americans still can’t get over this racial divide. When will the U.S. ever come into the 21st century? Oh wait…there’s still religion too. Talk about dark ages.
September 3rd, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Why is it when white people are racist, it gets exposed? Black folk do racist things all the time they just don’t know how to be an educated racist. Most of them didn’t finish school is all so they are stupid racists.
September 3rd, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Michelle, did you hear that Obama snubbed MSNBC for CNN. If you have any pull, you need to talk to that man.
I think Team Obama is making a huge mistake by snubbing the Team Obama network, particularly since MSNBC has been hammering CNN in the primetime ratings.
September 3rd, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Quu, We understand the reasons for this choice of communication.
Ichtaca
September 3rd, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Education failed, Frank, because the far right has been proclaiming fucking abstinence rather than education…intelligent design rather than evolution…myth over fact…of course education has failed. When people begin to question and think once again with their own free will the stranglehold of the far right will lessen and the world will be a better place. Fascism only goes so far in every few generations.
September 3rd, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Paul Ryan ran a marathon (26 miles and 385 yards)…he did it in under 2 hours…..my name is Mitt Romney, and I endorse this lie!!!
September 3rd, 2012 at 9:16 pm
Republicans will start another war with anyone, but preferably someone duskier than the average Republican, and run up the deficit another $13 trillion while invoking the spirit of George Washington.
They’ll give their industry buddies big defense contracts, collect a private share for personal use and a lobbyist’s share for their favorable vote.
The imaginary threat will be a big one, because people are starting to catch on to the pattern of putting our backs to the wall after blood is spilled.
Will we fall for it, or will some journalistic dweeb uncover the key memo, just as coverage has uncovered Republican voter suppression illegalities in Pennsylvania and other states?
Console yourselves, it could be worse. The only thing worse than being a middle class American taxpayer these days is being on the other end of the hardware your taxes are buying.
Be glad you’re not a Muslim or a Korean, they are about to become un-people.
September 3rd, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Biden is the front man for obams government machine. Both obama and biden want the population in chains to support the government machine.
The USA will get what it deserves with those two.
The US was destroyed from inside.
VOTE FOR BAMA AND BIDEN TO GET FITTED FOR YOUR CHAINS
September 3rd, 2012 at 9:51 pm
I’ll stand behind anything Biden has said. He doesn’t lie the way Ryan does EVERY TIME HE OPENS HIS MOUTH! But the good news is Ryan is improving the economy by himself–the fact-checking industry is booming!
September 3rd, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Look at that nutcase! And people thought Sarah Palin wasn’t READY to be one heartbeat away from the presidency…this guy isn’t CAPABLE of being one heartbeat away from the presidency!
September 3rd, 2012 at 9:54 pm
Republican proposals are idiotic at best.
Yes, lowering taxes on the rich, increasing them on the poor and getting rid of the social safety net will help America!
September 3rd, 2012 at 9:55 pm
Republicant’s in the house voted 33 times to abolish obamacare! What did they have time left to do?
The GOP is doing such a fine job of making themselves look bad Obama doesn’t have to do anything at all!
September 3rd, 2012 at 9:58 pm
If we’re talking about the ACA,,,that statement by Pelosi isn’t really that radical,,here’s a quote from one of the Physicians in Congress:
His nudge led us to call U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, among a handful of physicians in Congress and an opponent to the Democrats’ proposal.
Burgess told us it’s often true that the ins and outs of legislation aren’t widely known until after a measure passes into law; that held true, for instance, for the Republican-steered measure providing government aid toward prescription drugs for seniors.
Pelosi’s “right,” Burgess said, though “I don’t think that’s a good strategy (to declare as much). I wouldn’t recommend anyone actually broadcasting that.”
That was actually Politifact looking for answers for the statement.
You’re right, she said it, but like so many things in Congress,,it had a different meaning. Like any bill that passes into law, there is so much legalese the laws explode into pages and pages.
Try reading one sometime…It’ll make you go crosseyed.
September 3rd, 2012 at 10:49 pm
Radiation Levels at Fukushima Now at Record Highs
It’s been over 1 year since the damage occurred, but it’s just now being reported that samples from the basement of reactor number 1 revealed radiation levels that reached up to 10,300 millisievert (mSv) an hour, which is enough to make a person sick within minutes, and kill them shortly thereafter. To put this in perspective, the workers at this site reach their annual allowed radiation dose in 20 seconds.i
Needless to say, workers cannot go anywhere near the site, so robots must be used, and it’s estimated that complete demolition of the plant will take four decades and require new cleanup technologies to be completed.
Adding to the already precarious situation, another of the reactor buildings – which houses 1,331 spent and 204 unused nuclear fuel assemblies, each of which contains approximately 50-70 nuclear rodsii – is now tilting and the walls are bulging outward. If another earthquake occurs or the building collapses, large amounts of radiation could be released into the environment.
Obviously, the situation is still incredibly volatile, so it is a mystery why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) only conducted accelerated sampling from March to June 2011.
When their tests reportedly showed that the radiation levels remained “well below any level of public health concern and were consistently declining,” they switched back to their routine radiation monitoring.iii
But according to a report from the Congressional Research Service, radiation-contaminated debris from Japan may take up to three years before it reaches the U.S. West Coast:iv
“Based on computer modeling of ocean currents, debris from the tsunami produced by the Tohoku earthquake was projected to spread eastward from Japan in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.
Approximately two to three years after the event, the debris plume likely will reach the U.S. West Coast, dumping debris on California beaches and the beaches of British Columbia, Alaska, and Baja California.
Although much of the radioactive release from Fukushima Dai-ichi is believed to have occurred after the tsunami, there is the possibility that some of the tsunami debris might also be contaminated with radiation.”
They point out that although the ocean currents have a slow flow, there is still a threat posed because radioactive contaminants are incredibly persistent in the environment:
“Although these currents have the potential for bringing radiation from Japan’s Fukushima Dai- ichi nuclear accident to U.S. waters, their flow is slow, and no radiation above background levels has yet been detected in marine waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
Regardless of the slow flow, radioactive contaminants with long half-lives (e.g., cesium-137, with a half-life of about 30 years) could still pose concerns if transported over long distances by ocean currents.”
Strangely, in the report they make mention of managing arriving debris in order to return items of potential personal, symbolic and cultural value, but do not discuss the radiation implications…
Case in point, 15 bluefin tuna caught near San Diego, California in August 2011 were found to contain Fukushima-derived radiation, including caesium-137 and caesium-134, at levels 10 times higher than those detected in previous years. The researchers noted:v
“These findings indicate that Pacific bluefin tuna can rapidly transport radionuclides from a point source in Japan to distant ecoregions and demonstrate the importance of migratory animals as transport vectors of radionuclides.
Other large, highly migratory marine animals make extensive use of waters around Japan, and these animals may also be transport vectors of Fukushima-derived radionuclides to distant regions of the North and South Pacific Oceans.”
September 4th, 2012 at 9:30 am
Having a Purpose in Life Prevents Dementia
You already know that staying physically and mentally active may help stave off dementia, but researchers have found yet another protective trick—having a purpose in life.
Now, I don’t mean having a goal that has a definite end point, such as telling yourself that you’ll run a marathon or write a novel.
For brain protection, having a purpose in life is a little bit different.
What are some examples of “purposes,” and how can you figure out what yours is if you don’t already have one?
WARDING OFF BRAIN FOG
I’m happy to say that figuring out your life’s purpose is not that hard to do. More on that in a minute, but first, let me show you what the study found.
Researchers analyzed 246 senior citizens who received annual cognitive testing for about 10 years. Each was asked questions to determine whether he or she had a strong purpose in life. When participants died, they underwent brain autopsies.
What the researchers found was that in participants who had a lot of plaques and tangles in their brains—abnormal structures in and around the brain’s nerve cells that are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease—the rate of cognitive decline had been about 30% slower for people who had a strong purpose in life compared with those who had had a weaker purpose or no purpose at all.
Here’s what I hope these findings mean: The stronger your purpose in life, the less likely you’ll suffer cognitive decline as you age, even if your brain is affected by Alzheimer’s signs. I hope that’s true because it means that you can preserve your cognitive ability by making sure that you have a purpose.
Of course, it could be the other way around—it could be that some people have a biological problem that makes them less able to cope with brain plaques and tangles and, also, less able to feel that their lives have purpose.
GO FOR IT ANYWAY
When I called lead study author Patricia A. Boyle, PhD, a neuropsychologist in the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, she acknowledged that her study doesn’t prove whether purposefulness helps our brains work better or is simply a side effect of a brain that is already working better. Maybe research will determine that one day. But on the other hand, since having a sense of purpose seems to make people happier, she said, why not cultivate one?
Based on her work with the study subjects, Dr. Boyle defines a life purpose as “the sense that one’s life has meaning and direction—that one is intentional and motivated to engage in activities that one finds important and fulfilling.” In other words, it’s what gets you out of bed each day and makes you feel that life is worth living.
A purpose doesn’t have to be ambitious or complicated. In fact, many purposes are simple, said Dr. Boyle. It just can’t have a definite end point—it has to last throughout your life. For example, some purposes include spending time every day with loved ones…helping other people (for example through long-term volunteer work)…learning something new every day…or passing down a certain set of knowledge or skills to a younger generation. If you love running marathons or writing novels, as I mentioned earlier, make sure that your goal is to continue pursuing those goals through life—and not just run one marathon or write one novel.
It’s not so much what your purpose is, Dr. Boyle said—what’s critical is how it makes you feel. If it stirs you up inside and makes you feel passionate, energetic and excited, then you’ve found it!
Here’s a great example: A colleague of mine, Sarah Hiner, noticed a long time ago that the word “shine” appears in her e-mail address because her address uses her first initial and last name. You might call it a random coincidence, but she considers it a sign—and her purpose in life. What inspires her every day is the opportunity to help those around her “shine,” so she makes it her mission to spread positivity and bring out the best in others.
What’s your purpose in life? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Source: Patricia A. Boyle, PhD, neuropsychologist, Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, and associate professor, department of behavioral sciences, Rush University Medical Center, both in Chicago. Her study was published in Archives of General Psychiatry.
September 4th, 2012 at 9:39 am
Obama is right. Not only will the Republicans try all sorts of dirty tricks to keep college students from registering to vote, they will try to impose rules that make it difficult or near impossible for students and other young Americans to vote.
They will also spread misinformation about how and where to vote that will try to confuse or discourage voters on election day. So get registered, get to the polls and vote for those you think will help the Country, but vote!
Maria