Zzzzzzzz.......

Clearly, this is my problem.

For those too lazy or busy to read the story below, it's about the much-needed but oft-neglected eight hours of nighty night needed to be productive, healthy and in a good mood. All three I have been lacking since my foray into the world of intelligence.
It started about my first year of college, when I really had to work hard to get those grades, and ever since, I have rarely had a consistent week of good sleep. [except of course that dreadful half a year when I was off work.]

Now, sleep is all I can think about. Not surprising, considering I have eight more stories to write and 24 pages to lay out, with scant hours between now and press time. Must keep working, zzzz......

The article comes out of today's Red Eye, the Chicago Tribune's free daily paper:

Up all night
These days, there’s something to do at almost any hour, but experts say a sleepless lifestyle might cause more harm than good

The 28-year-old marketing professional from Albany Park said she spends most nights—while others are snoozing—chatting online, making midnight grocery runs, or dining at all-night spots around her neighborhood.

Though Bisnett said she spent the first 20 years of her life fighting to get the recommended eight hours of sleep, she's since given up the bedtime battle.

"I have lots of other friends who are odd sleepers and we have a good time," Bisnett told RedEye as she sipped an iced coffee from Intelligentsia for a "slight boost" of energy. "We go take walks, we grab a bite, and sometimes, early in the morning when you go past the bakeries, you get to smell the fresh bread. It's actually kind of awesome."

Actually, it's the opposite of awesome. Local sleep experts say adults need eight hours of sleep, adding that inadequate amounts—seven hours or fewer of consecutive Z's—has been linked to weight gain and could result in anything from constant irritability and poor decision-making to car accidents.

The Internet, longer work hours, the rise in 24-hour businesses and energy drinks all are contributing to a restless society where sleep falls further and further down the priority list, said researcher James Wyatt, who directs Rush University Medical Center's sleep disorder clinic.

Young male subjects who slept only 4 hours a night for two consecutive nights experienced an 18 percent drop in lepitin, the hormone that tells the brain it doesn't need additional food, according to the results of a University of Chicago study published in 2004. The subjects experienced a 28 percent increase in release of ghrelin, a hunger-triggering hormone and reported a 24 percent increase in desire for food, with a spike in desire for sweet, salty and starchy foods, the results revealed.

Despite those and other health risks, inadequate sleep is the norm, not the exception in America, according to Wyatt. Getting the full amount of sleep—whether 16 hours for infants or eight hours for adults—is critical because if sleep is cut short, the body doesn't get enough time to complete the phases of sleep necessary for muscle repair, memory consolidation and the release of hormones that regulate growth and appetite, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

People are cheating their biology with regularity, Wyatt said.

"Six to seven hours a night is pretty common for adults on weeknights," said Wyatt. "What we American adults and teens end up doing is running on one to two hours less than what we need each night and then trying to crash and make it up on the weekends."

But playing catch-up on weekends doesn't work over the long term, Wyatt said, since the inadequate sleep cycle often begins anew every Sunday night.

It hasn't worked for Blair Thomas, 28, of Roscoe Village, who said he tries to sleep in on the weekends but can't remember the last time he has gotten a full eight hours of sleep on any night. It's gotten to the point, Thomas said, where he no longer needs it.

"If I can go anything over six [hours], I'm feeling pretty good," said Thomas, who juggles his job at a logistics company with evening MBA classes at DePaul University. "I feel great if I can stretch it to seven, but what do I know? Maybe I'm running myself into the ground because I'm feeling young and invincible." Bisnett said her vegan diet gives her enough energy to allow her to skip sleep.

"I know it's not scientific," Bisnett said. "But this is the way I feel. I think my body is freed up from not having to digest meat and dairy [so] that it doesn't need as much rest. And what's so bad about not sleeping all night? Think about how much more productive I am when I'm not in bed."

Rush University's Wyatt said he was not aware of any scientific data supporting that veganism could reduce the amount of sleep need in humans. Age determines how much a person needs, he said.

Between birth and 1 year, babies need 16 hours of sleep. It drops to 12 to 14 hours by the first year, and teens require nine hours of sleep, Wyatt said, explaining that there is nothing people can do that would lessen the need for sleep.

"There are major changes in sleep need across early development, but post-adolescence this stabilizes for the long run," said Wyatt, who added: "I can't understand how Americans think we can get away with an estimated hour to almost two hours less than we did 100 years ago," Wyatt said.

Bisnett said she would seek help for sleeplessness only if she went two or three consecutive days without any sleep.

"I just wish there were more 24-hour places," Bisnett said. "There needs to be more to do overnight." Wyatt warns that a 24-hour society will only increase problems related to sleeplessness and insists that the best and most effective sleep takes place overnight.

"There's a trade off," Wyatt said. "I don't want to be a sleep Nazi, and there are certainly wonderful things about our society and culture, and how vibrant and productive we are. ... But we are cheating ourselves and our biology when we get less sleep than we need."

-30-

Hi baby!

It was such a joy to meet our favourite friend's brand new baby boy! I figured I should wait until Nathan's momma blogged about him before I did.

The very proud new parents.


















Uncle Justin holding him for the first time.
























Me holding him for the first time. What a precious gift from God to the Roths. We are so happy for them and their blessed baby boy.

My new baby

I recently bought my dream car. Isn't she a beaut'?



Her name is Princess Lucy. Sometimes she likes to be called Miss Lucy, or just Lucy if she's feeling low-key.



I've always wanted a classic Volkswagen beetle. We figured if ever I was to get one, it should be now.
She usually behaves . . .





but sometimes, she doesn't. Lucy! Put your hood down!! (tee hee)



Princess Lucy (named after an incredibly funny and disturbing claymation show), is a 1973, 4-speed, sparkly marroon beetle.

Updates 'n all

Right. So, lots of drivel on my posts lately, nothing of substance. I guess it's because I'm in a weird place right now. There is so much craziness going on my life and sometimes it's easier to just be silly than serious.
I am sooooo excited right now for my best friends. They're having a baby really soon, and I can't even believe that it has already time for them to be parents. I remember back in the day when us and them would talk about five year plans. Guess those five, well, OK, six years, are now here.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to fill the role of a job that is usually assigned to someone older and with more experience than myself. It's a challenge, to put it lightly. Now I'm finding that motivation is tricky. I've got absolutely no one expecting certain stories, photo assignments etc. from me. And sometimes, that means I'm not doing stories that I should. I think once the Fall is here, people are back full-time at work etc., it will be easier. Right now, every place I phone, someone is on holidays. Plus our office has had its fair share of holiday-goers.

We're working on a few big supplements right now though, and I am scared! They're big, and if they flop, it's all on my shoulders. However, if they do well, it will bode well for my whole little office. So it's definitely putting some good pressure on my butt.

My brother, sister-in-law and very dear nephew are moving to another province soon. It's crazy, we just can't seem to get all of us living anywhere close to each other. When we were first married, my man and me moved straight to the coast. they got married a year later and lived in Alberta and my hometown. They moved down here and lived in Vancouver, then moved to New West when the little guy came. Then we moved to Golden, which is on the other side of BC! Then we moved back to this end, and now they're moving to the other side of the BC border. Crazy.

I'm worried my brother and I will never see each other again, at least not for a long time. Both his job and mine will not exactly allow flexible time-off schedules or anything, so I think it will be awhile before we have our famous Christmas pictures again. It will make my mom sad, but it will make me sad too.

To add to the opened can of worms, there's my dear and near hubby. I love him a lot, but we just can't seem to get our job situations to work together. Since we've been married, he's either had a great job or I have. The two of us have yet to both be working satisfactorially and that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I've tried talking to a couple people about it, but no one else seems to have any good answers as to why that is.

OK, I could go on, but I'm actually at work right now. I suppose that means I should be working.
Thanks for listening, blogosphere.
Sincerely,
Super Sleuth

Screaming Reporter on Infusion Rollercoaster

Oh my goodness, puts things into perspective for the assignments I'm covering! The best is when she's trying to give the facts and nervously eyeing the ride in front of her!

She-Ra opening

OK. Last one. I have GOT to get back to work now. Hope you enjoyed a trip down memory lane for a kid growing up in the 80s.

Teddy Ruxpin cartoon intro

He was soooo smart.

Care Bears Opening

Sweet. Found another!

Jem Opening

This was one of my favourite shows as a kid for sure. I think it was partly 'cause Dave didn't like it and I got to watch it and drive him nuts!