Sleep and Health

Anxious and Neurotic Children: What is wrong? What to do?

Zalik Alexander, MD

A 6-year-old cute boy who was invited to a birthday party after an hour is still standing in the corner and holding his mother's hand. The mother is trying to convince the boy to go and play with kids who he knows well. But the boy is staring into the floor and repeating one sentence: "Let's go home. I do not like this. Too much noise."

Ask Dr. Sleep: Surgery, Pain and Sleep

Q. Dear Dr. Sleep

I had many surgeries and assure you that sleep problems before surgery and sleep after surgery is a very serious problem, yet when I talk to surgeons they brush off this subject or prescribe sleeping pills in addition to already multiple pain relievers, made me all day sleepy, confused and getting more addicted to sedatives. What do you know about the topic and what are your suggestions?

Ask Dr. Sleep: Autistic Behaviors? (Update)

Dear Dr Sleep,

First of all, a happy and healthy New Year to you, your team and family!

Thank you for your help to solve my child's sleep problems.

I want to give you an update on Adam and ask for any referrals. His sleep is now tolerable as he will go a week sleeping through the night and then maybe four to five days up for a few hours in the middle of the night. Right now, that is not my biggest concern.

Ask Dr. Sleep: Could 6-year-old child be a criminal by the nature?

Dear Dr. Sleep.

I am scared of my own 6-year-old boy. He wakes up in a middle of the night, might come to my mother or to me and hit with any object. I am waking up many times listening if he is around. I have to put a lock in my bedroom. Our family is a family of professionals. We never had anyone in our family who is violent. We are originally from the South of the former Soviet Union, emotional and loud at home, but in general emotional atmosphere at home is friendly. According to our tradition our parents live with us.

Ask Dr. Sleep - Janurary 2008

Hello Dr. Sleep,

My boyfriend has an eleven-year-old daughter who is bright, intelligent, and very mature for her age as far as her comprehension and understanding of situations. At bedtime, however, her entire personality changes and she refuses to go to sleep alone. When she is at her mother's house, her mother sleeps with her each night so as not to deal with the problem. My boyfriend, however, is not comfortable with doing that nor does he think it should be necessary at her age. She cries and says cruel things to her dad and insists on going home to mommy's at bedtime. Apparently this has been an ongoing problem in the family for seven years (since the separation) and a counselor told the mom not to co-sleep with the child but she continues to do so.

Amedeo Modigliani

By Deena Sherman

Amedeo Modigliani was a handsome and cultured Italian-Jewish artist who went to Paris in 1906 where he went into a downward spiral, ultimately becoming a slovenly drunk who died fourteen years later at the age of 35. But in those tumultuous years he produced a distinct style of painting that has led to him being considered by many as the greatest Italian artist of the twentieth century.

Relax, Refresh and Renew Your Aching Back

By Nikos M. Linardakis, M.D., The Natural Sleep Doctor� and Amanda Hanley

Are you tossing and turning in bed because of discomfort and pain? Pain can often bring on problems in sleep. Back pain, in particular, can lead to serious physical and emotional problems. However, sometimes problems in your sleep environment (a poor bed mattress for example) can also bring on pain. In this article, we will explore and suggest a few natural solutions for pain and sleep.

Allergy Might Prevent Brain Cancer. Mild Disorders Might Contain Big Diseases.

By Dina Golbin, RPSGT, Med Stud 2.

We got used to thinking that disorders are always bad, they are our enemies, and we should always fight against them. But there are more and more data that some disorders are not so bad. They could actually be helpful sometimes. Recall, for example, vaccinations. They are artificially induced infections that could prevent a few "big" diseases. It might also be true for other medical symptoms.

Sleep Deprivation: The morning after the night before the morning after

By Louis Keith, MD, PhD, ScD (Hon)

Readers of this column already know that I travel, and that the subject of my article often relates to something I have seen on a recent trip. This column is no different, and the subject came to me on the morning of January 1, when I was having breakfast at the coffee shop of the Hilton Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan, Yes, there is a Hilton in Sudan and its capital city, Khartoum. For those who do not remember much of their geography, Sudan is located to the western side of the Red Sea, and directly to the east is Saudi Arabia. It is located in that part of Africa that is considered "Sub-Saharan", meaning that it is south of the famed Saharan Desert.

Functions of Dreams. Old Question, New Theories

By Alexander Golbin, MD

About 30 years ago, Dr. Rechtshaften from the University of Chicago, who was the author of the first manual for analyzing sleep records, designed an unusual experiment. He placed a rat on the tiny board surrounded by water. The rat was very comfortable on this board with enough food until she wanted to sleep. At the beginning of sleep she was also fine until she hit REM stage, the muscles get paralyzed and she slid into the water. Sure it was enough to wake her up. She got back on board and the end of the story was the sickness and eventual death. Conclusion: the loss of REM sleep is dangerous for your health.