Texting in Your Sleep?

As crazy as this might sound, there might be some truth to the recently discovered phenomenon of "sleep-texting."

You heard that right: texting people with a cell phone while you're asleep!

I read about this strange story online, and apparently, a Texan newspaper wrote about it last month. In its coverage, a 24-year-old woman claimed to have texted her boyfriend while asleep, and discovered what she'd done only once she'd awakened. Another fellow wrote about it on his blog, so clearly this must be happening to more than just a few people. (Sorry, I can't say I've had this experience myself.)

The question is, does sleep-texting really happen when you're asleep? Or is it something that happens quickly during a moment of wakefulness in the night and then you forget about it the next morning?

No one really knows. It's entirely possible to perform a small action in the night during a few short minutes of wakefulness that you cannot recall the next day, but it may also be possible to perform an action that's so ingrained in your brain and habits that it's like driving on "autopilot." Today's younger generation is so constantly attached to their mobile devices (I think kids win hands down for how fast they can type on a smart phone) that working those cell phones and texting are second nature. It's an addiction unlike any other.

It's weird to think you can send a message in the middle of the night that you won't remember doing the next day. You just might find yourself in a situation where you actually do send a text you'd self-censor during the daylight hours.

I've said in the past that bedrooms should be a cell-phone free zone. They don't harmonize with the setting for restful sleep. And what if that phone rings back with a text from the person who receives your midnight message?

I say, put those cell phones to bed--in another room. Give it a rest. Your sleep will thank you.

This article is cross-posted at Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• Teens Talk, Text Into the Wee Hours
• When Technology Addiction Takes Over Your Life

Technorati Tags: sleep, cell phone, text messages, texting

Cell Phones and Sleep

Here's one more reason to turn off those cell phones long before bedtime: they may mess with your sleep!

Earlier this year a new report emerged indicating that people who were exposed to the radiation emitted by cell phones just before bedtime took longer to get to sleep and spent less time in deep sleep - that magical place where your body refreshes and restores itself.

These findings confirm other studies done, including one that showed teens who use their cell phones late at night complain of tiredness. (And we all know that any teen who has a cell phone uses it for as long as possible at night.)

Ironically the study was funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Association, which of course called the results "inconclusive."

I love reports like this, because whether or not it's true that cell phones disrupt sleep patterns, it gives me one more reason to tell people to turn them off! We still don't know if mobile phones can also increase one's risk for brain cancer (although I think the jury is leaning toward a no on that one), but regardless, I think we could all live a little better if we cut back on how long we spend on our cell phones. Unless someone is telling you a bedtime story over the phone, most conversations tend to be stimulating. And the mere act of having a lively discussion with someone while holding a phone to your ear is not all that relaxing. I'd rather be getting a massage from my spouse and sharing funny stories from the day, or plunging my imagination into a book.

The fact cell phones may disrupt sleep shouldn't freak you out, but it should be a wake-up call to at least think about removing cell phones from your life within an hour before bedtime. In my book, Beauty Sleep, I go into great detail about the habits of good sleepers and which things you should do - or not do - in preparation for sound sleep.

Giving yourself time to unwind and literally power down before slipping into bed is key to healthy sleep. And now we can add cell phones to our list of no-nos. I know that for some people this can be a challenge, especially if you're 100 percent wireless and this would mean making NO calls at all before bedtime. But consider that a luxury in this day and age. If you can turn not only your cell phones off but also yourself OFF for at least 30 minutes prior to bedtime, I bet you'll feel a world of difference the next day...and the day after that.

Related Topics:

• Cell Phones Disrupt Teens’ Sleep
• Cell Phones Raise Work-Home Stress

Technorati Tags: cell phones, sleep

Is Sleep Deprivation Your Badge of Honor?

Now this is crazy stuff: have you ever seen the popular reality show Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel? It is one of my favorites; I seem to just find it fascinating. It's about Alaskan king crab fishermen up in the Bering Sea, and what they risk to get their grubstake.

Seriously, this puts The Perfect Storm to shame, and I honestly don't know how they even manage to video tape some of this madness. Picture yourself on a fishing boat (try not to get seasick). You've got a 24-hour shift in front of you (no naps!)... as well as 40-foot waves thumping against the boat and sloshing you around constantly, 80-mile-per-hour winds whipping against every inch of you, and oh yes, subfreezing weather. You hope you can at least feel something in your hands so you can handle the 700-pound crab pots that are banging against the deck. The injury rate? One-hundred percent, from limbs to lives.

Why, you might ask, would someone choose to do this?

Well, the payoff can be huge for the guys who brave this nearly superhuman task: jackpot crab pots can garner millions of dollars worth of highly-prized king crabs. (Yeah, the next time you order king crab in a well-to-do restaurant, stop and think for a moment what it took to get it there.) Boats that aren't successful in placing their pots in the hot spots can come home empty-handed, or so light-handed that their catch only covers the boat's operating expenses.

I think it's crazy, but the allure must go deeper than the potential money. It must tap that proverbial "man versus nature" thing on some level. Many of these fishermen come from families that have been in this business their whole lives - they know of nothing else and have no desire whatsoever to try doing anything else. To them, crab fishing not a job, it's a life. One of the captains of a boat didn't even think about how crazy his job was until the cameras started showing up to tape the show! Clearly, these people are doing what they've always done, and we're finally allowed "in" to see what it is they do.

One request: can they get more fishermen on board to share the duties so everyone can get a good night's rest?

I think every captain would laugh at my suggestion. It appears to be a badge of honor that they can go days without sleep, even if this entails dangerous mistakes.

It is amazing to me that sleep deprivation is both a method of torture in some countries and a badge of honor all at the same time.

Some episodes have featured their contests for the first person to fall asleep and where (please not out on the edge of the deck). Occasionally the ships' captains fall asleep at the wheel during rough weather.

This isn't the only profession where sleep deprivation is considered a badge of honor. There are many other people out there who brave sleepless nights and odd working hours, like medical residents and surgeons, college or graduate students, air traffic controllers, truck drivers, loggers, farmers, start-up entrepreneurs...just about any workaholic who can't fathom sleeping a full night's sleep when there's work to be done.

Many of the world's most dangerous professions entail multiple "badges of honor." People who do the fishing, hunting, and gathering for us folks are among the toughest and bravest individuals. They do extremely dangerous jobs that are in many cases conducted in an environment that is largely beyond their control. Nearly half of all fatal work injuries occurred among workers who drive or move material around for a living. Truck drivers, forklift operators, trash collectors, and cabbies are all part of this group. A sleepy truck driver or forklift operator having an accident is practically cliché.

According to a survey reported by CNN, the fishing industry is a perennial leader as measured by death rate; drowning is the most common cause of death in this industry (they can fall asleep first, then fall overboard!), but fishermen also suffer from fatal accidents in handling some of the heavy equipment that the modern fisheries employ - heavy equipment that requires fast-thinking, and an alert, awake mind.

Is it "brave" to avoid sleep for work? No. But unfortunately our social mores and industry prerogatives haven't changed.

Would the worlds "most dangerous jobs" (which sometimes gets labeled as the world's "worst jobs" because of this fact) become better if we set new standards that prevented fatal mistakes? Yes. I believe so, and we can do that starting with just one: making restful sleep a priority.

So I propose a new badge of honor: one that respects hard work and hard sleep. The two can work miracles. Oh, and let's not forget hard play. Now that's a recipe for living "on the edge." But I have to admit, I do find the show fascinating!

This post is cross-posted at Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• Sleep Deprivation at the Workplace
• Sleep Habits: More Important Than You Think

Technorati Tags: sleep deprivation, workplace, health and wellness