Parents of elementary school students dread the day their child comes home from school with lice. But although lice are unpleasant, it is not the end of the world. Lice don’t cause any serious medical diseases, and they have nothing to do with the cleanliness of your home or your child. Head lice are tiny insects that lay their [...]

Sleep is a peaceful time of beautiful dreams, rest, relaxation, growth, and much needed recuperation for our tired bodies. The heart beats more slowly, blood pressure is lowered, respiratory movements are lees frequent, and muscles are relaxes. Until the 1950s, most people thought of sleep as a passive, dormant part of our daily lives. Now [...]

Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and drugs such as diet pills and decongestants stimulate some parts of the brain and can cause insomnia, or an inability to sleep. Many antidepressants suppress REM Sleep (Rapid Eye Movement Sleep). Heavy smokers often sleep very lightly and have reduced amounts of REM sleep. They also tend to wake [...]

Sleep is a normal, easily reversible, recurrent, and spontaneous state of less efficient responsiveness to external stimulation. Sleep usually requires the presence of flaccid or relaxed skeletal muscles, and the absence of the overt, goal directed behavior of which the waking organism is capable. How much sleep does a person need?
For adults, anything between 6, [...]