Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Sleep and dream


Women who get less than the recommended eight hours sleep a night are at higher risk of heart disease and heart-related problems than men with the same sleeping patterns.


Research by the University of Warwick and University College London has found that levels of inflammatory markers vary significantly with sleep duration in women, but not men.


I dream to sleep like a baby - to fall deep in slumber without a care in the world and without nightmares haunting...

My sleeping pattern, most probably like others in the same hemisphere (especially students), varies according to the seasons. Eight hours during summer is utterly impossible although on occasions, I do insist on it - made possible during the women's time of the month.

Back home, I remember being prohibited to sleep during Maghrib, for fear of being disturbed by syaitan. As a child, I remember falling asleep at dusk one day, later waking up feeling numb and heavy headed. And, what did the elderly say?

"Tulah... orang dah kata, jangan tidur masa senja, masa Maghrib...Pergi mandi cepat!"

[I told you! Never sleep during sunset or dusk! Now, go and take your shower quick!]


However, over here, the days can stretch so long during summer that Maghrib is at 9.30pm. Hence, it is impossible to NOT have the children sleep during Maghrib, if not before!

Last week, at about Maghrib time, I put the younger two to sleep and accompanied them in bed while reading Khalid Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns. They recited their du'as out loud and then began to wriggle and giggle about. The brightly-lit room strained their eyes so I had to put the book down and turn off the lights - surely enough, I too joined them in la-la land in a matter of seconds.

The next morning, I woke up feeling estranged - I had a really weird dream. But then again, when I dream, I always have strange ones. In most cases, I don't believe them at all because they are mind-games and illustrations played by ficticious imagination. After all, it was just a dream... But, oh boy, it does feel good to dream of your missed one, doesn't it? (even though you can't help feeling the ache deep within...)

7 comments:

MHB said...

Nanti I cite kat you the conversation I had with my missed one in my dream last week. It was hilarious when I think back about it...

oh! I better go to sleep now!! :-)

n.i. said...

huhuhu i longed to sleep like a baby huhuhu... gone are those days when i just let my head rest on a pillow and a 'minute' later woke up to the screamning sounds of the alarm clock huhuhu

Mulan said...

my neighbours all bujang2 & also guesthouses for off shore guys.. in & out 24 hours a day. oouucchh, nak nyenyak for at least 2 hours pun susah..

Umi Kalthum Ngah said...

Dear D,

Some dreams do carry weight...Remember Nabi Yusuf's dreams? Of times of aplenty and times of hardship...

I do have some dreams so much so that at certain when things happen, I felt like I have been through this thing or that thing before..then I remember..it was in one of my dreams sometimes months before...have you experienced things like these before? Just curious...

D said...

MHB,
yes, yes! do share if you still remember!;)

n.i,
there goes our days of youth! now dah jadi mak orang susah la sket..

mulan,
eh, you tak join ke they all ber'party'? ;) hehehe

umi kalthum,
you mean like deja vu? No, I don't get such things though my late husband always did. His dreams were always more believable. Mine - I'd rather like to believe that they're just games played by the mind. wallahu'alam

Memorable trails... said...

Salam..
I ll be very lucky if I could get 8 hours of sleep.Gone were the days where we could really sleep like a baby...

FaAtip said...

Salam perkenalan.

The first time I read this blog...very touchy. And I started to read more and more of your stories. I can only sleep like a baby after going tru hectic days....but..but..sometimes couldnt get rid of sleeping after Asar! (what to do....very2 sleepy maaaaa...)