Sleep=Activity Q & A
Q: I am using Amitriptyline almost every night. Is it addictive? How many miligrams can I take safely? Is there anything else that is similar?
Dr. Hobson
A: Amitryptyline is an effective, safe hypnotic. It is not addictive. 25 mg is a reasonable dose
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Q: Does someone's dreams get repeated over different nights?
Dr. Hobson
A: Dream themes are repetitive. Specific dream reports never show complete identity.
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Q: If you wake someone when their eyelids are moving, will they remember their dreams?
Dr. Hobson
A: Yes. 95 % of REM sleep (with REMS) yield dream reports.
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Q: Can small children (3 years and younger) relate their dreams? Do their dreams reflect the world of a 3 year old?
Dr. Hobson
A: No. Dream reports are found in five year olds, but adult-type dreams do not appear before ages 7-8.
Dr. Kuttner
A: Yes children as young as 3 can related their dreams, but its usually only ones that are very vivid as they quickly forget their dreams since they live very much in 'the moment'. So the dreams you'll hear are either scary one, which are experienced as real and children will jump out of bed and run into parents’ bed or something quite profound like an experience with grandpa who has just died.
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Q: I am 57 years old and I find that I usually only sleep 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours at a time, then wake up. Sometimes I fall back to sleep fairly quickly and sometimes it takes a while. I rarely sleep 3 or more hours at a time. Is this common at my age? Am I getting enough restorative sleep? If not, what can I do to sleep longer at each time? I find that I have enough energy to work as a teacher and run a house and garden. I usually get up at about 5:30 am but around 8:00 pm I am definitely slowing down.
Dr. Hobson
A: Your sleep pattern is not uncommon among seniors. The good news is that you are functioning well, but please contact your family doctor.
Dr. Kuttner
A: It sounds like you are becoming aroused at the top of the sleep cycle and need to retrain yourself not to fully emerge into wakefulness, but to relax and allow your mind to drift (don't look at the clock or put on the light) so that you can settle back into another sleep cycle. With hormonal changes can disrupt sleep patterns and as we age sleep can get lighter, but it's very possible to retrain yourself to slip back into sleep so that you get more continuous sleep.
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Q: When dreaming, which hemisphere of the brain is dominant?
Dr. Hobson
A: There is no evidence for lateral selectivity in REM sleep brain activation.
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Q: Can a person self-hypnotize oneself to sleep? or, do I need to have a tape/another person's voice doing the talking for me to stay focused on being hypnotized and then reach a successful sleep state?
Dr. Hobson
A: Yes. Try the relaxation response as was demonstrated on Wednesday.
Dr. Kuttner
A: It's a great idea to self-hypnotize oneself to sleep. Initially you could use the tape to get the flow of it--but it's not a prerequisite. If you know how to take yourself into a trance through abdominal breathing or focusing on a favourite place or pleasant somatic sensations, you could do this on your own. The more you do it the better you'll reprogram your initiation of sleep.
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Q: How does the mind create the virtual realities of dreams? i.e. do different dreams communicate with certain types of neurons?
Dr. Hobson
A: Good questions. I do not know the answers.
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Q: How can we vocalize during REM sleep if we have no muscle tone at this point?
Dr. Hobson
A: Sleep talking and sleep walking occurs in NREM sleep.
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Q: Is neuro feedback (neurocare) scientifically sound for treatment of anxiety / sleep disorder?
Dr. Hobson
A: I don't know but I would try relaxation response as demonstrated on Wednesday
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Q: Can REM stage dreams link together to create the disjointed overall dream you may remember in REM 4 or REM 3? I.e. dream in REM 1 linked to dream in REM 2?
Dr. Hobson
A: Good questions. As far as I know, no research has been done on this topic. I suspect that the answer is no.
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Q: Is sleeplessness a consequence of brain dysfunction and if so do any solutions flow from this?
Dr. Hobson
A: Sleeplessness may be caused by hyperfunctioning of the REM off aminergic neurons. You have to learn how to turn those cells off. Try the relaxation response as demonstrated on Wednesday
PS, Dr. Hobson
The relaxation response answers (7,10, and 12) can be accompanied by the recommendation of Herbert Benson's Book, The Relaxation Response.
