While sleep has always been known to be the time where we can relax and be at peace, sleep disorders will always be there to spoil such a belief. We have been hearing a lot of sleep disorders from the past years and perhaps it would be good to note the top 10 spooky sleep disorders, most of which you may already have come across. Here they are:

• Nightmare Disorder
• Sleepwalking
• Night Terrors
• Sleepy Hallucinations
• Exploding Head Syndrome
• Sleep Paralysis
• REM Behavior Disorder
• Nocturnal Sleep-Related Eating Disorder
• Sexsomnia
• Insomnia

For sure if you are a constant follower of Sleepzine, some of them have been tackled at one time or the other. But if you want a better understanding of the other sleep disorders, you can check them out at this link.

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Coffee (or caffeine) is probably the most notable drink or recourse you can get to stay awake. People who have to extend their working hours or simply want to be awake most of the time consume coffee to keep their eyes open.

However, health risks have been associated with too much caffeine. It is logical in the sense that you may be abusing your body in a sense. Further, it seems that too much caffeine can lead to hallucinations as found by this study from Durham University.

Researchers found that “high caffeine users”, those who had more than the equivalent of seven cups of instant coffee a day, were three times more likely to have had hallucinations than those who had less than the equivalent of one cup.

Those who have three cups of brewed coffee a day could be at the same risk, they warn, because of the drink’s higher caffeine content.

On average the volunteers had the equivalent of three cups of instant coffee a day, which could still cause an increased risk, according to the study.

The researchers believe that caffeine could heighten the effect that stress has on the body, triggering the hallucinations.

(Source) Telegraph

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While the search for natural means of getting sleep is a need, it seems that there is one that is causing nightmares rather than restful slumber. Valerian, a herbal sleep aid commonly used by those who want an alternative to prescription sedatives, has been linked to serious side effects.

Health Canada said it has received more than 30 reports of adverse reactions, including hallucinations and nightmares, linked to valerian from 2003 to 2008. The department also warned in a quarterly adverse-reaction newsletter that some medical studies have found an association between valerian and hallucinations, delirium and cardiac complications.

Such an occurrence has indeed been bad for the natural aids of getting sleep. But if there is some retraction on this claim it is that there is lack of proper statistics to be used for reference to which these claims can be backed up.

(Source) Globe and Mail

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